Let the women be silent!

I was reading 1st Corinthians this morning. This verse linked in with some of the things we were talking about during the meeting yesterday:
1 Corinthians 14:35 And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.

I started to think about this in the context of a few other verses and facts:

Romans 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
Judges 4:4 At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel.
Joel 2:28-29 Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
Galatians 3:28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

First of all, in Romans 16:7, Paul greets Andronicus and Junia as prominent among the apostles. Junia is a woman’s name, thus implying that Paul recognised at least one woman as an apostle.
In Judges 4:4, we see that even under the old covenant, there were prophetesses. The new covenant is better than the old, so it is reasonable to expect that there are also prophetesses today. (If we read Deborah’s story, we also see that a man comes to seek her advice and support.)
Joel 2:28 is the prophecy which was initially fulfilled at Pentecost; the Holy Spirit will be poured out on both men and women, and even on slaves, who had a low social standing.
In Galatians 3:28, Paul writes that there is now no division between men and women. This is the same man who wrote the lines above: it is shameful for women to speak in church. So, on the one hand, not only is there no division between men and women, but the prophets (and prophetesses!) should be allowed to speak; on the other hand, women should be silent! I started to wonder how we can reconcile these two positions, and decided to return to the Greek text to find out what word is used for ‘speak’. I have not studied Greek, so depend on my Bible program, BibleWorks. It says the word is lalei/n (or lalein, or ‘laleo’, depending on the fonts you have installed), defining it as “verb inf pres act , from lale,w speak, talk, say; preach, proclaim; tell; be able to speak; address, converse (with); promise (of God); sound (of thunder).” Now, what happens if we say that Paul meant “address, converse (with)”? Then he would be saying “If they don’t understand something, let them ask their husbands at home, because it is shameful for women to chatter in church.” As far as I’m concerned, that makes much more sense.