Author Archives: Shay Thiede

Persian Proverb – “The king and his kingdom”

Nationality: Iranian-American
Age: 19
Occupation: student
Residence: California
Performance Date: 02/20/23
Primary Language: English

Text:

“The King and his kingdom”

Context:

MB is 19 years old from Southern California. She is currently studying at the University of California, Berkley. Both her parents were born in Iran and immigrated to the United States as children. This proverb was often used by her mother to describe her father, usually in a joking manner. She informed me that her mother used this proverb to poke fun at her father when he was being strict towards her and her brother. This is the English translation of a Persian proverb.

Analysis:

This proverb traditionally means that a king’s kingdom is where his power lays. It refers to the idea “a king is only as powerful as his kingdom.” It is interesting that my informant’s mother used this to joke about my informant’s father. It has a general implication of a male centric power structure. It uses the phrase king and relates his power to the control of his kingdom.  In reference to her family, it was used to poke fun at this male centric dynamic. The way this proverb was used in my informant’s family shows how specific communities within a culture can use or interpret common cultural, in this case proverbs, in their own way. Even within one culture, there will be a lot of variation in the use of specific proverbs, or even the meaning of those proverbs.

Jokes – word play

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Colorado
Performance Date: 02/20/23
Primary Language: English

Text:

“What are the strongest days of the week?”

            “Saturday and Sunday. The others are all weekdays.”

Context:

DT is an 18 year old from Southern California. He is currently living in Colorado while attending Colorado State University, Fort Collins. He loves telling silly jokes and, when he was younger, he even had books on jokes. This joke was told to me over the phone when I asked him for one of his favorite jokes that he had recently heard. It came from a friend of his that lives on his floor in his dorm. My informant’s friend is originally from Colorado.

Analysis:

This joke uses the homonyms “week” and “weak” to create word play. “Weekday” is used improperly to refer to the strength of the day. This play on words means the joke works better when told orally to someone rather than written out. Since the use of the words is the basis of the joke, it is likely that it only works in English. This points to the joke’s origin in an English speaking culture. It is also interesting that the two days of the week that are the “strongest” are the two days that most Americans (and other cultures) enjoy the most because they are traditionally the days off from school or work. It is also a joke with no inappropriate or crude humor.  This means it can be appreciated by children and adults alike. It can be told in many different settings to a wide variety of people and still be appreciated. Because of the nature of word play jokes, it is unlikely that it gets everyone who hears it laughing hysterically, but it is likely to produce some light chuckles from those who appreciate these types of jokes.

Joke – animal pun

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Colorado
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: English

Text:

“Why can’t a leopard hide?”

            “He’s always spotted.”

Context:

DT is an 18 year old who was born and raised in Southern California. He is currently attending Colorado State University, Fort Collins. He loves jokes almost as much as he loves animals. He told me this joke over the phone when I asked about what his favorite jokes were. He informed me that he originally heard this joke from one of his professors in an animal biology class.

Analysis:

This joke is interesting in a few ways. First, this joke uses homophones as its main tool. The use of the word “spotted” refers to two different meanings, both of which are engaged in the joke. Leopards are covered in small spots, but this word also refers to being seen because the leopard can’t hide. This joke is essentially a pun. It’s also interesting to note the complete falsity of the joke. It claims that leopards cannot hide well because of their spots, when in reality, their spotted nature helps them blend in tremendously well with their natural environment. Understanding this adds another layer of humor to the joke because it adds to the silliness. This joke was told in an academic setting in an animal biology class where many hearing it would probably understand the humorous inaccuracies, where if told to a person outside of this community, they might believe this to be an accurate joke.

Riddle – backpacks in the desert

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: waitress
Residence: California
Performance Date: 2/21/23
Primary Language: English

Text:

“Two men are in a desert and they both have backpacks on. One of the two is dead. The guy who is still alive has his backpack open and the guy who is dead has his backpack closed. What is in the man’s backpack who is dead?”


                        “A parachute.”

Context:

HW is a 20 year old who was born and raised in Southern California. She now works at a restaurant in the Southern California area. She originally heard this riddle from her grandfather when she was a kid. He used to give her riddles and would give her a dollar if she could come up with the right answer. My informant said “he wasn’t usually out all that much money. I usually only got them when I had heard it before.” I had met her for coffee where she told me this riddle.

Analysis:

This riddle has a typical structure. It asks a question after granting information, but not enough to totally understand where the riddle is going. Often, riddles even provide too much information to throw people off the right answer. In this riddle, you might think the desert is an important clue, but it really could be set almost anywhere. This riddle has a little bit of humor in it as well. Everyone may not find it funny because of its use of death as a comedic technique. The barrier to understand this riddle is relatively low because anyone who understands English and how parachutes work can understand it. However, the younger the audience is, the less likely it will be an appropriate riddle or one that could be understood. My informant cannot remember how old she was when she heard it, but she does know that she understood it once she heard the answer. Riddles are often given to children and told by children for fun and to test how clever someone is based on how good they are at solving them. Often though, people who have heard the riddle before are likely to get the answer, whereas if someone hears a riddle for the first time, it is much harder to get the answer right away.

Persian Proverb “The neighbor’s chicken is a goose”

Text:

“The neighbor’s chicken is a goose.”

Context:

MB is a 19 year old currently studying at the University of California, Berkley. She grew up in Southern California, but both of her parents are from Iran.  Her grandmother, also from Iran, has taught her a lot of interesting Persian proverbs. She does not remember them in the native Farsi, but she knows the English translations. When I asked her if she knew any proverbs and she said, “I remember this one especially because it was so weird to me.”

Analysis:

This proverb speaks to a few interesting features of Iranian culture. My informant shared that she was told that this proverb means that people usually want what they do not have or, similarly, that things they do have, do not measure up to what others have. This proverb also speaks on what was traditionally seen as important in the culture and what values were held. The goose is the thing to be coveted rather than a chicken. This would imply that goose was more rare, worth more, or held a more significant meaning when this proverb came into existence. It also shows that coveting what others have is generally not seen as a good practice. This proverb speaks to deter people from this kind of behavior, which is still its function today. The neighbor’s “duck” is in fact a chicken, just like everybody else. This proverb is likely spoken to share wisdom to younger children or to remind someone if they are coveting something they do not have.