Running head: A LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS
A Linguistic Analysis of the Character Gloria Delgado from Modern Family
Molloy College
Abstract
Speaking English as a second language poses many difficulties. One must consider phonology, morphology, semantics, pragmatics, and language transfer issues. Often times, errors made in any of the linguistic categories mentioned above lead to misunderstanding and embarrassment. Hollywood is notorious for highlighting peoples’ spoken English errors, whether or not they are native English speakers. This analysis investigates the television series Modern Family, and its exploitation of a native Spanish speakers attempt at speaking English.
A Linguistic Analysis of the Character Gloria Delgado from Modern Family
Introduction
Modern America has a wide variety of English dialects, both the common versions belonging to specific geographic locations, as well as varying versions created by immigrants. Some of the rules of English are slowly disappearing as a result of the new breed of English speakers in America. Immigrants bring not only their traditions and cultures, but also their ideas of how to speak English. In some instances, people in urban settings can more easily understand an immigrant speaking English, than for example, a native English speaker from another area of the United States.
Background
Modern Family, created and produced by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, is an American sitcom in its second season on ABC. The series is largely based around Lloyd and Levitan’s own family experiences. The setting is California, and the plot revolves around a father, his two grown children, and their respective families. Jay, the patriarch (played by Ed O’Neill), married Gloria Delgado (played by Sofia Vergara). Gloria is a young, lively, passionate, and beautiful native Spanish speaker from Colombian with an adolescent son named Manny. She is also about the same age as Jay’s two grown children. Jay’s oldest child Claire is married to Phil Dunphey, and they have three children. Jay’s younger child Mitchell is gay, and lives with his partner Cameron; together they are raising Lily, an adopted infant daughter from Vietnam. The episode being analyzed is entitled, “Halloween,” and follows the three families activities leading up to a Halloween gathering at Claire’s house on Halloween night.
Phonology
According to Rowe and Levine (2009), phonology deals with the nature of speech sounds, and is concerned with the factors that are rooted in language as a system; that is, with the intrinsic systems used to organize speech sounds.
Much of the humor attributed to Gloria is a direct result of her Colombian accent. The running joke on the show is that no one understands what she is saying even though she is speaking relatively good English. A great example of Gloria’s phonological errors impeding her ability to communicate clearly and effectively was evident in the kitchen scene. A package arrived in the mail and Gloria was excited to give it to Jay because she thought she knew what was in it, a box of miniature cheese and crackers; she explained that she called his secretary and asked her to order them. However, when Jay opened the box they were both surprised to find it filled with tiny statues of Jesus! Unfortunately, when Gloria said cheeses it sounded like Jesus.
Kitchen Scene
Gloria: (Excitedly) Jay, this came for you!
Jay: Oh, hi honey. What is it?
Gloria: I called your secretary and told her to order you some crackers and those cheeses that you like… the tiny, little ones.
(Fast forward) Jay opens the postal box at this point and looks inside with a very confused expression.
Jay: What the hell is this?
Gloria: I told you Jay; I called your secretary and told her to order you a box of baby cheeses.
Jay pulls out a baby Jesus. He holds it up.
Gloria: (Very upset and angry) Ooohhh… so now that is my fault too!
Gloria then turns and storms off, wide eyed, realizing she made a mistake.
Imagine the secretary’s surprise and confusion at Gloria’s seemingly bizarre request. When a person speaks English with an accent of any kind, it can be very difficult for people to comprehend them. In Modern Family, accented speech is used to create humor; however, in real life this can be a cause for embarrassment, miscommunication, and misunderstanding that can have serious consequences.
After the cheese incident, Gloria asks Jay to be honest with her about the way she speaks and he begins to list various examples of mispronunciations that she frequently makes that cause others to become confused. As he lists her infractions, she becomes more and more upset. Some of the examples Jay gives include:
Jay: (Nervous laugh) Well it’s not blessings in the skies… it’s blessings in DISguise.
Gloria: (Growing impatient) What else?
Jay: Carpal tunnel syndrome is not carpool tunnel syndrome.
Gloria: (Angry with nostrils flaring) And what else?
Jay: It’s not volumptous…
Gloria: (Interrupts angrily) Okay! Enough! I know that I have an accent but people understand me just fine!
