9.14
English
Marjorie Agosín
Translated by Mónica Bruno
A descendant of Russian and Austrian Jews, Marjorie Agosín (b. 1955) was born in Maryland and raised in Chile. She returned to the United States with her parents when the military dictator Augusto Pinochet overthrew the socialist government of Salvador Allende. Agosín’s writings reflect her diverse heritage, especially the experience of Jewish refugees, and she has received international acclaim for her work on behalf of poor women in developing countries. Agosín has written many books of fiction, memoirs, essays, and collections of bilingual poems in Spanish and English. In this poem, which first appeared in the magazine Poets & Writers in 1999, Agosín turns from technical, linguistic characteristics to compare the spirit of two languages.
I
I discovered that English
is too skinny,
functional,
precise,
5 too correct,
meaning
only one thing.
Too much wrath,
too many lawyers and sinister policemen,
10 too many deans at schools for small females,
in the Anglo-
II
In contrast Spanish
has so many words to say come with me friend,
make love to me on
15 the césped, the grama, the pasto.1
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Let’s go party,
at dusk, at night, at sunset.
Spanish
loves
20 the unpredictable, it is
dementia,
all windmills and velvet.
III
Spanish
is simple and baroque,
25 a palace of nobles and beggars,
it fills itself with silences and the breaths of dragonflies.
Neruda’s verses
saying “I could write the saddest verses
tonight,”
30 or Federico swimming underwater through the greenest of greens.
IV
Spanish
is Don Quijote maneuvering,
Violeta Parra grateful
spicy, tasty, fragrant
35 the rumba, the salsa, the cha-
There are so many words
to say
naive dreamers
and impostors.
40 There are so many languages in our
language: Quechua, Aymará, Rosas chilensis,2 Spanglish.
V
I love the imperfections of
Spanish,
the language takes shape in my hand:
45 the sound of drums and waves,
the Caribbean in the radiant foam of the sun,
are delirious upon my lips.
English has fallen short for me,
it signifies business,
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50 law
and inhibition,
never the crazy, clandestine,
clairvoyance of
love.
seeing connections
Below is Agosín’s poem “English” in its original language, Spanish.
If you speak Spanish, discuss what decisions by the translator you find interesting. How is the effect of this poem about the deficiencies of the English language changed when it is read in Spanish?
I
He descubierto que el inglés
es demasiado delgado, funcional.
Preciso
demasiado correcto
significando
sólo una cosa, demasiada ira.
Demasiados abogados y policias siniestros,
demasiados Decanos para escuelas de pequeñas señoritas.
En el idioma anglosajón.
II
En contraste,
el español,
tiene tantas palabras para decir ven mi amigo
haz el amor conmigo,
en el césped, la grama, el pasto.
Vamos a celebrar,
en el crepúsculo, en la noche, en la puesta del sol.
El español ama lo impredecible.
Es demencia
Solo molinos, solo terciopelo.
III
El español es simple y barroco.
Palacio de nobles y mendigos.
Se llena de silencios y el aliento de las libélulas.
Los versos de Neruda,
diciendo, “Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche.”
Tal vez Federico nadando bajo el agua en la espesura del verdor
más verde.
IV
El español es Don Quijote manobriando
Violeta Parra agradecida,
picante, deliciosa, fragante.
La rumba, la salsa el cha cha cha.
Hay tantas maneras de decir,
soñadores inocentes.
También impostores.
Hay tantos idiomas en nuestros idiomas.
Quechua, Aymara, Rosa Chilensis,
Spanglish.
V
Amo las imperfecciones del español
El lenguaje se acomoda a mi mano.
El sonido de sueños y oleajes,
el Caribe radiante en su espuma de sol,
son un delirio en mis labios.
El inglés, me ha quedado demasiado pequeño
significa negocios.
Leyes.
Inhibiciones.
Nunca la locura clandestina
clarividente del amor.
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Understanding and Interpreting
In the opening section, Marjorie Agosín defines English with a series of descriptions and images. What does it mean for English to be “skinny” (l. 2)? What do you think Agosín is suggesting when she says that there are “too many deans at schools for small females, / in the Anglo-
Saxon language” (ll. 10– 11)? In your own words, what characterizes English from Agosín’s perspective? Agosín opens the second stanza with “In contrast.” What is the primary contrast between Spanish and English that she draws?
How can Spanish be both “simple and baroque” (l. 24)?
What do the various historical figures or authors who appear or are alluded to in the poem—
Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca, Don Quijote, Violeta Parra— have in common, apart from their use of the Spanish language? What is your understanding of Agosín’s description of Spanish as “the language [that] takes shape in my hand” (l. 44)?
Based on this poem, what qualities of language does Agosín prize? Would you say that she is criticizing English or just praising Spanish?
Is the title appropriate? Why not call the poem “Spanish” (or use a Spanish word)?
Analyzing Language, Style, and Structure
What elements of humor do you find in this poem? Is it playful, mocking, sarcastic? Cite specific lines and images as you explain the effect Agosín achieves with humor.
Note the figurative language that Agosín uses to describe Spanish. Identify at least three examples and discuss their effect.
Note the difference in rhythm in the sections of the poem about English and those on Spanish. How do the different sounds and pacing reinforce the speaker’s meaning?
How does the five-
part structure of the poem support its meaning? In what ways might each of these stanzas be seen as a “chapter” in the story Agosín is telling? What is that story? To what extent do you think that the Spanish words and phrases and the references to Spanish and Latin American artists suggest that Agosín believes her audience will consist primarily of readers who are familiar with the Spanish language and culture?
How would you describe the tone of this poem?
Connecting, Arguing, and Extending
Challenge Agosín’s argument about the limitations of English. Write an essay or poem that presents a counterargument to the one Agosín makes in “English.”
Record yourself or a classmate reading “English,” or read with someone to alternate “English” and “Spanish” voices. Add background music that captures the ideas and tone of each section.
In this poem, Agosín asserts the pride she feels for her heritage language and implies why she has chosen to write in Spanish, even though she has lived and taught in the United States for many years. Using this poem and your understanding of what it means to be bilingual, discuss the relationship between identity and language.