Analogies: Set 7

Styles versus Dialects

The way a language is spoken within a country depends on what area of the country the person was raised. All the people may speak the same language in a country, but they may have minor, or major, differences in the way they speak. Sometimes within the same country, people of one region will make fun of or criticize the way people of another region speak. The same is true for Taekwondo. There are sport, traditional, full-contact, mixed, etc. versions of Taekwondo. All versions have some elements in common and are recognizable between practitioners, but some people have difficulty understanding some aspects of the different versions.

We must careful not mistake a dialect with jargon or slang. While a dialect wants and needs everyone to be involved and participating, jargon and slang are exclusive. The members of some groups want to be separated from the masses, so they develop slang to make themselves different and so the public will not understand what they are saying. The same is true of Taekwondo. Some versions of Taekwondo try to be different, just to be different, such as Tae Bo. Similar to slang, these transient versions come and go. Only the original versions survive and flourish.