Monthly Archives: May 2011

Happy Birthday… Any Many More

Nationality: White
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fullerton, CA
Performance Date: 4/23/11
Primary Language: English

“You sing the Happy Birthday Song. Ya know…

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to so and so,

Happy Birthday to you.

And then… you sing…

And MANY more… on channel four,

And Scooby Doo on channel two,

And Frankenstein on channel nine,

And a big fat lady on channel 80,

And all the rest on CBS.”

The informant is a high school student from Southern California.  He learned the ending to the Happy Birthday song in Elementary School from his friends, and he and his family has been singing it ever since.  He says that he has heard other additions and versions to the addendum onto the Happy Birthday songs. And he says “you can get creative with it.” He also says that he likes how many variations there are to the song because each family has their own special version.  The informant’s family always calls to sings “Happy Birthday” to every family member on their birthday.  And the song is always sung at Birthday parties when the cake is brought out.

This song adds silliness to the “Happy Birthday” song.  It provides laughter for everyone in attendance.  In watching, the informant perform the song it seems as if the performance is just as silly as the actual words.  His tempo speeds up and slows down as he sings the lyrics.  And he adds hand motions representing Frankenstein and a “big fat lady”.   This song has no known original author but is a collective tradition passed down between generations.

If I had a nickel for every time…

Nationality: American
Age: 24
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: February 23, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: French, Hebrew

If I had a nickel for every time…

Alex is 24 years old; he was born in New Jersey, but was raised and lived the majority of his childhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He arrived in California for the first time when he was moving into his dorm room at USC in Los Angeles, California.  Currently, Alex is an alumni from USC with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

Alex told me this idiom when he and I were talking about a friend of his who promised to pay him back.  At that moment he said, “If I had a nickel for every time someone told me that…” He says that what this means to him is that he hears comments like this – promises to pay him back – often and that if he had a nickel for every time he heard it, he would be rich.  He told me that he doesn’t remember who he heard this from or in what context, but he remembers what he felt about it.  He found it amusing and began saying the phrase himself.

Essentially the phrase is an abbreviation for : “If I had a nickel for every time that happened, I’d be rich.”  This hyperbole is an exaggeration that essentially is an indirect way for one to complain about the frequency of certain comments.

I had heard of this idiom before; however, when I heard it, I heard “penny” instead of “nickel.”  This monetary value can be substituted, and it has been with other forms of money such as “dollar” or “quarter.”  I do not remember who I heard this from or in what context, but I think I was still in middle school.  Just as Alex stated a part of the phrase without completing it, I have often heard this idiom as a fragment.  This is because people generally understand the idiom and immediately understand what the speaker means by the fragment alone.

This idiom is also seen here:

Roach, A. (2011). If i had a nickel for every time. Retrieved from http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/if+i+had+a+nickel+for+every+time.html

Folk Speech/Protection – Evil Eye – Persian

Nationality: American, Persian
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: Persian
Language: English

Folk Speech/Protection – Evil Eye – Persian

“Some Persians believe if you use a word like ‘scissors,” ‘knife,’ or ‘needle,’ it’s as if you are putting that sharp object in the evil eye of the person you’re saying it to, insinuating that person is evil eyeing you. So instead of saying, ‘pass the salt’ or ‘pass the knife,’ you would say, ‘pass that which cannot be named’ or ‘pass that which is far from your soul.’ This can be viewed as a sign of respect when speaking to people you don’t know well, and it also avoids offending somebody if you’re not sure if they believe this tradition. Lots of people have gotten in fights over this… and even families have been broken apart. It’s really ridiculous.”

