The Power of Intonation

The other day, I made a Utah observation. This week was spring break for the younger children, and they seemed to be all over campus. On Tuesday, I was in the WILK, and saw a woman who had about nine children with her. The children all looked fairly similar to one another, and the ages were such that they could have possibly have all been siblings. Someone else on campus asked this woman, "Are these all yours?"

It is a phrase that I know well. Growing up with five siblings, I remember the days of, "Are these all yours" because it was asked of my parents quite commonly. But this time, it wasn't quite the same. Here in Utah, it was a question that had the implication of, "That's so wonderful!" Everywhere else, it seemed to carry a tone of either, "Are you completely insane?" or "How dare you populate the world this way."

It was just an observation. Currently no more. I have no conclusions, mechanisms or proposals for the observation. Just an observation.

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