Anzaldua

She tells many stories of different Spanish cultures. For instance, she names Standard and Working Class English as the languages that she learned in school and from the media. All around the country, people speak every language possible. e Serpent, Anzaldua paints a picture of her culture and defines what culture is to her. Her own people forced her to live her life in a state of division. Chicano Texas Spanish is the language that is closest to her heart and the one she uses when speaking to her mom, younger brother, aunts and older relatives. She tried to conform to the white man?s expectation and was then called a ?pocho? (cultural traitor). But ask yourself, does America have a common language? America is made up of many different cultures, that is why people come to America, for freedom. Anzaldua draws a connection between her identity and the various languages she uses. The Chicanos were looked down upon by both their bordering peoples. Americans were angered that they did not speak the ?common? language of English. Spanish people did not like that Chicanos did not speak the traditional Spanish. Included in that freedom is freedom of speech. Who is to say that English is the language that should be spoken?. Anzaldua examines the origins of some of the different languages she speaks, and in doing so she reveals the processes of transculturation that helped to shape them.