Miley Cyrus's Short Story 'The Coconut'

“With my identity as a Mexican, it’s always like ‘Oh, you cross the border?’ Not really though, because I’m actually American and my parents are Mexican,” said Alina Sanchez, alumna of Ramapo College Class of 2016. “Every now and then, it could be a joke but it could also build up and go to the point where it bottles up inside.”

All my Hispanic friends are bilingual so we never had any communication issues. Several years ago, I received an invitation to Juan’s 15th birthday party a Mexican tradition celebrating a young boy turning into a man. At the party, Hispanic people of different ages gathered in the hallway speaking Spanish and the only people who spoke English were Juan and his sister. Instantly, I was overcome with discomfort, feeling extremely anxious. First, I quickly searched the room for Juan seeking his attention. In fact, I expressed how uncomfortable I felt not knowing anyone and not being able to understand the language spoken, so Juan promised to be my personal interpreter for the day. Actually, Juan acknowledged most of the guests were family and friends from Mexico who specifically came to celebrate his special occasion, but they did not speak or understand a word of English. At that moment, I felt so awkward being the only non-Spanish speaker, since none of our English-speaking friends attended. Unfortunately as the honoree, Juan had commitments to greet guests, communicate with relatives, take family pictures, dance with his mother, and cut the cake, which left me standing alone most of the time. During Juan’s absence, I found his sister Estella among

“I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess-that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler. I remember being sent to the corner of the classroom for “talking back” to the Anglo teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name. “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.”

One of the biggest norms in the community is to be bilingual or know your way in Spanish. I do not carry this ability causing conflict within my community and even at home. Most of us have a family member who can only speak Spanish and in my case it is my

“No! I am not Hispanic, I am Latino. My family comes from (Insert Latin Country Here) we speak a version of Spanish, but it is not Spanish.”

Reading response to “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” by Gloria Anzaldua. In Gloria Anzaldua’s 1987 article, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” she expresses some of the cultural struggles and lifestyles of the central American culture that Americans do not think about, let alone know about. She starts off illustrating an experience she had at the dentist office which triggered many thoughts and feelings about her culture. The Dentist claimed her tongue was “strong and stubborn,” in other words, “you need to tame your tongue.” She then thought back at a time, in her childhood, where she was punished for not “taming her tongue.” Only, this recollection was of a time she hadn’t tamed her native Spanish speaking tongue, which set off her memory of how her family and culture felt about children speaking at all. Gloria went on to tell about the different dialects of the Spanish language such as, how each differed, how each was generated, what the culture was like behind them, and which ones she closely identified with. Those who speak different dialects, from those in other parts of North America, have developed this feeling of isolation due to the views of those who speak the more formal dialects. Those who speak a more formal dialect may judge someone who speaks an Americanized version of Spanish dialect such as Chicano Spanish because it is seen as improper or culturally incorrect; therefore, many Spanish speakers may resort to speaking English with one another to avoid embarrassment or

Being a Mexican-American, who was raised in the small town of Encarnación de Díaz – located at Los Altos de Jalisco, MX, – and then moved at the age of seventeen to Corpus Christi, TX, was not a smooth transition. The most difficult things I have encountered in my life must have been speaking a new language and adapting to a new type of living. I was fortunate enough to have amazing teachers who taught me to read, write and speak in English back in Mexico, but I was still not confident enough to speak the language when I arrived here. Although, many have told me that my English doesn’t sound as if I just moved here five years ago, I still believe I have so much more to learn.

“Oh my god you are such a fucking coconut;” that is a phrase I hear sometimes being by one Mexican to another. The word “fucking” is important in that sentence as it is inserted to emphasize the disapproval felt by the person doing the name calling. When someone is called a coconut, the person is being called out as to being white, whether it is acting white, dressing white, or speaking white. This person is brown on the outside, white on the inside. So then by that logic, it is a bad thing to be too assimilated to the American way of life. Then there is the word “paisa:” this word, in a nutshell, means too Mexican. Used to refer to those so weren’t born in the U.S. or those who weren’t brought over a young age so they speak English with an accent and remain primarily close to their Mexican heritage. Paisa is taken from Spanish word paisano and a paisano is someone who shares the same country of origin, usually from the parent’s country of birth as the child would be first generation American. Ideally I suppose then that there would be a middle ground, not too “white” and not too “paisa” but that ground does not exist. The line is too fine for it to not ever be crossed and worse yet, those who are called “paisa” by first generations see those first generations a disgrace to their heritage because they reject where they come from. Intra-racial discrimination happens, but isn’t just associated to Mexicans, it happens in every

On the first day, I befriended two Latina best friends and felt like there were other people like me. That sense of comfort left me as soon as I walked into Spanish class. Notably, I did not speak Spanish; I understood it but definitely did not speak. Almost immediately people wanted me on their teams so that they could win. Most of them assumed that because I looked Latina then I must speak perfect Spanish; so they thought of me as more of a Siri than as a fellow kid.

