Language and Literacy - Essay Example

Language and Literacy Malcolm X, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Barbara Mellix in their writings express their understanding ofthe significance and power of language. They explain how language facilitates and strengthens an individual’s identity and helps one view himself or herself in a new way. In her essay, Gloria describes how Latinas and Latinos accused her of mutilating Spanish when she spoke Chicano Spanish. She felt that, speaking in English or Spanish, she could not connect to her true identity. However, speaking in Chicano Spanish, “a language that was neither English or Spanish, but both, she was able to connect to her true identity, and communicating values and realities true to themselves” (Anzaldúa 10). Mellix, on the other hand, explains how it felt uncomfortable writing in Standard English arguing that she could not express her true self. She claims that after “reading, practicing, writing, rewriting, and experimenting,” she learned that “one can, through writing, bring out new lives, each with new complexities, possibilities and difficulties. Remarkably, I continually write and give birth to myself” (Mellix 111). Mellix found out that she was able to reinvent herself through writing. Coincidentally, Malcolm X also had a similar experience while in prison. Through reading and enhancing his knowledge in Standard English, he saw his situation and himself differently. “ I had increasingly become frustrated because of being unable to express my thoughts in the letters I wrote to a public figure” (Malcolm 99). While Malcolm learned and became comfortable using Standard English through copying out of the dictionary and reading, Barbara Mellix learned and became comfortable with Standard English through revising and writing. It is certain that all these authors, Malcolm, Mellix and Gloria, viewed themselves differently and got an identity as a result of language. Learning to use Standard language enabled Mellix and Malcolm discover new possibilities. Both Douglass and Baca were illiterate; they were not able to read or write. They both learn how to read and write by employing certain unconventional strategies and without the help of a regular teacher. “In learning how to read and write, I employed various stratagems. I had no regular teacher” (Douglass 5). The authors felt less empowered and humiliated simply because they not able to read or write and as such could not express themselves. “There was nothing more humiliating than not being able to express one’s self… I felt so intimidated, vulnerable, scorned and ridiculed” (Baca 4). Baca learned how to read and write from the confines of the prison as did Malcolm X. On the other hand, Douglass learned how to read and write from friends when he went out to run errands or in his room when not occupied. Douglass asserts that, “when I was sent out to run errands, I would carry my book along; I performed my errand quickly and got some time for a lesson before going back”(Douglass 7). Interestingly, both authors were, somehow, not allowed to read or write in their respective environments. Douglass’ bosses did not allow him to read or write so did the guard in the prison where Baca served time. According to Douglass, his masters watched him closely that he could not, even in his free time, read. If in a considerable amount of I was in a different room by myself, my masters would suspect me of having a book and I would at once be asked to give an account” (5). For both Baca and Douglass, knowing how to read and write was an eye opener to them, it gave them a sense of freedom, and made them feel different in self and situation. Both Baca and Douglass eventually learned how to read and write, and become scholars in their fields, and received awards for their work, as well. Susan Madera, Gloria Anzaldúa and Barbara Mellix in their writing discuss their use of multiple languages and how they faced discomfort and conflict as a result of their preferred languages. Mellix describes the conflict between the Black English, the language she was taught at home, and Standard English, the language she was taught in school and was expected to use for communicating with others. She explains how she felt uncomfortable using standard English. She explains how she considered Black English and Standard English as two distinct languages and how she learned when, where and how to use them. “I developed and learned when, where and how to use them”(Mellix 5). This is also similar to what faced Anzaldúa, who was faced with a conflict between Chicano Spanish, Spanish and English. Anzaldúa explains how she too developed an understanding of how, where, and when to use Chicano Spanish. Madera in her writings also explains how she fought the conflict between the two languages she knew, neighborhood and English. She used neighborhood; a language taught at home, which contains colloquialism and many slang words, to speak to friends and family at home (Madera 5). She used English, a complicated, foreign language with many rules, to speak with friends at school. “Neighborhood affected my learning of English language negatively, and I was mocked and could not be understood clearly”(5). This was also the case with Anzaldúa, Mellix and Malcolm X. Malcolm and Mellix claims that their lack of understanding g and knowledge of Standard language made it difficult for people to understand whatever they wrote. Anzaldúa also asserts that Chicano Spanish made people; especially; Latinos and Latinas mock and misunderstand her. Kozol and Baca in their writings tell us of the effects of illiteracy and what it takes to become literate. As earlier mentioned, not knowing how to read and write made Baca feel helpless, so intimidated, vulnerable, scorned and ridiculed. Kozol explains in his writings the dangers associated with illiteracy including how tough it is for illiterates to do normal day-to-day things, and the humiliation and shame that comes with it. “Illiterate people are unable to read letters brought home by their children from the teachers”(Kozol 10). Similar sentiment is shared by Baca who claims her sister was ashamed and felt intimidated since could not read or writes. “One day I asked my sister, when she came visiting me in jail, to pass by the library and get me a note book, and she declined saying she was ashamed…”(Baca 5). Works Cited Anzaldúa, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” Borderlands/La Frontera Mestiza. 3rd ed. Aunt Lute Books, 2007. Print. Baca, Jimmy Santiago. Coming into Language: Essay from Working in the Dark : Reflections of a Poet of the Barrio. Red Crane Books, 1991. Print. Douglass, Frederick. “Learning to Read and Write.” Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Print. Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. The Blair Reader: Exploring Contemporary Issues. 6th ed. London: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print. Kozol, Jonathan. “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society.” Illiterate America. Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1985. 310–15. Print. Madera, Susan. “One Voice.” Across Cultures: a Reader for Writers. 8th ed. Ed. Sheena Gillespie & Robert J. Becker. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. 5–20. Print. Malcolm, X. “Coming to an Awareness of Language.” Reading Culture. Ed. Diana George & John Trimbur. 2009. Print. Mellix, Barbara. “From Outside, In.” The Georgia Review 1987: 384–393. Print. Read More