Blog #1: "Yanyuwa: Men speak one way, women another"

After reading and reflecting on Bradley's article, the idea that keeps repeating in my head is that of traditions. When asked why their language has separate dialects for men and women, the most popular answer of the Yanyuwa people is "men speak one way, women speak another, that's just the way it is!" (pg 14). The phrase that stands out to me is "that's just the way it is". Every culture has words and dialect that are passed from one generation to the next, yet not many people think about why they talk the way they do. Until reading this article, I never put much thought into the words I use and the way I pronounce them. I just talk. Traditions are the often the same. Language is tradition. It is passed on from parents to children without much thought, yet language usage clearly identifies people as part of a culture, region, ethnicity, or race. A tradition as powerful and universal as dialect should have deep meaning to the people who use it and should not be used simply because "that's just the way it is". After taking this class, I will hopefully be able to understand more fully why I speak the way I do.