However, as previously mentioned, the scene ends with Jay opening a box of Jesus statues because his secretary misunderstood Gloria’s request for “baby cheeses.” Gloria does not admit to Jay that he is right about her phonological errors, but the viewers see Gloria’s expression which clearly acknowledges that her pronunciations cause confusion and misunderstanding
In another scene, Gloria is trying to explain to Jay that she picked out his Halloween costume; he was going to be a gargoyle. As a result of her accent, she continuously mispronounced the word gargoyle as gargle throughout the episode. Each time she said the word, someone became confused by it and made a comment about it, and that upset her.
Carpool Scene
Jay: Did you ever do anything about the costumes for Claire’s thing tonight?
Gloria: I’m going to pick them up this afternoon. You’re going to be a gargle and I’m gonna be a evil village bruha.
Jay: (sighs) I know less now than I did before I asked.
Gloria: (Sensing Jay’s confusion)A bruha is a witch and a gargle is a gargle.
Manny: (Interrupts from the back seat again) She means gargoyle.
Gloria: (Turns around and looks at Manny with frustration) That’s what I said.
One last example of the result of Gloria’s mispronunciation of the word gargoyle and its catastrophic effects is evident in the haunted house scene; Claire is busy scolding everyone for their less than perfect performances in her haunted house setup when she manages to upset both Cam and Gloria. When Gloria refers to Jay as ‘the gargle” Claire responds, “What is she saying?” in a very confused and frustrated tone. At this point, Gloria has had enough of everyone making her feel bad because she mispronounces words and she storms out of the house.
Haunted House Scene
Cam says something that gets Claire upset again and Gloria interjects:
Gloria: (Crazy accent) Claire just doesn’t understand Cam; maybe she’s never been picked on for being different.
Claire: When? When, Gloria, have you ever been picked on for (mocking Gloria’s new, bizarre accent) “being different”?
Gloria: (In her real voice and accent, frustrated) Ask the gargle!
Claire: (Looks around at everyone confused and whispers) What is she saying?
Gloria storms out of the house and Jay follows.
Finally, the episode ends with yet another scene involving people highlighting Gloria’s phonological errors. All the family members are standing around in Gloria’s kitchen sharing their experiences with Gloria’s mispronunciations, and at first everyone is laughing along, including Gloria, but once again she becomes angry with everyone’s relentless ridicule and she erupts and orders everyone to leave.
Final Scene in Gloria and Jay’s kitchen
The entire family is standing around the kitchen island, laughing and snacking and sharing
stories about Gloria’s English errors:
Manny: (Laughing) Oh and one time she says,
“Don’t choke or I’ll have to give you the handenberg maneuver.”
Everyone laughs.
Phil: If you tell her she doesn’t have a choice she’ll say,
(Mocking her Colombian accent) “Don’t you give me an old tomato.”
Everyone laughs.
Mitchell: Or when she…
Gloria: (Suddenly, angrily cuts Mitchell off, with her hands in the air) Okay! Enough! You try speaking in another language! Everybody! Out of my house!
Morphology
Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning; morphology is the study of the structure and classification of words and the units that make up the words (Rowe & Levine, 2009).
In addition to Gloria’s accent being used for comedic effect, her morphological mistakes are also highlighted for the same outcome. Gloria has a habit of using incorrect prepositions, verb tenses and general word choices. In the opening scene, Gloria is driving Manny and his classmate to school when Jay calls. She puts him on speaker phone, and he inquires about where she is and what she is doing. Her answer causes him great confusion, and in return upsets her. She says she is going to the “dropout,” when she means the drop off location at Manny’s school. Jay thinks she is referring to a child that will one day be a dropout and makes a comment about the child. Gloria becomes confused in return because she does not understand why Jay is suddenly talking about this other child. In addition, she says, “…where you drop the kids in the school,” the correct preposition is at, not in; however, in the Spanish language the word en is used for both in and at, so a language transfer problem is ultimately to blame. Thankfully, Manny is in the car and is able to clarify what Gloria is trying to say. To add to the confusion, instead of using the words “going to,” she drops the ending from going, and avoids the preposition to entirely, replacing the phrase with the word “gonna.” Lastly, Gloria uses the incorrect form of the indefinite article “a” before the word evil; she should have said, “an evil bruha;” Parrot (2010) explains that in English we use the indefinite article “an” when it precedes a word that begins with a vowel or vowel sound.
Later on in the kitchen scene, Gloria is speaking to Jay about her language issues and she says, “First Manny correcting me and now you…” She used the incorrect verb tense for correct; she should have used the past tense ending and said corrected. In addition, she left out the verb “to be” entirely when referring to Jay. She should have said, “and now you are.”