The informant described a couple of instances in which this affected her. One was when a woman was asking her to pass some salt at the dinner table, and the woman refused to say the word “salt” because it is corrosive and was afraid the informant would be offended. She also gave the example of, when suspicious of a person’s intentions when addressing you, you can make statements like, “I have a toothache,” “today I had to get an injection,” or “my bones ache.” All of these statements are believed to ward of the negative energy associated with the evil eye, because they are “sharp” and can pierce the evil eye. Another instance that this affected the informant was through her friend. When this friend visited her sister-in-law’s house in Beverly Hills for the first time, the sister-in-law immediately brought her to the tapestries hanging on the wall and stated something like, “look at the delicate needle-work on this tapestry.” The friend of the informant was extremely offended and stormed out of the house, thinking her sister-in-law was accusing her of jealousy. This confrontation resulted in cutting off relations with her sister-in-law. This example exemplifies how strong evil eye superstitions continue to be, even in a modern city like Los Angeles.
According the informant, the evil eye superstition, along with this method of protection, began when potential theft was an issue in Iran. People often worried about theft of their cattle or other belongings that were crucial to their survival, so this was a method of protecting themselves. Furthermore, the evil eye superstition exists all over the world, especially in the Middle East, in both Islam and Judaism. Therefore, it only makes sense that such a widespread superstition would endure.
I agree with the informant’s analysis, but I think there is another level to its relevance in modern usage. The informant’s community is predominantly Persian and Jewish, and mostly upper class residents of Beverly Hills. Therefore, it would make sense that these perceived notion of envy would endure in this community, both internally and externally, and they would continue to try to protect themselves from it.

Folk Speech/Idiom – Persian

Nationality: American, Persian
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: Persian
Language: English

Folk Speech/Idiom – Persian

“’The wall has mice in it, and mice have ears.’ If you’re sitting somewhere and you realize you’re sitting by nosey people, you whisper this to your friend so they know not to say anything important.”

The informant made it very clear that Persian people use idioms in everyday speech almost always, stating that it is not unusual to use five idioms in one conversation. She attributes this to the oppression that existed in Iran, which forced Persians to be extremely careful about what they spoke about in public. Furthermore, this oppression created figures of speech and metaphors that allowed them to communicate without fear of persecution. Idioms such as this one, according to the informant, have been passed down for generations, and are still used today. Even though there is no risk of persecution, they still use these idioms to converse concisely and, as the informant described it, non-confrontationally. They are able to convey an idea very quickly to somebody from within their own culture using these idioms.
I agree with the informant’s interpretation of this idiom. These idioms contribute to a part of their cultural identity as Persian immigrants, while giving them a strong sense of community with other Persians in the community. Furthermore, it serves as a connection and reminder to their past.

Joke – Dumb Blonde in a Potato Sack

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Austin, Texas
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: English

Joke – Dumb Blonde in a Potato Sack

“There’s three girls running from the police: one is blonde, one is a redhead, and the other is a brunette. They go into this barn to hide, and see a few potato sacks on the floor, so they each crawl inside one to hide. The police catch up and come into the barn, and they see the potato sacks on the floor. One of the cops goes up to the first sack with the brunette in it and nudges it with his foot, and the brunette goes, ‘meow, meow’ really softly. The cop says, ‘oh, it’s just kittens.’ He then nudges the sack with the redhead in it, so she goes, ‘woof woof’ really softly. The cop goes, ‘oh, it’s just puppies.’ Then the cop goes to the last sack with the blonde in it and nudges it, and she goes, ‘POTATOES!’”
The informant doesn’t really remember where she first heard this joke, but says it was years ago and probably at school. Although blonde jokes seem to stem from a stereotype that is often associated with blonde women from California, the informant is from Texas, but also blonde. She made it very clear that she is not offended by blonde jokes, and knows she is “smarter than most people who tell blonde jokes.” She doesn’t really understand where this stereotype that blonde women are less intelligent came from, but she finds these jokes funny, and knows many of them. The informant did mention that she has noticed that the stereotype does not usually apply to blonde men, which gives the stereotype a sexist aspect. Although these jokes have existed for years, the informant attributes their popularity to the media and “dumb blonde celebrities,” such as Jessica Simpson and Playboy Playmates.
I agree with the informant that recent depictions of blonde women in the media live up to this stereotype, which only strengthens the stereotype and leads to the further dissemination of these jokes. The most vivid example that really went down in “pop culture” history is from MTV’s reality television show, “The Newlyweds,” where Jessica Simpson was depicted as a shallow, dumb blonde, saying things like, “is it chicken or is it fish?” (referring to the Chicken of the Sea tuna fish brand). This one statement still lives on in popular culture’s representations of blonde women, and only helps perpetuate this stereotype and this form of humor.