El uso del "Foreign Tongue"

Bueno pues, I came across a text today that purported to provide the rules for using a “foreign tongue” when writing in English. One can only use “foreign” language as one would use a dialect, to emphasize the foreignness, to make the foreignness more present for the reader as in: I want to eat chilaquiles or That boy loves these tacos or My mom makes great pasteles. Pero cuando se explora un concepto más grande o se utiliza una frase más larga (but when a larger concept is being explored or a longer phrase utilized) one must repeat the meaning of the phrase in English in order to never ever lose the monolingual reader. Me cae super-gordo todo esto. I don’t want to always think about the monolingual reader. My favorite writers don’t always worry about the monolingual reader. I remember about six years ago at a Queer Aztlán conference in Austin, I heard Cherríe Moraga say, I want to read writers who write for me. I’m sick of reading writers who aim for el lector promedio. I’m ready for writers who push the boundaries, who aren’t afraid to lose el lector promedio, monolingüe, who write for bilingual Chicana lesbian feminists and caring tampiqueña Move-On members who studied in Iowa and over-educated red diaper Jews who study Zion and tijuanenses bilingües que leen este bloguito. Como dicen en la radio aquí en Houston: ¡And Proud! Y que vayan a la chingada todos los demás (and fuck all the rest).

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