Carpool Scene
Gloria: Hola Jay!
Jay: Where are you?
Gloria: I have Manny in the carpool and we’re going to the dropout.
Jay: Drop out? You mean that Eddy kid? Yeah, he’s a moron.
Gloria: Noooo the drop out…. where you drop the kids in the school.
Manny: (Interrupts from the backseat) She means drop off.
Gloria: (Turns around and looks at Manny with a frown) That’s what I said…
(Later in the scene…)
Gloria: I’m going to pick them up this afternoon. You’re going to be a gargle and I’m gonna be a evil village bruha.
Semantics
Semantics is the study of the meaning of linguistics expressions, such as morphemes, words, phrases, clauses and sentences (Rowe & Levine, 2009).
One of the most challenging aspects of learning a new language is identifying and comprehending idioms. Idioms are utterances in which there is a contradiction between the meaning of the parts of the utterance and the entire utterance (Rowe & Levine, 2009). Idioms play an important role in the humor created by Gloria; sometimes she translates Spanish idioms into English and they sound ridiculous, or she uses English idioms incorrectly. The “Halloween” episode was full of instances where Gloria used idioms incorrectly, leading to hilarious results.
In an early scene, Jay is listing all the pronunciation mistakes Gloria makes and he includes an example of the idiom, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world.” Gloria not only mispronounces the words, but also completely misunderstands the meaning behind the expression. Instead, she has her own idea of what it means which is quite contrary to the actual meaning.
Gloria and Jay’s Kitchen Scene
Jay: Okay, well I may have noticed some tiny, little mistakes you make that you might want to take a look at…
Gloria: (looking down shyly) Like what?
Jay: Just little mispronunciations... like for example, last night you said,
“We live in a doggy dog world.”
Gloria: So.
Jay: Well, it’s dog-EAT-dog.
Gloria: (laughing) That doesn’t make any sense! Who wants to live in a world where dogs eat each other? Doggy dog world is a beautiful world full of little puppies.
Although Gloria had her own understanding of what the expression dog-eat-dog meant, she quickly learns the actual implied message and correctly uses the idiom later in the episode as a way of insulting Jay and Claire.
Haunted House Scene
Claire proceeds to point out each family members’ acting errors and arrives at Gloria:
Claire: And Gloria, since when do you speak English?
Gloria: (Angry and with the crazy accent) Oh, oh so now you have a problem with the way I speak? Like father, like daughter, in this dog EAT dog family!
In the final scene, Cam provides on more example of an idiom that Gloria uses incorrectly. This example highlights both a phonological and semantic error. Although she uses the idiom in the right context, which is commendable, she uses the wrong words. As a result, the idiom has completely lost its meaning, and again has become another avenue for mocking Gloria’s speech.
Cam: Or one time she caught me staring off and she goes,
(Cam mocking her Colombian accent) “Cam, what’s wrong? You look like a deer in head lice.”
Pragmatics
Rowe and Levine (2009), define pragmatics as the study of the effect of context on meaning. Within the realm of pragmatics, utterances can be can be used to identify either social meaning or affective meaning.
Rowe and Levine (2009), go on to explain that social meaning is the information in an utterance that tells the listener something about the speaker’s regional origin, social class, or educational level. Concerning social meaning, an entire scene is dedicated to Gloria’s attempt to mask her Colombian accent and instead use proper English. People often consciously and deliberately consider the social meaning of their speech when they change from one manner of speaking to another” (Rowe & Levine, 2009, p.174). The Haunted House scene is a perfect example of someone’s awareness of social meaning and its implications. Gloria has grown tired of her families relentless teasing and decides to adopt an American accent in order to avoid further ridicule. However, her plan backfires when everyone notices her new accent and proceeds to mock her again. Gloria’s interpretation of an American accent is bizarre and certainly more interesting than her actual Columbian accent.
Haunted House Scene
The family is gathered in costume in the living room that is set up as a haunted
house. Gloria and Jay walk in:
Phil: (Eyes wide, staring at Gloria) Wow you guys look great!
Gloria: (In a strange voice, oddly annunciating every syllable in an attempt to speak her idea of correct English) Thank you Phil, I try my best. You look very dead-like.
Jay: (In a nervous whisper) Stop it. I said I was sorry.
Gloria: (Still in the strange voice and accent) Oh no, no Jay, for now on I only speak in proper American so I don’t embarrass you.
