Se Habla Espanol Barrientos Analysis

While Barrientos and Marquez in the book, The Norton Sampler, both come from very similar cultures, they both have been raised to view their culture in different ways. In, Se Habla Espanol, Tanya Barrientos writes about how when she was younger she took pride in not knowing Spanish, but later wishes she knew the language. Myriam Marquez discusses in, Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public, that she takes pride in speaking Spanish because it is respectful to her culture. In this essay we will look into the ways in which Barrientos and Marquez differ in the ways they have been raised to view their culture.

In, Se Habla Espanol, Barrientos’ family move from Guatemala to the USA where they wish to cut ties with their Hispanic culture. Barrientos

In, Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public, Marquez appeals to the ethos aspect when she says, “We haven’t adopted English as our official family language. For me and most of the bilingual people I know, it’s a matter of respect for our parents and comfort in our cultural roots” (Marquez, 1999, p. 507). This shows logos through growing up in a bilingual family and being raised to speak her natural tongue as a sign of respect to her family and culture.

Marquez also warms the audience’s hearts knowing she speaks her natural tongue as respect to her family, playing into the pathos appeal. In, When and Where We Speak Spanish, Marquez does not write using the logos appeal, but mainly writes telling her story on why she continues to speak her natural tongue while living in America.

While Barrientos was raised having no ties to her Latino culture, due to trying to “fit in” with the American society, Marquez is raised with a different view. Marquez is raised to always show respect to her culture by speaking her natural tongue to her parents even if they’re in public and people don’t approve. She is also taught the respect to switch from Spanish to English to show non Spanish speakers respect. Even though both Barrientos and Marquez are from the Hispanic decent they are both raised to view the Spanish language in different