Author Archives: Kathy LeCates

Folk Speech

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 64
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Essex Falls, NJ
Performance Date: April 24, 2008
Primary Language: English

Family Speech/Vernacular:

“The family has always prided itself on staying right up to date with vernacular.  For example, we were referring to each other as “ho” and “bitch” five years ago, and things such as “tool” and “freak” today.”

My Dad has always been very easygoing in the way that he speaks to my siblings and me.  His use of the vernacular and “hip” terms seems to be a result of a combination of many desires: to be humorous, to get along with the youth in the family, and to seem up-to-date with things that are new and “in.”

As he described, a couple years ago my Dad started using phrases such as “ho” and “bitch” in a joking tone in order to mock me, my sister, and the media that we consistently started entertaining ourselves with.  As the years have progressed, he still uses these particular terms, but has also expanded his vernacular vocabulary into using terms such as “tool” and “freak” as they became increasing popular, as well.

This is a tradition/habit of my Dad’s that is always changing and expanding.  While he learns more and more slang phrases that are used by youth today, he also changes around his own uses of these words and the contexts in which he uses them.  Not only does he call members of the family some of these names as a joke, but he also refers to other people, often strangers, with these names under his breath and matches the words with various vocal tones to create different effects every time he makes a statement involving the described vernacular.  One aspect of this kind of humor that proves to be most amusing is the fact that one wouldn’t expect a 64-year-old man to be saying these things, and often the simple inclusion of a word here and there in his commentaries provokes a surprised reaction.

As I stated above, I think this tradition stems from a variety of factors.  My Dad has a very funny and blunt sense of humor that is also relatable to not only friends of his, but people from various generations, including my own.  It is clear that he prides himself in his humor and his ability to get along so easily with the youth in the family by using such crude humor.  The reason that his use of the vernacular became so popular over the last couple years is for a couple reasons.  First of all, our society has never before witnessed the creation of such a wide variety of slang to choose from, and the selection is almost irresistible to a grown man with a healthy sense of humor.  Secondly, as I, the youngest child, grew older and developed my own sense of humor, my Dad probably became far more comfortable with talking in such a crude manner in front of the family since parental control no longer existed in this sense.  Though I am not sure, and even doubtful, as to how many other parents use this kind of humor and language, it is clear from observing my dad that the vernacular in our media today not only affects youth, but older generations trying to keep up, as well.

Annotiations: The words listed above, along with another great variety of words, can be found on the popular website urbandictionary.com.

Holiday Game/Tradition

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Residence: New York, NY
Performance Date: March 10, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Holiday Tradition/Game

“Every year, for Christmas, our family plays the game “White Elephant.”  We have a lot of family and extended family come to visit for the holidays, so its fun to put some games together that everyone can participate in and be amused by.  In “White Elephant,” each player/individual involved brings something, or a couple things, from home that they don’t want anymore.  They wrap it in Christmas paper, and everyone sets these gifts in a pile near the tree.  On Christmas, starting with the youngest present, each person takes turns going up to the pile and picking a gift; the gifts can be as random as an old sweater or a gardening pot, but the concept of the game is based on the old proverb “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.””

This is a game that my family has played for years.  As my sister stated, we usually have a ton of guests over for Christmas: grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, significant others, etc.  Though many groups still exchange sentimental Christmas gifts, we wanted to start using a game that would result in everybody participating and everybody receiving a gift.

The game is traditionally played Christmas afternoon after the unwrapping of the normal gifts and right before dinner.  This is also a point in the day at which many family members had consumed a beer or two and are ready for a few good laughs.  The people who participate general provide very humorous or unique gifts; some past gifts have been: a flask, a fur coat, wind chimes, old board games, etc.  This provides for a lot of entertainment, and many of the gifts relate to jokes within the family.

Little children do not generally participate in “White Elephant” for these reasons.  The gifts provided by the older family members are typically supposed to be used by older teens and adults, and wouldn’t be understood by small children.  Also, the adults most likely wouldn’t appreciate receiving a Barbie toy that was put into the pile by a 5-year-old.

The concept of “White Elephant” seems to be greatly influenced by the old proverb “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  In this game, something that seems old and useless to one player/family member can serve two functions:  provide another person with something they might actually use, and provide the family with entertainment if the piece happens to inspire memories or jokes.

This game, among others, seems to be popular not only in my family, but in other families, as well.  After discussing the game with various friends, I found that many of them participate in the same game, or at least one very similar with only slightly different rules.  (These rules vary in terms of small details, such as order of picking gifts and what kinds of gifts can be given.)  “White Elephant” also supports the Christmas spirit because it encourages the acts of giving and receiving gifts on this day, and being grateful for what members of a family have to give to each other.  Though it is only one among many Christmas traditions, it still proves to be a consistently popular game among families who celebrate this holiday.

Occupational Joke

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 53
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Boonton Township, NJ
Performance Date: March 25, 2008
Primary Language: English

Occupational Joke

“My dad is a doctor, so he always tells these ridiculous and corny doctor jokes.  They’re really cheesy, but he is really nice and has a good sense of humor, so people usually laugh or giggle (or so he says.)  One of his favorite jokes that I know he uses a lot, and has used on me, is when if a patient is injured, he’ll do an action and ask the patient to imitate that action.  After having done so, he asks if that hurt the injured area.  When the patient says yes, he goes “Well then don’t do that!”

This joke is an example of occupational folklore because its context relates specifically to an occupation that is involved (here, doctor.)  While the joke is not aimed at, or about doctors, I would still classify it in this category because it is still humor that relates to sickness, injury, etc.  It is clear that Jeff has a good sense of humor and uses these jokes regularly to try to cheer patients up.  This is reasonable and to be expected from a man with a sense of humor because when a patient comes to an office with an issue, they are most likely upset about the issue and a joke would cheer them up.

