I compare dance 'styles' to dialects of the same language. Dance and language are similar in that they facilitate connection between us. Dialects develop organically by the expressions of community members cross-influencing others within the same community. Dialects reflect a group's preferences for certain 'phrases' (expressions/idioms) over others based on shared experience within the group. Each community also develops its own 'pronunciations' of its own subset of 'vocabulary' (where the entire set of vocabulary itself is well-known and common to all the dialects of the language). Some innovative individuals contribute new vocabulary (slang/lingo) which is admired and rapidly adopted by other members of the group. Dialects become a primary means of expressing identity with the other members in the same community. Some speakers of a language do not have the ability or the willingness to parse other dialects, to the point where they consider a dialect other than their own to be a wholly different language.
Showing familiarity with other dialects in your own language demonstrates fundamental respect and a promise of open-mindedness and flexibility in embracing common humanity. In the opposite direction, parochialism plays up and ridicules language differences and uses dialects as an easy us-vs-them shorthand to achieve divisive identity politics and to express contempt. I would rather celebrate the diversity. Acceptance of a diversity of dialect is a win-win approach and refusal to engage/comprehend is a win-lose approach. I see no reason for one group to lose when both can win. Joe Grohens wrote: > Sergio enumerated many advantages to classifying tango into "types". > It helps people know what they are getting into, it avoids confusion > ... -- Carol Ruth Shepherd Arborlaw PLC Ann Arbor MI USA 734 668 4646 v 734 786 1241 f Arborlaw - a legal blog for entrepreneurs and small business http://arborlaw.biz/blog _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
