Monthly Archives: May 2018

Leprechaun

Nationality: South Korean
Performance Date: 4-15-18
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

 

Lee: The story of the leprechaun goes that they are little old men who wear green coats. They are like super mischievous. They are like little trouble makers. They work at making shoes and sell it for gold coins. The leprecoins (making a tongue twisted noise) the leprechauns all worked together for a really long time hid their gold coins in a pot. They then hid that pot at the end of the rainbow. The leprechauns hid the gold at the end of the rainbow so they could find it.That’s why people say follow the rain and at the end you’ll find a pot of gold.

 

Context: 

This piece of folklore was collected in a Taco Bell I work at. I asked my fellow employee if there were any sayings or proverbs that he knew. He gave me one and then after when we both took our breaks he told me this proverb. This time we were sitting down at a table in the dining area and eating.

 

Background:

Lee is a third generation American. However, his ancestral roots originate in South Korea. Lee is unaware of who he learned this folk belief from. He said he learned this tale from a book his mom used to read him when he would go to sleep. This tale hold sentiment to him for this reason.

 

My thoughts:

 

This particular tale also incorporates a bit of variation and a common folk belief. In different variations of this tale, the pot of gold created the rainbow. The folk belief incorporated is that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

 

It is also interesting to see different folk beliefs for certain objects. For example, a rainbow is also believed to be a symbol from God saying that he will no longer flood the earth. It is a belied tied to Christian belief that Earth was flooded and the only survivors were those on Noah’s Arc.

Knock on Wood

Nationality: South Korean
Performance Date: 4-15-18
Primary Language: English

Main Piece: When you say something that is good luck our you don’t want to like jinx it, you have to like knock on wood or say knock on wood. That like prevents you from getting bad luck and like stop you from like jinxing what you said. Context: This piece of folklore was collected in a Taco Bell I work at. I asked my fellow employee if there were any sayings or proverbs that he knew. He gave me one and then after when we both took our breaks he told me this proverb. This time we were sitting down at a table in the dining area and eating. Background:  Lee is a third generation American. However, his ancestral roots originate in South Korea. Lee is unaware of who he learned this folk belief from. He also stated that it does not mean a lot to him; however, he still practices this belief just to make sure. My thoughts: This is a common subgenre of folk belief called folk protection. In this instance you protect yourself by knocking on wood or saying “knock on wood” from turning your good luck into bad luck. It would be interesting to see on how this folk belief started because of its wide popularity.  This folk belief is interesting because it is practiced by many who do not believe in the protection, or who are not superstition. This folk belief has become so widespread that it is said and done as a habit. Another folk belief similar is when people say “Bless You” after someone sneezes.

Arab/Muslim Stereotype

Nationality: Arab
Age: 27
Occupation: Uber Driver
Performance Date: 4-7-18
Primary Language: Arabic

Main Piece: “Every Arab who is a Muslim and is a male is either named Mohamed, Ali, or Yousef” Context:  On April 7, 2018 I called an Uber to go to a party. When the driver arrived I said “Hi, how are you doing today? My name is Jaeson. Nice to meet you”. He replied “ I am doing great. Yousef nice to meet you to. He then said “Yup… another Yousef”.  He then said “Every Arab who is a Muslim and is a male is either named Mohamed, Ali, or Yousef”. I said I am sorry can you repeat that. He said ok and repeated it. I asked him if I could write it down as a collection of folklore and he said yes. Background: Yousef is a 27 year old Uber driver who drives a red Camry. He is Arab and he is also a Muslim.  Analysis: I was intrigued to learn this stereotype about Arabs and Muslim from an Arab. I went to a high school that had a large population of Arabs and there was a large portion with the name Mohamed, Ali, and Yousef. However, it is not true that everyone single Arab has one of those three names. It surprises me how people could generalize a population with no evidence.

Proverb 2

Nationality: South Korean
Performance Date: 4-15-18
Primary Language: English

Main Context: “You give someone a fish, they eat for one day. You teach them how to fish, they eat everyday” Context: This piece of folklore was collected in a Taco Bell I work at. I asked my fellow employee if there were any sayings or proverbs that he knew. He gave me one and then after when we both took our breaks he told me this proverb. This time we were sitting down at a table in the dining area and eating.  Background:  Lee is a third generation American. However, his ancestral roots originate in South Korea. Lee said that he learned this proverb from his parents. He does not recall which one said it first but just stated that both of his parents constantly say this proverb. I asked Lee what this proverb meant to him and he replied: Lee: This proverb is not as meaningful as the other one. This proverb is more like… well my parents use it as a constant reminder that I should just copy or give someone answers. Like that doesn’t solve the problem. It only temporarily helps. Analysis: Proverbs are used as a shorthand form of communication to relay a truthful yet meaningful point. They hold weight through repetition and we could see this through Lee’s perception of the proverb. His parents are attempting to prove the point that he should just have something handed to him or to just hand anyone anything. He needs to learn or teach them how to do it. According to the proverb, this is because if you just hand them something, it will only temporarily alleviate the issue. If you teach them then they would know how to do it all the time. You can also see that this proverb hold its weight through repetition because Lee says his parents use it as “a constant reminder”.

Proverb

Nationality: South Korean
Performance Date: 4-15-18
Primary Language: English

Main Piece: Lee: Sure. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you do not take” Phonetic Script:

ju mɪs 100 pərˈsɛnt ʌv ðə ʃɑts ju du nɑt teɪk

 

Context: This piece of folklore was collected in a Taco Bell I work at. I asked my fellow employee if there were any sayings or proverbs that he knew. This was the conversation that led to the proverb. Me: Hey Lee? Lee: What’s up? You need help with the orders? Me: No. I wanted to ask you something. Do you know any saying or any proverbs? Lee: (with a shocked expression) yes I do. Me: Do you mind telling me it and if I write it down. Lee: Sure. Background:  Lee is a third generation American. However, his ancestral roots originate in South Korea. Lee said that he learned this proverb from his parents. He does not recall which one said it first but just stated that both of his parents constantly say this proverb. I asked Lee what this proverb meant to him and he replied “This proverb is special to me and my family. Whenever we are afraid of something new or a challenge that is ahead, we always say it. It helps my family push through many obstacles and has gotten me to where I am. I actually was not going to apply to college because I did not think I would be accepted but I remembered the proverb and I just did it. Now I am in Cal State La and I am doing very well. Analysis: This proverb like many other served the purpose to give common wisdom to a person. In my opinion this proverb is very powerful. Although the proverb says you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take, it does not necessarily refer to actual shooting. For example, it is not limited to just gun shots or a basketball shot. It represents any new challenge or something new that you have never done. The proverb is saying that you will never succeed at something if you never even try.