This particular joke is a witty play on logic.  When Jeff asks the patient to do an action and then proceeds to ask if that hurt, he is performing what seems to be a typical procedure that doctors follow in order to attempt to figure out specifically what kind of issue a patient may be having.  However, if the patient does the action, and responds to Jeff that yes, that hurt the injured area, he uses this to make a joke.  When he responds “Well then don’t do that!” he is playing with logic in multiple ways.  First of all, he makes it seem as if the patient chose to willingly perform the action on their own without having been asked to.  Secondly, he also makes it seem as if the patient is the one creating the pain as opposed to an injury itself that he/she could no longer control.  Lastly, the joke is ironic because the patient only goes to the doctor in the first place to get the injury fixed, and saying “Well then don’t do that!” is hardly a way to fix an injury.

This joke seems to be humor that most patients should be able to appreciate.  As Dolyn says, “or se he says,” (about the patients appreciating the humor) she implies that the joke has a corny tone to it and maybe not everyone would really find it to be that funny.  Also, some patients may simply lack a strong sense of humor while in an injured state, and wouldn’t appreciate it for that simple reason.  However, this joke is still representative of an array of occupational jokes that doctors probably use to try to ease the pain of the patients and encourage them to cheer up despite their injuries.  Whether the humor is appreciated or not, it is apparent that jokes like these are often told by doctors to make patients feel more comfortable in their presence as well we making their own personality seem more likeable so that the patient is likely to return in the future after remembering the good cheer that he provided.

Folk Tale

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Boonton Township, NJ
Performance Date: March 25, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Tale

Online Conversation via AOL Instant Messenger

polkadot308 (3:06:10 PM): when my sister used to be constipated, I would tell her stories that were kind of my own, less coherent, versions of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”

polkadot308 (3:06:30 PM): they always went “three men, sitting in three chairs, drinking three cups of coffee, watching three tvs…etc.”

My friend told me this story about what she used to do with her sister when they were both younger and her sister was apparently constipated.  Dolyn is two years younger than her sister, but has a very nurturing nature and when she was really little wanted to try really hard to make her sister feel better.  She also loved storytelling, so she used this to try to ease and distract her sister when she was clearly having a difficult time.

Dolyn told me that she used to do this when she was about three years old, hence the use of the number three repeatedly throughout the story.  Three happens to be a very significant number in traditional folklore, and many stories involve the number three in its series of events.  Here, Dolyn uses the number three to list all of the people, items, and actions in the story as it progresses.  Though it is clear that the story seems to be more of a never-ending descriptive sentence rather than focused around a plot, like in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” the itemization using the number three still indicates a progression and imitation of the well-known fairy tale.

Dolyn also told me that her story would change every time she told a new one, which is very representative of folklore stories.  Though they all involved the number three, and generally started off talking about “three men,” each story would continue to very and become more and more different as it went on in order to produce a different tale every time.  This worked in two senses: Dolyn didn’t have to memorize exact details, and she also wouldn’t bore her sister by telling the same story every time.

It is also clear that Dolyn’s stories are influenced by traditional fairy tales. “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a very well-known story by many, and has been reproduced in many versions.  Dolyn’s stories, though “less coherent” as she says, and without as stable of a plot, were clearly influenced by the common fairy tale.  Instead of telling a tale of a small girl and three bears, however, she told tales of three men in a seemingly more modern world than are described in the more original “Goldilocks” versions.

Dolyn’s interpretations of these stories also continue as a type of family tradition between her sister and herself.  Though she no longer tells stories like this to her sister, as they have grown significantly older, it represents her nurturing nature and desire to ease and distract her sister.  It also shows a desire to be accepted and praised by her sister, which is common among younger sisters who yearn for sibling approval.

Annotation: Marshall, James. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Dial Publishing, US. 1988

Proverb

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Wayne. NJ
Performance Date: April 5, 2008
Primary Language: English

Proverb

“Bite the Bullet.”

My cousin Leah always uses this phrase whenever she, or anyone else, has to face doing something they don’t really want to do or are scared to do.  She says she heard it a lot when she was little because her grandfather would say it to her father when she overheard their conversations about any duties he had or things he didn’t feel like doing.

It is apparent that the proverb “Bite the Bullet” seems to come from (or from what I remember of my days learning about it in elementary school) hundreds of years ago when during the Revolutionary Way doctors used to give amputation patients bullets to bite on in order to endure the pain of the amputation procedure.  Instead of screaming and yelling, the patients would have something hard to bite down on in order to avoid thinking about the pain of losing a limb, and a bullet seemed to do the job.

After hearing her grandfather use this phrase, Leah started using it often, as well.  I’ve heard her use it many times when referring to school work, jobs, breakups, etc.  She says that it gives her more confidence when approaching a difficult situation.  If she is seriously dreading something, when she thinks of the phrase, it reminds her that soon it will be over, and if she just sucks it up she can get it done and over with.

She also uses this phrase with other family and friends to try to remind them of the same things.  Though some people don’t take it as seriously because they think its easier to be told to just “Bite the Bullet” than actually do what is feared, it sometimes works.  It especially works with me because I tend to realize the same thing that she does, and I am more motivated to simply get the job done.

I think this is a popular phrase among many people because it is short and to the point.  “Bite the Bullet” is a strong phrase which gets the point across without having to be interpreted.  It is also easily accessible to many, no matter what their education, because it is so straightforward and easy to understand.  Even if one doesn’t get the historical background to the phrase, it still gives the same, direct, effect and encourages the individual to just get the job done.

Annotation: Jack, Albert. Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of Phrases we Use Everyday. “Bite the Bullet” Harper Collins Publishers, 2005. Page 22.