What Is The Meaning Of Kid English By Richard Rodriguez

Chicano activist had such an issue with the assimialationist approach Mexican Americans took toward life in the U.S because it was forced upon them. When Mexican Americans were trying to assimilate into the United States, they were expected to drop all forms of culture. One of the main problems with how Mexican Americans were trying to be comfortable with was the language barrier. When moving into the country families and parents speaking only spanish, the English language was an intimidating thing. One thing that Rodriguez talks about in the book is that as a kid English was very hard to understand, and it made him very shy and reserved because it was something so unfamiliar to him.

Rodriguez stated how he thought that English Was a public

The spanish language was something that the Mexican Americans had, and could bond over as a culture. Althought they are living amongst society that speaks english and that creates a language barrier, I feel the Americans should not consider the language to dissapear. There is something special about how you were raised and things that make you who you are. Many of these people once they moved to the United states they were expected to rid of those things that help make up who they are. Rodriguez explained that when going to school, he would be so excited to come home because of the peace that came of speaking spanish at home. In the reading from Jacksons chapter it states “that in order for Mexican Americans to gain their full rights as citiens, the community would need to accept Anglo-American culture.” (Jackson, 2010 ) The term Chicano has not always been used as a positive term. It was in the early twentieth century that the word Chicano was used in a derrogatory way. It was used to describe poor Mexican Immigrants who were living in the United States. This problem happening in America needed to be adressed and had a negative impact on Mexican American assimilation. The Mexican American Civil rights activist saw a problem and began to give the term a new identity and culture for the Mexican Americans. This word transformed from something so negative about a culture, to something positive that stood for things such as social injustice, and social change. The tem Chicano started to mean more than just charactorizing a certain group of people or culture, but into a political story. The meaning deepens because of what was fought for this culture, as people began to put their foot down for the mexican Ameican and Chicano Movement it gave the word a political significance. This especially showed through Chicano Art. It is very powerful,