Author Archives: Timothy Clayton

Architecture or Architorture?

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/12/2012
Primary Language: English

The informant is currently in college, studying to become an architect.  Architecture studies involves many forms of torture–many sleepless nights, professors telling you to do one thing and then changing their minds, and even cutting yourself accidentally with razor blades.

Out of this torture, architecture began to be called architorture.  And it has stuck, because it is, unfortunately, very close to reality for many architecture students.  The informant says this occupational lore is very popular among architecture students, as it’s a witty way to acknowledge the suffering that comes from their work load.

I agree with this interpretation.  Also, I believe the collective use of this term helps bind the architects together into a family.  Having a common term–and one that acknowledges the true nature of the schooling–helps build a community, and community ultimately makes the “architorture” a little bit more bearable.

 

Love Hiccups

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/12/2012
Primary Language: English

The informant was eating lunch with a Indian friend one day, and suddenly began hiccuping.  The Indian friend chuckled, and told the informant that when you hiccup it means that somebody that loves you is thinking of you.  The informant is actually a very frequent hiccuper, and so this belief was extremely satisfying to him!

The informant asked his friend where this belief came from.  The Indian friend said he learned it from his mom, but that he didn’t know where it came from or what the true meaning was. The informant offered no analysis of the belief, except the fact that he liked it.

I think this belief is a way to turn what can be a nuisance–a particularly bad case of hiccups–into a much more positive experience.  Hiccups are transformed into a reminder that one is loved, and that those people that love you are thinking of you.  It’s a poignant and comforting belief.  This belief may have survived for a long time, especially if it was passed down through a family with a history of bad hiccups!

Don’t Do Anything You Wouldn’t Do Twice

Nationality: American-Bangladesh
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/10/2012
Primary Language: English

The informant heard this proverb from an older man one day at work.  The man told him, with a smile, “Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do twice.  Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do twice.”  The informant laughed upon hearing this, but still remembers this proverb years later.  The informant thinks there is wisdom in this proverb, but doesn’t agree with it entirely–and he thinks it is most true when the “anything” involves a huge risk.

One immediate rebuttal of this proverb that popped to mind is–try everything once.  But there’s certainly things that should never be tried, and plenty of things that should be done twice.

 

 

 

 

Don’t Drink Water after Eating Eggs

Nationality: American-Bangladesh
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/10/2012
Primary Language: English

The informant’s grandfather always told him this when eggs were served at the breakfast table—don’t drink water right after you eat eggs.  Why?  Because, the grandfather said, it will give you really bad breath.  You have to at least eat bread in between, but drinking water right away is a recipe for disaster.

The informant says this is something his grandfather has often said at the breakfast table.  The informant said he doesn’t really believe it, but still remembers his grandfather’s words whenever he eats eggs.

I agree with this interpretation.  I would suggest that perhaps, one time, the grandfather or an ancestor of his incidentally was stricken with terrible breath after eating eggs and drinking water, and this was where this folk belief came from.

Dumb as a Cow

Nationality: Vietnamese-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/25/12
Primary Language: English
Language: Vietnamese

ngu giống như con bò

Dumb as a Cow

This is a Vietnamese folk metaphor.  The informant learned this metaphor when she was a child.  Her parents, first generation Americans, were very careful not to teach her or her brother any insults or swear words in Vietnamese.  However, the informant heard her mother using this expression one day when her mother was frustrated at a bad driver in traffic.  The informant and her brother have continued to use this insult as it is the only insult in Vietnamese they know, to the reluctant tolerance of her parents.

The informant believes this metaphor is offensive because it is very offensive to compare people with animals in Vietnamese culture.  It used to describe somebody who does something stupid.  I agree with this analysis.