Phil: (Whispers to Jay, confused) Did she just get back from the dentist?
Jay: She’s mad at me because I told her sometimes people can’t understand her.
Of all the family members that make note of Gloria’s new accent, Claire takes the insults the furthest. Claire’s reaction to Gloria’s new accent is an example of affective meaning. The affective meaning of an utterance conveys the emotions of the speaker (Rowe & Levine, 2009, p.174). In Claire’s frustration over the disastrous haunted house performances, she lashes out at Gloria with sarcasm by implying that Gloria’s typical speech patterns are not English.
Gloria: (Still in the strange voice and accent) Welcome to your nightmare.
(Very overdone and dryly dramatic) Ha, ha, ha.
The trick-or-treaters leave the house, unimpressed.
Claire: What the hell was that?
Claire proceeds to point out each family members’ acting errors and arrives at Gloria:
Claire: And Gloria, since when do you speak English?
Claire goes on to insult Gloria further by mocking Gloria’s attempt at speaking with an American accent. She also makes the statement, “What is she saying,” in response to Gloria’s incorrect pronunciation of the word gargoyle. However, the viewers know that Claire knows what Gloria said because Gloria has pronounced the word incorrectly throughout the entire episode. Claire’s response was simply intended to further embarrass Gloria. However, Gloria responds with her own insult by correctly using the idiom dog-eat-dog, both phonologically and pragmatically, referring to Claire and Jay. It is obvious that both women are angry and upset with each other by studying their word choices and the implied meanings that accompany them.
Gloria: (Angry and with the crazy accent) Oh, oh so now you have a problem with the way I speak? Like father, like daughter, in this dog EAT dog family!
Cam says something that gets Claire upset again and Gloria interjects:
Gloria: (Crazy accent) Claire just doesn’t understand Cam; maybe she’s never been picked on for being different.
Claire: When? When, Gloria, have you ever been picked on for (mocking Gloria’s new, bizarre accent) “being different”?
Gloria: (In her real voice and accent, frustrated) Ask the gargle!
Claire: (Looks around at everyone confused and whispers) What is she saying?
Second Language Acquisition
As previously discussed, Gloria is a native Spanish speaker from Columbia. Many of her linguistic errors can be traced to language transfer issues. According to Brown (2010), adults, more cognitively secure, appear to operate from the solid foundation of the first language and thus manifest more interference. Gloria is guilty of using code-switching when she speaks. Code-switching is the act of inserting words, phrases, or even longer stretches of one language into the other (Brown, 2010, p. 72). Due to the high number of Spanish speaking residents in the United States, a new term has been introduced to describe the language that has developed between English and Spanish speakers. We call this new language Spanglish; it’s a hybrid of English and Spanish and it is spoken by both native English speakers and Native Spanish speakers. Gloria’s frequent code-switching can be described as Spanglish. In some instances, the Spanish words she uses are common enough that almost any American citizen can translate them, such as hola for hello, and do not cause any confusion for her listener. However, some of her words are not as common and as a result leave her listener totally confused. For example, she uses the word bruha multiple times in the episode. She eventually explains that bruha means witch, but until the explanation is made the audience is left pondering what she is talking about.
The Carpool Scene
Gloria: Hola Jay!
And later in the conversation
Gloria: I’m going to pick them up this afternoon. You’re going to be a gargle and I’m gonna be a evil village bruha.
Jay: (sighs) I know less now than I did before I asked.
Gloria: (Sensing Jay’s confusion)A bruha is a witch and a gargle is a gargle.
As seen in the examples above, code-switching can cause confusion and frustration. However, it is a natural progression within second language acquisition. In this situation, code-switching is used to enhance the humor created by Gloria’s character.
Conclusion
Perhaps, in our everyday encounters with second language users, we are too quick to criticize the “failure” of adult language learners by nitpicking at minor pronunciation points or nonintrusive grammatical errors (Brown, 2010, p. 64). In real life, focusing on someone’s accent, pronunciation, or grammar can cause much embarrassment and negatively affect self-esteem. However, when the same focus is exploited in movies or on television, it somehow translates to humor. What type of message is being conveyed when highlighting non-native English speakers’ errors becomes a primetime television hit? This practice will not end, and will likely increase as time goes on and more people speak English as a second language.
