...English Composition “Se Habla Espanol” Summary and Personal Response In the essay "Se Habla Espanol" by Tanya Maria Barrientos, she identifies her struggles of being a Latina native who does not speak the language. From Guatemala, Tanya came to the United States at three years old, in 1963, with her family and gave up communicating in Spanish quickly. Her parents determined that their children would only speak, read, and write English to fit into what they called the “Anglo Society” (Barrientos, 2011). In her younger years, Tanya herself believed that if she fit in with this society, she could escape the Spanish stereotypes. At sixteen, Tanya’s father decided to send her to Mexico to help her see that being called Mexican was not an insult but more of an honor. Tanya was reluctant to go, but when she did, she found out that she loved the environment and culture. Sending her to Mexico gave her a new sense of pride that she didn't exactly know how to sustain. The author opens the essay registering for a Spanish class for the sixth time. According to Tanya in the wake of expressing her last name, she naturally heard that snippet of delay from the other man on the telephone. She reveals how she feels when people see her or hear her last name, they automatically expect her to speak Spanish. Tanya and her family came to the United States in 1963. Immediately at the age of three both of her parents decided that their children would defy the odds of their Guatemalan culture and...
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...because I can relate a lot to it. This essay was written by Tanya Maria Barrientos. This essay will help you see the struggles she had to over come while growing up in The United States and not speaking Spanish her native Language. Mrs Barrientos was born in Guatemala and was raised in El Paso TX. When she was 3 years old her family brought her to The United States. Her parents decided that they were only going to speak English in her household. Her parents had decided that the only way her and her brother could fit-in in the Anglo society was by only speaking English regardless of their Hispanic appearance. She wrote about a time when her parents took her one week late to school because they were on vacation. “At the school's office the registrar frowned when they arrived.” She told them “ you people. Your children are always behind, and you have the nerve to bring them late?” I personally been through that similar situation during my school years while growing up. I love her mothers response when she says “ My children will be at the top of their classes in two weeks.” I bet that took the registrar off track. Since she was young she thought that speaking Spanish meant various things. One of the things was that Spanish meant being poor. Another thing was that it meant waiting tables or cleaning hotel rooms. When she was 16 years old she informed to her father that “she hatted being called Mexican.” Mr Barrientos decided that since he hated that, he was going to send her...
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...Personal Responses to Tanya Maria Barrientos’s “Se Habla Espanol” English 115 July 13, 2014 In her essay “Se Habla Espanol” Tanya Maria Barrientos expresses her struggle of being a pure Latina who doesn’t speak Spanish. Being born in Guatemala, a Spanish speaking country, she and her family moved to the United States of America at three years old. (Barrientos, 2011) now living in Texas her parents made the decision that their children would cease speaking Spanish only to speak, read, and write English molding them into America’s Anglo culture. Barrientos set out to defy the stereotypes being placed on brown people while at the same time believing them herself. She stated “To me, speaking Spanish translated into being poor. It meant waiting tables and cleaning hotel rooms.” (Barrientos) Not being seen as Mexican was a compliment in her eyes while not speaking Spanish equated to being white. Clearly she was not proud of her heritage and at the age of 16 in attempt to reverse the disdain for her culture Barrientos was sent to Mexico for the summer by her father. To her surprise pride emerged but created a new dilemma. How can you be a proud Latina and not speak Spanish? She set out to learn it. After taking several Spanish classes she continued to feel laughable around native Spanish speakers. Not only did she struggle with the language but with the fact that she was now frowned upon as a Spanish woman who can’t speak the language. Barrientos eventually learned to...
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...Summary and Personal Response to Tanya Barrientos’s “ Se Habla Espanol” Honey Jupiter Strayer University English 115 Professor Charles Bretan 01/15/15 Abstract This essay “Se Habla Espanol” by Tanya Barrientos really expresses her struggle with being a Latino who does not speak Spanish. Barrientos was born in Guatemala. At the age of 3, her family moved to the United States. When Barrientos got to the States, she immediately stopped speaking Spanish. Now living in Texas, her parents decided that she could only speak, read, and write English. Barrientos made it a point to fit in with Americans. She hated didn’t like being called Mexican and hated what it seemed to mean to her. She stated, “To me, speaking Spanish translated into being poor. It meant waiting tables and cleaning hotel rooms.” (Barrientos) Barrientos saw it as a compliment not be considered Mexican. Her father wanted to show her that Mexican culture is beautiful and she should be proud of her heritage. Barrientos father sent her to Mexico for the summer in hopes that she would learn to be proud of being called Mexican. Surprisingly, her pride emerged and she wanted to learn to speak Spanish. Over the next couple of decades, the worlds’ view toward different cultures changed. It was okay to be of a different race. No one was associating Mexicans with just being waiters or housekeepers. Barrientos started taking classes, listening to tapes, and even hired a tutor. She even asked her parents to only speak...
