The Identity and Language of a Bilingual.

A person’s language and country of origin both play big roles in the theme of identity. However, the difficulty of being mixed in cultural and language has always been a struggle for those who identify themselves as bilingual. But there are people who take the challenge and ready to contest those hardships – two examples of them are Gloria Anzaldua with her essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” and Snow Tha Product with her music video “Bilingue”.  Firstly, a person’s language is the key to identity is the main idea expressed by Gloria Anzaldua in ‘How to Tame a Wild Tongue’. Language is proof of identity. In this way, language unites and helps different people to identify with one another. In her writing, Gloria Anzaldua motivates minority people not to be discouraged and accept the fact that they are different and special and take the challenge of being bilingual in the USA. It’s up to every individual to value the language he/she speaks. It’s up to oneself to decide what language to speak. Someone should not allow anyone to dictate what is the right way and what is the wrong way to speak. Anzaldua makes an attempt to persuade the audience to accept the fact that some people might speak differently, and that American citizens have to change their mindset towards diversity. Likewise, Snow Tha Product raps, “El que dirá, a mí me vale, critica Yo soy la fuckin’ mexicana” shows that she is proud of her identity no matter of the racisim or inequality. The lyrics strongly plays up the audience’s pathos, or emotions by taking a firm stand and showing strength, through which the audience can reflect. Moreover, she contests those who do not accept her identity or her language, even the United States, “Quieron qué yo me dé Pero ya reté a los United States.” Through the lyrics, she gives the audience hope and taps into their inner strengths. In sum, the essay  “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” and the song “Bilingue” give a strong message about how you should always be yourself no matter where you come from or what language you speak.