Discussion and Remediation
Many speakers of English as a second language were first introduced to English through media such as music, internet, television, or movies. In this technological age, we cannot ignore the power of media and technology when it comes to language teaching and learning. Many of Gloria’s English errors are a result of her limited time spent speaking English. The first thing one must consider when developing a plan for working with an English Language Learner (ELL) is the time they have accumulated speaking English. Becoming literate and fluent in a second language is a long process that not only requires time, but also dedication and patience. If I were to use television as a means of teaching English I would avoid using shows that highlight incorrect English usage, and instead focus on shows with accurate diction. There are many shows on television that contain excellent diction, especially those for young children. If I were working with a young ELL, I would use shows such as Franklin or Little Bear. Although Sesame Street is a wonderful and popular show for young children, some of its most popular characters, like Elmo, do not use proper English. I would avoid using shows like Sesame Street when working with a beginner or intermediate ELL. With regard to adult television shows, any news broadcast would make a great reference. An issue with many television shows is the rate of speed with which the characters carry on conversations. As a native English speaker, I often find myself confused by what was said because the actors speak so quickly and do not enunciate their words. To remedy this problem, I would use closed captioning when showing anything on television so that the student could read along as they listen. It is apparent that careful consideration and preparation must go into using television as a resource for teaching English as a second language; nonetheless, it remains a wonderful resource.
References
Brown, H.D. (2007). Principals of language learning and teaching (5th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson.
Richman, J. (Writer), & Spiller, M. (Director). (2010). Halloween [Television series episode]. Christopher Lloyd & Steven Levitan (Producers), Modern Family. Los Angeles, CA: ABC Network.
Rowe, B. & Levine, D. (2009). A concise introduction to linguistics (2nd ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
Appendix
Carpool Scene
Gloria is driving her son Manny and his friend to school when the phone rings, it’s her husband Jay calling. She answers:
Gloria: Hola Jay!
Jay: Where are you?
Gloria: I have Manny in the carpool and we’re going to the dropout.
Jay: Drop out? You mean that Eddy kid? Yeah, he’s a moron.
Gloria: Noooo the drop out…. where you drop the kids in the school.
Manny: (Interrupts from the backseat) She means drop off.
Gloria: (Turns around and looks at Manny with a frown) That’s what I said…
Jay: Did you ever do anything about the costumes for Claire’s thing tonight?
Gloria: I’m going to pick them up this afternoon. You’re going to be a gargle and I’m gonna be a evil village bruha.
Jay: (sighs) I know less now than I did before I asked.
Gloria: (Sensing Jay’s confusion)A bruha is a witch and a gargle is a gargle.
Manny: (Interrupts from the back seat again) She means gargoyle.
Gloria: (Turns around and looks at Manny with frustration) That’s what I said.
Gloria and Jay’s Kitchen Scene
Gloria walks in the house with a postal box in her hand and a wide grin and turns to Jay:
Gloria: (Excitedly) Jay, this came for you!
Jay: Oh, hi honey. What is it?
Gloria: I called your secretary and told her to order you some crackers and those cheeses that you like… the tiny, little ones.
Jay: Thanks. Did you pick up my gargle costume too?
Gloria: Are you making fun of me?
Jay: No.
Gloria: First Manny correcting me, and now you. If I have a problem I want to know, Jay.
Jay: Honey, no. Look, English is your SECOND language, which means you’re doing great!
Gloria: Ahhh… you’re not helping by protecting my feelings. I want you to be honest with me.
Jay: Okay, well I may have noticed some tiny, little mistakes you make that you might want to take a look at…
Gloria: (looking down shyly) Like what?
Jay: Just little mispronunciations... like for example, last night you said,
“We live in a doggy dog world.”
Gloria: So.
Jay: Well, it’s dog-EAT-dog.
Gloria: (laughing) That doesn’t make any sense! Who wants to live in a world where dogs eat each other? Doggy dog world is a beautiful world full of little puppies.
(Sighs) What else?
Jay: (Nervous laugh) Well it’s not blessings in the skies… it’s blessings in DISguise.
Gloria: (Growing impatient) What else?
Jay: Carpal tunnel syndrome is not carpool tunnel syndrome.
Gloria: (Angry with nostrils flaring) And what else?
Jay: It’s not volumptous…
Gloria: (Interrupts angrily) Okay! Enough! I know that I have an accent but people understand me just fine!
Jay opens the postal box at this point and looks inside with a very confused expression.
Jay: What the hell is this?