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...“SE HABLA ESPANOL” BY BARRIENTOS “SE HABLA ESPANOL” BY BARRIENTOS Rolle, Shakira M WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT 1: ESSAY PROFESSOR: CHARLES BRETAN, ENGLISH115 OCTOBER 20,2015 Rolle, Shakira M WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT 1: ESSAY PROFESSOR: CHARLES BRETAN, ENGLISH115 OCTOBER 20,2015 This story is about a woman, Tanya Maria Barrientos, who struggles with learning her native language, Spanish. It tells how she came to the United States in 1963. This was a time when there was a lot of racial profiling in society. Her parents wanted their children to fit into society without being judged due to their race so they made sure they spoke, wrote, and communicated the English language without flaw. For Tanya, this was appropriate at the time. As Tanya got older, she experienced a time change. Society and their views on ethnicity and identity, shifted. With this type of change, Tanya, being a Latina and not knowing her native language, was frowned upon by other Latinas. Tanya had to take classes to learn the language. She felt like she didn’t fit in with the other Latinas who looked the part and spoke the language. Tanya starts her story with a phone conversation with a Native Latino about starting Spanish classes and when the man on the other end of the line hears her last name, Barrientos, he pauses, knowing the familiarity of it. Tanya was Latino and needed to take his Spanish classes. This reaction, to Tanya was all too familiar. She points this out when she asks, “Do...
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...culture since she was three, Barrientos is fighting to be accepted by the Latino Community. The problem is that she struggles with speaking Spanish; her native language. In Se Habla Español, Barrientos says, Spanish is the unofficial meter of how strong a Latino’s roots truly are (Barrientos, 2004). This summary will analyze the essay “Se Habla Español” by Tanya Maria Barrientos. I will discuss Barrientos’ purpose, her audience, the genre and her tone. As a child, Barrientos was proud of not knowing how to communicate in Spanish. She believed, “speaking Spanish translated into being poor.” (as cited in Barrientos, 2004). She hated being labeled a Mexican and just wanted to fit in. Barrientos wanted nothing to do with being Latino and enjoyed just being an American who happened to from another country. As she grew older, America evolved and so did her views of being a Latina. Wanting to learn more about how Latinos lived as Spanish-Americans, she interviewed Latinos of various spectrums. She learned that if nothing else, Spanish is what ties them all together (Barrientos, 2004).Barrientos inability to speak Spanish made her feel like she couldn’t really call herself a Latina. She worried, when other Latinos see how much she struggles to speak the language, she’ll get that confused stare she witness so many times (Barrientos, 2004). Most people assume she already knows how to speak Spanish because after all, she is Guatemalan. Barrientos wanted share her experiences...
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...SUMMARY OF SE HABLA ESPANOL BY TANYA BARRIENTOS (REVISED) CLARENCE GRANT STRAYER UNIVERSITY English 115 Professor Sophia Russell August 8, 2012 In her essay, Se Habla Espanol writer Tanya Barrientos presents a memoir of a Guatemalan born Latina brought to the United States as a child but failed to identify with her native culture. Now, as an adult, she struggles to regain her Latino identity and acceptance. Barrientos was brought to the United States at a very young age by her parents who immersed her into the American culture by speaking only Spanish. This was to serve the purpose of blending her more readily into her new society and thus, ensuring her success. She describes how Americans during that time were not culturally tolerant and expected foreigners who entered the country to “leave their cultural baggage at the border”. As a result of her parents decision Barrientos assimilates to her new culture and rejects her old one. She took pride in not being able to speak Spanish; and furthermore, she took pride in her American peers saying that she did not seem Mexican. Barrientos states that those comments “made me feel superior. It made me feel American. It made me feel white.” Once her father realized how she felt about her native culture he set out to change her feelings. He sent her to spend time in Mexico City and his plan worked. She returned to the United States with a new appreciation for her Latino roots. She continues...
