Monthly Archives: April 2017

Quebec Joke

Nationality: Canadian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 04/23/17
Primary Language: French
Language: English

Subject: Joke

Informant: Phillipe was born in Quebec, Canada and has two sisters and a brother. His family is originally from Quebec, therefore he grew up with french as his native tongue.  He currently studies Finance in California.
Original Script: Pourquoi les Québécois ne se plaignent jamais? Parce qu’ils n’ont pas une aussi grande gueule que les Français / Why do Quebeckers never complain? Because they have a smaller mouth than the French.

Background information by informant: Traditional joke in Quebec to mock the French.

Thoughts: The joke alludes to the manner in which Quebeckers regard other French speakers, and the French in Particular. The stigma attached to the French is very prevalent in Quebec.

Poutine

Nationality: Canadian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 04/23/17
Primary Language: French
Language: English

Subject: Culinary

Informant: Phillipe was born in Quebec, Canada and has two sisters and a brother. His family is originally from Quebec, therefore he grew up with french as his native tongue.  He currently studies Finance in California.

Original Script: Poutine is probably the most traditional fast-food like meal in Quebec. It consists of fries and cheese topped with gravy. It is also very affordable, which makes for an excellent late night snack after a long night.

Background information by informant: Although you can find Poutine in many other places in Canada today, the best still remains in Quebec, given that the meal originated there in the first place.

Context of performance: Quick tasty snack when you are in a hurry. Also a go to meal after a night of drinking.

Thoughts: Food is powerful because it can always bring people together. Poutine is a great example of this because it is not limited to any particular social class or group of people. It is a meal which all citizens of Quebec can enjoy and it brings them all together.

Prophet Proverb

Nationality: Canadian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/20/17

Subject: Proverb

Informant: Phillipe was born in Quebec, Canada and has two sisters and a brother. His family is originally from Quebec, therefore he grew up with french as his native tongue.  He currently studies Finance in California.

Original Script: Nul n’est prophète dans son pays / No one is a prophet in his own country

Background information by informant: Essentially, the proverb means that when you are around people that know you, any lies you tell will be easily noticed. In contrast, it also implies that it is much easier to lie around those who do not know you.

Context of performance: Usually it is said around friends when one of the individuals is caught in a lie.

Thoughts: Ultimately, the proverbs essential theme is to propagate honesty. Although simple, this idea can positively influence the members of a country and culture, creating honest citizens that have greater sympathy and empathy for their fellow citizens.

Third Half

Nationality: Italian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 04/26/17
Primary Language: Italian
Language: English

Subject: Ritual

Informant: Guido was born in Rome, Italy in a traditional Italian family. He currently studies business in California and plays rugby for his college team.

Original Script: Terzo tempo / Third Half. When the host team cooks a meal for the visiting team and both teams enjoy a meal together. It creates positive relationships between enemy teams. Although there is an innate rivalry in the sport, the players all come together and get to know each other through this celebration.

Background information by informant: Rugby games have two halves. In Italy, there is a celebration called “Terzo tempo” which means Third Half.
Context of performance: The tradition of the third half is that the hosting team will provide food and beer for both teams and they all come together to share a meal.

Thoughts: A ritual such as this one creates powerful relationships between people that would otherwise dislike each other simply because of a sport. This celebration allows traditional enemies to come together and bond as individual human beings.

La Societa dei Magnaccioni

Nationality: Italian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 04/26/17
Primary Language: Italian
Language: English

Subject: Folk Song

Informant: Guido was born in Rome, Italy in a traditional Italian family. He currently studies business in California and plays rugby for his college team.

Original Script:

Fatece largo che passamo noi,
sti giovanotti de sta Roma bella,
semo regazzi fatti cor pennello,
e le regazze famo innamorà.
e le regazze famo innamorà.
Ma che ce frega, ma che ce importa,
se l’oste ar vino c’ha messo l’acqua,
e noi je dimo, e noi je famo,
c’hai messo l’acqua, e nun te pagamo, ma però,
noi semo quelli, che ja risponnemo n’coro,
è mejo er vino de li Castelli
che de sta zozza società.

Background information by informant: It’s probably the most popular roman folklore song. The song is primarily about the roman youth and its purity and spontaneity in the eyes of society. Additionally, it glamorizes Rome, establishing its superiority over the north of Italy.

Context of performance: We generally sing it in circumstances of victory, such as winning a rugby game against a team from a different city.

Thoughts: It is interesting to see how even within a country, there are different aspects of folklore that individualize certain regions of the country and exclude those outside of that group. This song is even more prominent in Rome because it is written in the specific roman dialect, causing a greater attatchment to the piece of folklore by locals.