Cultural Identities
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People are often categorized by themselves and by others along a variety of dimensions. People can be grouped according to race primarily by skin color and other physical characteristics, ethnicity by their national origin or ancestry, social class, and their own feelings of group membership. Whatever choice is made regarding group membership, language is often a key signal of identification. In her essay, "Linguistic Terrorism," Gloria Anzalda writes about the defectiveness of her native tongue and the criticism she has received. In "It's Hard Enough Being Me," Anna Lisa Raya writes about her cultural awakening as a first year college student. Anzalda and Raya share some similarities, but differ in age, status, and ethnic identity.
"Linguistic Terrorism" can be described as Anzalda's version of linguistic oppression and the necessity for maintaining one's native language. Anzaldua's essay is an evocative statement of the potency of linguistic integrity. Her words drift easily between poetry and prose to create her Chicano images. Anzalda describes the necessity of preserving Chicano Spanish as a way to communicate in code, to say to white society that Chicanos are different...