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...written by Tanya Barrientos takes readers on her personal journey from childhood to adulthood as she begins to embrace her culture. She was born in Guatemala and came to the states at a very young age. Her story touches briefly on different periods of her life as she ages and details her state of mind as she originally did not identify herself as a Latina. Main Points Barrientos’ family moved to the United States when she was just three years old. The family settled in the state of Texas. At this time, the year being 1963 there was a common stigma against people who held on to their culture. To combat this stigma and ensure their children did not have a rough time they changed the way the communicate. Barrientos regularly recalls hearing her parents speak to each other in Spanish, but they would only talk to her and her sibling in English (Roen, Glau, & Maid, 2011, p. 59). Having the Spanish language effectively eliminated from her household at such a young age had a few adverse effects. Barrientos recalls having a sense of pride when being told that she did not seem Mexican by her friends. Between the ages of 7 and 16, her perception of speaking Spanish was a direct correlation between poverty. Her contention for the culture and wish to not be a part of the Latin label resulted in her saying to her father that she hated being called Mexican when she was 16. Her father sent her to Mexico City as a way to avert her contentions, and the trip was successful. Barrientos states...
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...I will be summarizing “Se habla Espanol” a short essay written by Tanya Maria Barrientos by explaining some of the main points and giving my responses to them. The first point that I would like to talk about is how Barrientos brings up the fact that people are confused when they see her in a Spanish class when her appearance and last name would give the impression that she is a full fledge Latino. Barrientos feels that she can’t hide that fact that she is from Latino descent and is expected to know the Spanish culture be able to speak the language. I myself can relate to the criticism she receives because I was born here in the United States yet my parents are immigrants from Spanish speaking countries. Those around me expect me to be able to speak fluent Spanish because of my appearance but I unfortunately cannot. Barrientos expresses her fear of being called a Mexican as it makes her feel inferior to the white race. She states “To me, speaking Spanish translated into being poor. It meant waiting tables and cleaning hotel rooms.” She did not want anything to do with her heritage or culture because society in the United States at the time portrayed any race other than white to be inferior. Barrientos is sent to Mexico by her father to reverse this disdain for her culture and to her surprise she becomes fascinated by it and begins to feel a form of pride. Barrientos now wants to learn as much Spanish as possible and wants to immerse herself in her heritage. The purpose...
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...Toshiba Watson Tonja McCurdy-Jennings ENG115221VA016-1132-001 English Composition 12 February 2013 In the essay, Se Habla Espanol writer Tanya Barrientos writes a memoir about a Guatemalan born Latina brought to the United States as a child but failed to learn about her native culture. Now as an adult, she fights to regain her Latino identity and acceptance. Barrientos was brought to the United States at a very young age by her parents who absorbed her into the American culture by speaking only Spanish. This was to serve the purpose of blending her more readily into her new society and thus, ensuring her success. She describes how Americans during that time were not culturally tolerant and expected foreigners who entered the country to “leave their cultural baggage at the border”. As a result of her parents decision Barrientos embraces to her new culture and rejects her old one. She took pride in not being able to speak Spanish; and furthermore, she took pride in her American peers saying that she did not seem Mexican. Barrientos states that those comments “made me feel superior. It made me feel American. It made me feel white.” Once her father realized how she felt about her native culture he set out to change her feelings. He sent her to spend time in Mexico City and his plan worked. She returned to the United States with a new appreciation for her Latino roots. She continues on to state that as she became more accepting of her native culture so had American society...
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...SE HABLA ESPANOL SE HABLA ESPANOL Tanya Barrientos Serena Moore Strayer University Eng 115 Anthonia Adadevoh Assignment 1 I believe her most important point in her writing is that americans look on other ethnic backgrounds can be harsh and bias and can alter people's perceptions to native americans. When she first came to america people wasn't to open to native americans thus making them feel in order to be successful in this country they had to “ drop their cultural baggage at the border and erase any lingering ethnic traits,” explained Barrientos. So as a child it gave the impression that anglo society was the way to be if you wanted to be accepted and successful in this country. Barriento parents also believed this and basically erased any of their heritage to their children and thus erased any pride to be called an latino. Now as society changed Barrientos changed also. It was ok to be proud of your ethnic background but that created a dilemma because she had no idea of her cultural background and the beauty of being different. So she had to learn about her heritage basically start as a child's level to obtain the knowledge that other latino know and carried on into this country...
