Resumen de Women’s discourses as the conservators of cultural values in language

Ruth Mukama

• Lugwere, a northern Bantu language spoken by the Bagwere of eastern Uganda, exhibits gender differences in discourse via domain, style, mode, and manner of lexical use. Traditional female discourse, though threatened by urbanization, preserves and transmits Gwere cultural values, particularly in preparing girls for adolescence (peer-group discourse) and marriage (paternal aunts to bride) and in resolving the problems and duties ofwives (married women's discourses). These are known, respectively, äs the "language offirewood" and ((things ofthe water well" (for girls); "counseling the bride"; and tfthings of the water well" (for women) and "I am a (hearth) woman". There is some evidence t hat aspects ofthe latter discourse style are being adopted to support female solidarity among urban women.