Monthly Archives: May 2011

Folk Belief – Serbian

Nationality: Serbian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA (Currently), Serbia
Performance Date: April 25, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Serbian

“When you’re talking and if you or your friend drops something accidentally that means the thing you’re talking about is true. In my case, it was true, but I think that also some people can fake it.”

“I learned it just among my friends. I can’t remember the first time I heard that, but it’s like the thing that everybody said among the people.”

The informant is from Serbia, but currently attending school in Los Angeles, CA. She has been in the US for less than a year.

The folk belief that when someone drops something in conversation they are telling the truth could have some validity in it as it may stem from the idea that the person is so focused on what they are saying that he or she drops something. There is a similar folk belief in Poland that if you sneeze while talking, you are telling the truth.

Blason Populaire – Jewish-American

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 26, 2011
Primary Language: English

J.A.P. (also refered to as “jap” or “japs”)

Jewish American Princess

“It’s a stereotype that Jewish girls have rich daddies to pay for all their needs and wants. Stereotypical profession for Jews are high-paying—doctors, lawyers—like money, medical backgrounds. With parents, with these kind of jobs the kids are spoiled rotten. I think there’s some truth to it. And now it’s come to be like an identity for Jewish kids living the pampered lifestyle. I don’t think it has as negative connotation any more. People now identify themselves as JAPs. They are proud of this identity not for what it does for Judaism but because it means they are people with money. It fits into the whole sweet sixteen faucet of culture. I learned it like around junior high or high school. I’m like a Nor Cal Jew; I’m pretty sure someone around me got called it. Non-Jews don’t really call each other JAPs unless it’s an insult. But Jews can call each other JAPs.”

The informant is a 19-year-old Caucasian student in the Los Angeles area, originally from Northern California. She follows the Jewish faith. She also comes from a very large family with 8 other siblings.

The acceptance of the stereo-type of J.A.P. by the current generation shows how people use blason-populaire in forging their own identities. The current definition of JAP is a byproduct of the Jewish stereotype–as mentioned by the informant of professional careers–as it moves into the next generation. It presents a modernized version of the Jewish doctor/lawyer family stereotype; that is, that the father figure of the family brings in a large paycheck to his devoutly Jewish family.

Also, the response of those accused of being “JAPs” ties in to the theory that it is at times easier to embrace a stereotype than to discount it as they have a tendency to accept the stereotype, even mocking it slightly. Further, it also defines a group of whom is Jewish and whom is not by stating that from within the circle it is okay to call one another a JAP, but it is not acceptable for outsiders to do the same.

Folk Belief – Polish

Nationality: Polish
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA (Current)
Performance Date: April 25, 2011
Primary Language: Polish
Language: English

“When your ears burn we say that someone’s talking about you.”

“That may be true actually. Kind of everyone believes in it.”

“I think I learned from my parents like during primary school.”

The informant is from Poland. She is currently attending university in Los Angeles, CA. She has been studying in the United States for the past four years.

The belief that when your ears are burning when someone is talking about you is in some ways an example of homeopathic magic. The fact that its their ears that are burning implies that they want to hear what is being said. Also, when people are embarrassed when they hear something about themselves, they often blush or their ears turn red. In this case, a person talking about whomever makes his or her ears burn from a far distance, like they may have done in person.

Holiday Belief – Serbian

Nationality: Serbian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA (Current)
Performance Date: April 25, 2011
Primary Language: Serbocroatian
Language: English

“On our Christmas, we make bread, and the mom puts one coin in the bread and she bakes it. And she doesn’t know where the coin is. On the lunch when she puts it on the table, everyone is getting a piece of bread. And the person who finds the coin will have luck for the whole year—luck will be on his side.”

“It’s tradition every religious family does in Serbia. Christians.

“I think that it is true because  every time that someone from my family found the coin it has come true. He did something big in the year, It was really really… seriously like it’s happened every single time. He will succeed on his goal or whatever.”

The informant is originally from Serbia and currently attending school in Los Angeles. She has been in the United States for less than one year.

The Winter Holiday season can be seen as a liminal time period as we move from one year to the next. The ritualization of baking the bread every year as well as the focus on divining the next year’s luck are results of this characteristic. The coin refers to fortune in money, as well as success in other aspects of life. Over all, the act of finding the coin is a success in itself. In this way, it is also a loose version of homeopathic folk magic; like causes like. The success of finding the coin will cause success throughout the year. The fact that the magic lasts for the whole year is a result of the cyclical time as the ritual will be repeated once the holiday occurs again.

Folk Belief – Polish

Nationality: Polish
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA (Current)
Performance Date: April 25, 2011
Primary Language: Polish
Language: English

“If you sneeze while talking that means you are saying the truth. [when asked if she thinks its true] Mmm I don’t know. It happens sometimes and that’s just what we say—‘truth’.”

As to where she learned, the informant could not cite a specific source, but said, “My parents or friends probably sometime during primary school. A lot of people say it.”

The informant is from Poland and has been studying at a university in Los Angeles, CA for the past four years.

When asked if she knew any reasoning behind it, the informant said “No, it’s just something they say.” The idea that someone is speaking the truth when they sneeze is potentially related to the fact that the person is not focusing on lying, or potentially that if they were lying when they sneezed they would be distracted from their lie. There is a similar belief in Serbia–it states that when you drop something while speaking, you must be telling the truth.