At first, speaking English was a bit difficult because I did not feel confident using it with others. The most advanced students sometimes made fun of my English. The students who spoke my own language made more fun of me than the ones who were fluent in English. The teasing by the students made me feel embarrassed and shy to speak the English language, giving me a fear of being made fun of or looked at differently. Practicing the English language with my own siblings and playing with the neighborhood kids who already managed the language gave me more confidence to speak English. Taking Spanish courses in school was also an advantage, which helped me to get better at my native language and kept me from losing it.

The Chicano Spanish people are a discriminated group of people in a society where they felt rather ashamed of their language. In the essay of what Anzaldua wrote about the Chicano Spanish were discriminating themselves of being a marginalized group that their language was socially inferior to the dominant discourse, the English language in America. The Chicano, or the Spanish people, in American society’s goal was that they wanted to get rid of their cultural language in order for the Chicanos to become “ Americanized” by speaking the dominant language. Eventually, the Chicano Spanish people, then felt uncomfortable that their traditional language by speaking Spanish to Americans and other people who speak Spanish as well as they were making low assumptions of them; therefore, the Spanish people resort by speaking English as a neutral language for them to communicate to the people of society without feeling embarrassed. In spite of using the dominant language as a source of communication, they require a distinct language for them to communicate themselves rather than speaking the English language. For the Chicano Spanish that they were the complex, heterogeneous people as they spoke in many variety of different languages” (28). From school, the media, and the job situations, I’ve picked up standard and working-class English. From

My first language learned and spoken at home was spanish. Although us Salvadorians speak spanish we say and pronounce certain words differently. It?s almost like the difference between the American and British english. We speak spanish but have different words which sometimes causes confusion to other spanish speakers. I remembered one day me and my mexican friend were talking about her upcoming quinceanera. I remember telling her, ?It?s going to be so much fun learning the dance moves for the special dance! Although I bet some of the bichos are going to be messing around and acting immature?. The confusing in her face after hearing me say that was priceless and I couldn?t help but burst out laughing. ?Did you just call the boys insects??, she

Spanish is my native language, however, my mother advised my siblings and I to speak only English. This was because she was afraid that we would be rejected from professional careers if our English wasn 't unaccented, fluent, and similar in refinement to the working class whites. With time, I became a fluent English speaker with a developed Central American accent but like, any other young girl, I thought nothing of it. That is until one event, in particular, occurred that would cast a shadow of embarrassment onto my Spanish language. This event not only led me to desert my entire native language but a sense of my cultural identity, as well.

Up to $16/h.” So she said, “Why don’t you give it a try.”, and I responded “That’s our chance, baby.” I walked in to pizza place and asked cashier if they needed drivers. The cashier called the manager, who literally asked me just a few questions, about my immigration status, if I had a social security number, if I had a car with GPS and when can I start. Next day at 10 AM I was at work and I was very excited. I thought that I will be working with English speaking co-workers, but almost all the folks at the pizzeria were from Brazil and spoke fluent Portuguese and broken English. They almost never spoke English, except when with the customer or I asked for help, so I could not rely on work environment too much to learn any

My native language is Spanish and second language is English. The language I was first taught was Spanish, my parents and relatives all speak Spanish so it is my native language. When I started school at the age of 4 my teachers and classmates spoke only English. As the years passed by they started teaching me grammar rules and how to pronounce words. My parents spoke Spanish to me, but it was nothing compared to learning new nursery rhymes that helped me grasp the language without too much difficulty. I can communicate with people in Spanish but I feel like I have an accent with my Spanish. It does not come as naturally as my English does, I can say a sentence without thinking about it while Spanish I have to think of the meaning of words and I stutter when trying to say a complete sentence. At home I speak Spanish but when I am with friends, cousins, or out in public I only speak English.