On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 11:29 AM, David Thorn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Nina wrote: > "If other cultures insist on taking credit for transforming and > evolving tango, they should stop calling it "Argentine" and call it > something else instead, like "no longer Argentine tango", or > something like that." > > If asked what language I speak, I generally say English. I don't say 21st > century American- > English with both NYC and West Coast influences, and with a smidgen of south > Louisiana creole > influence for lagniappe. That would sound silly and rather pedantic to my > ears. > > So what do you say? > > David.
There is American English and there is British English, as well as other versions of English. For example, within the US there is Standard American English (presumably taught in the schools), there is Black English, and there are regional dialects, the one used in the southern US beging the most distinctive. The common denominator is tracing the origin of these versions to a common ancestral language whose origin was in England (thus "English"). A speaker of Standard American English may have some difficulty communicating with someone speaking British English,.Black English, or Southern English. Likewise, there is Argentine tango that is danced in Argentina. It resembles closely an ancestral form danced 60 years ago in Buenos Aires. Argentines differentiate Tango de Salon, that which is danced is danced socially in the milongas of Buenos Aires, and Tango Fantasia, which is danced for exhibition, i.e., not as a social dance. In the past 15 years Nuevo (Tango) has evolved from roots in Tango de Salon and Tango Fantasia. It resembles in some respects Tango Fantasia but is distinctly different from Tango de Salon in its emphasis on expanding movement possibilities. There are also derivatives of Argentine Tango developed outside of Argentina. There is Ballroom Tango, with at least 2 versions - American Ballroom Tango and International Tango. There is also Finnish Tango. These foreign derivatives have largely distinct niches. In Buenos Aires, Tango de Salon and Tango Fantasia / Nuevo have largely separate niches. It is only outside Argentine that Tango de Salon and Fantasia / Nuevo try to occupy the same niche. However, because the inherent characteristics of the dance (connection / musicality vs.movement expansion) are so different and the technique of these different versions of tango is different at important points, there are difficulties in communication when the different tangos are mixed. Thus, in milongas outside Buenos Aires, there is often a veritable Tango Tower of Babel on the dance floor. Ron _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