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...The essay I chose for this assignment was “Se Habla Espanol” By Tanya Barrientos. While reading some of the passages from the essay, you learn a lot about the author and her journey of being a Latina woman living in America. You can tell that she has a hard time accepting that she is an English speaking, Latina woman. Once Tanya moved to America, at age three, she lost the ability to speak any Spanish. Even while talking with her parents they spoke in English. She tried asking her parents to speak to her in Spanish, but they raised her to believe that if she spoke English, she would “make it” in America. Her parents believed that if she could speak English without any sign of an accent, she would be seen as a true American, despite her obvious ethnicity. From this, she began to look at her heritage in a negative way. From pure observation she related speaking Spanish, with being poor. Between her friends and her family, she felt like she was fighting alone in the strive to be a part of her hidden culture. When she was sixteen, she realized she hated Mexico for the wrong reasons. Her father wanted to show her that she could be proud of where she comes from, as well as fitting in in America. She then discovered that she loved her culture. By the time Tanya was in college, the way people thought was different. She had noticed a big change in how the nation viewed ethnic identity. As she states in the essay, “Not all Poles speak Polish. Not all Italians speak Italian...
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...Short Writing Assignment 2: Se Habla Español (83-87) Sneh Shah Mayer Amanda ENG 100 September 9th The text “Se Habla Español” by Tanya Barrientos touched my heart because I can find a connection with her point of view, and by showing me how important cultural roots are. Tanya points out the importance of race and ethnicity within the USA, and that it is ok to embrace your heritage in a world that sees you as different. This text mainly refers to a Latin American girl from Guatemala who was brought to The United States when she was a little kid. Her native tongue was Spanish; however, she was not able to speak it as a consequence of being part of a society that generally rejects emigrants. This reflection was imposed by her parents in her childhood. As a kid, she was not taught or spoken Spanish at home, only English. Her parents feared that her daughter Tanya would be rejected in the future by the American society.” Because speaking Spanish translated into being poor. It meant waiting tables and cleaning hotel rooms.” (84). Her parents did not want this, they wanted her to be successful and so making her life easier by being involved with Americans. In the short text that we can read Tanya occasionally uses Spanish terms. The reason is for the reader to see Tanya’s perspective of knowing Spanish, without knowing the language whilst there is a feeling of being left out. The Spanish word may also suggest that she is slowly transforming by becoming proud of her roots...
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...Response First Last Name Prof. ENG 115 – English Comp. 00/00/2015 This is the story of Tanya Barrientos journey from a child who saw herself as any other Caucasian person but ashamed of who she actually was to becoming someone who embraces her heritage and has a deep appreciation for her culture. Tanya and her family came to the U.S. when she was only three years old in the sixties. She and her brother were raised to be as American as possible by putting aside their language and culture and living by the presumable ‘American Dream’. She says as a child “I liked being the brown girl who defied expectations” (pg. 58). It wasn’t until the year she and her brother started school late that she caught a glimpse of racism when the person in charge of registering children for school made the comment “You people. Your children are always behind, and you have the nerve to bring them in late?” And my mother came back to her with “My children will be at the top of their classes in two weeks!” (pg. 58) Tanya mentions that her family lived in a predominantly white neighborhood in West Texas devoid of color, and she believed that people who did speak Spanish were considered poor and could only work menial labor jobs. It didn't affect Tanya that her parents spoke Spanish because she knew they were from another country; she felt she was above Hispanics and didn't want to be one. As a teenager, Tanya confessed to her father that she disliked being thought of as Mexican. After that, her father...
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... Professor Wandra Polk 01.31.2013 Summary and Personal Response Se Habla Espanol by Tanya Barrientos was about a Latina girl who struggled with her identity. She was born in Guatemala but has lived in America since she was three years old. In the beginning she was somewhat embarrassed by her Hispanic heritage. Tanya felt inferior to the white people because of how she looked and because of her last name. The tone of the essay was a serious and desperate cry for help. It seemed she was speaking to anyone who could listen and relate to her. Tanya wrote from her point of view and how she felt like a “gringa” trapped in a Latina girl’s body. Tone Tanya had been through the whole situation of taking tutoring to help her develop her Spanish speaking a half dozen times already. She had become frustrated and did not know where she belonged in society. She viewed herself inferior to the others in her class and wanted others to pretend she was a white girl wanting to learn Spanish. She was struggling with her identity and spent a lot of time and money trying to find her true self. You can’t blame her for feeling that way. She saw the type of treatment her parents received when she was a child enrolling in school. All she wanted was a place in society. Audience The primary audience Tanya was speaking to would be anyone in the same situation as she was. It could be another person of Hispanic descent or any other race trying...
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