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The New Groom Policy At English High School Martin Espada Essay

1961 Words8 Pages

“He can rip my tongue out if he wants to. But it won't work porque yo hablo espaol con el corazón.”(L.96-99) This distinctive declaration was said by Martin Espada after being affronted by a bigot outside of the Massachusetts state house for simply speaking Spanish. Espada was born in 1957 in Brooklyn, New York. He has worked multiple jobs including working as a bouncer, tenant lawyer, and a professor of English at the University Of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is best known for his political poetry, which he has won awards for, such as the Poetry Foundation‘s Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. In his essay, “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School, Espada argues linguistic zealots and xenophobia is inexcusable, he writes that bilingualism …show more content…

When talking about his own experience with Spanish as a Puerto Rican from Brooklyn, Espada reports, “I have learned that the best way for me to maintain Spanish is to fight for the right to speak Spanish. Defending the right of all Latinos to use the tongue of their history and identity created in me a passion for Spanish itself.” (L. 16-20) Though Spanish is not his native language and despite looser connection due to the proximity of English and the cultural warfare against Spanish in the United States, Espada is determined to fight to maintain the ability and privilege to speak Spanish as a way to connect with his cultural heritage and identity which also grants him an unintentional passion for the language. Not only does he fight for himself, but he wishes others to experience the pride he has and the value he holds for the Spanish language. On the other hand, Espada presents the dark side of connecting to his identity and cultural …show more content…

In this poem Espada expands on this issue where Anglo Americans view non-human life at the same level or sometimes as more important than non-Anglo Americans through the multiple meaning word aliens. Both non-citizens of the United States and non-citizens of the Earth are called aliens, but xenophobic linguistic bigots view the aliens from Star Trek as more deserving of love, despite only the other being actually real because under those fun costumes and wigs of Star Trek the english language that signifies the belongingness for the bigots persists, undisguised. This dangerous view results in the dehumanization of people of certain backgrounds and allows people to strip essential human rights from those they view as unimportant, guilt free, shown by the approval of Proposition 187. Overall Espada’s essay explains his views on bilingualism and language as a necessary cog in people's identity and culture, due to this standpoint he fights against linguistic zealots, bigots, and others who view non-English languages as anything other than

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Espada implies that English is a language of power. English dialects from professionals “seek to obscure rather than clarify: their intent is not to communicate, but to control” (5-6). Both native and non-native speakers of English do not understand some obscure vocabulary. Moreover, because not everyone understands every complex word, a language barrier forms, putting non-native speakers at a disadvantage. For example, Espada illustrates with a poem “Offerings to an Ulcerated God” the unfair treatment to non-English speakers in court.

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