Gloria: I told you Jay; I called your secretary and told her to order you a box of baby cheeses.
Jay pulls out a baby Jesus. He holds it up.
Gloria: (Very upset and angry) Ooohhh… so now that is my fault too!
Gloria then turns and storms off, wide eyed, realizing she made a mistake.
Haunted House Scene at Claire and Phil’s House
The family is gathered in costume in the living room that is set up as a haunted
house. Gloria and Jay walk in:
Phil: (Eyes wide, staring at Gloria) Wow you guys look great!
Gloria: (In a strange voice, oddly annunciating every syllable in an attempt to speak her idea of correct English) Thank you Phil, I try my best. You look very dead-like.
Jay: (In a nervous whisper) Stop it. I said I was sorry.
Gloria: (Still in the strange voice and accent) Oh no, no Jay, for now on I only speak in proper American so I don’t embarrass you.
Phil: (Whispers to Jay, confused) Did she just get back from the dentist?
Jay: She’s mad at me because I told her sometimes people can’t understand her.
Everyone is in their appointed role in the haunted house. Trick-or-treaters arrive and everyone
says and/or performs their assigned role. Trick-or-treaters enter the house:
Gloria: (Still in the strange voice and accent) Welcome to your nightmare.
(Very overdone and dryly dramatic) Ha, ha, ha.
The trick-or-treaters leave the house, unimpressed.
Claire: What the hell was that?
Claire proceeds to point out each family members’ acting errors and arrives at Gloria:
Claire: And Gloria, since when do you speak English?
Gloria: (Angry and with the crazy accent) Oh, oh so now you have a problem with the way I speak? Like father, like daughter, in this dog EAT dog family!
Cam says something that gets Claire upset again and Gloria interjects:
Gloria: (Crazy accent) Claire just doesn’t understand Cam; maybe she’s never been picked on for being different.
Claire: When? When, Gloria, have you ever been picked on for (mocking Gloria’s new, bizarre accent) “being different”?
Gloria: (In her real voice and accent, frustrated) Ask the gargle!
Claire: (Looks around at everyone confused and whispers) What is she saying?
Gloria storms out of the house and Jay follows. They make up outside. Meanwhile, Mitchell is
sitting behind them dressed as a scarecrow as part of his role, and hears everything. As Gloria
walks passed him on her way inside he gets up and begins to speak and she turns and punches
him in the face as a reaction:
Mitchell: (Runs into the house holding his head) She punched me in the face!
Gloria: (Running in behind him) He came outta nowhere and scared the baby Jesus outta me!
Jay: (Big smile) Hey! You’re talking normal again.
Gloria: (Referring to Jay’s apology outside) Ohh… I loved the story about the old man.
Jay: Well… nobody said old…
Everyone slowly motions to leave and Claire becomes very upset.
Claire: Here’s the thing, we have fireworks at Christmas now because that’s what they do in Colombia… I don’t mind. Thanksgiving… that used to be me roasting a turkey until the gays took it over with whatever new turkey-cooking craze they saw on The Food Network… and I’m fine with that too. All I ask, all I ask, is that you leave me Halloween! Yeah, Halloween... I realize that it’s a crazy-assed holiday for a grown woman to care about this much, but it’s my crazy-assed holiday. Mine.
Claire storms out of the house and Phil follows her.
Cam: (Looking around to everyone else in the room who is nodding in agreement with him) That’s a lot of complaining from someone who asked for thirds of our tandoori turkey last year.
The scene ends with Claire and Phil outside when more trick-or-treaters arrive. The family inside springs into action and performs their Haunted House script perfectly, much to Claire’s
surprise and joy.
Final Scene in Gloria and Jay’s kitchen
The entire family is standing around the kitchen island, laughing and snacking and sharing
stories about Gloria’s English errors:
Manny: (Laughing) Oh and one time she says,
“Don’t choke or I’ll have to give you the handenberg maneuver.”
Everyone laughs.
Cam: Or one time she caught me staring off and she goes,
(Cam mocking her Colombian accent) “Cam, what’s wrong? You look like a deer in head lice.”
Everyone laughs.
Phil: If you tell her she doesn’t have a choice she’ll say,
(Mocking her Colombian accent) “Don’t you give me an old tomato.”
Everyone laughs.
Mitchell: Or when she…
Gloria: (Suddenly, angrily cuts Mitchell off, with her hands in the air) Okay! Enough! You try speaking in another language! Everybody! Out of my house!
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