Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Phrase: “A Senior is Half a Teacher”

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Near USC campus
Performance Date: 2/21/2023
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Text: “一个学长，半个老师”
Pinyin (Simplified): yi ge xue zhang, ban ge lao shi
Translation: One senior is half a teacher.

Context:
N is a junior at USC, majoring in Communications. N is an international student from China, Anhui Province. When N was a high school student, he was in a soccer team on campus which is the community he refers to in this phrase.
N: “There’s this sort of tradition, more like a phrase. The phrase is ‘一个学长，半个老师’ (yi ge xue zhang, ban ge lao shi). It’s like, ‘a senior is equal half a teacher, or half a coach. It’s part of a tradition in my soccer team when a junior would just, like, make the freshmen do whatever they want them to do. That’s just a tradition, I guess.”
Is that like a criticism of experience?
N: “I think it’s because in China, the people who go to sports, they don’t need to have really good grades. They just go to high school or college with their sports, they just go to practice. They’re more like a street gang, like a clique. So, because they’re bad, they want to control the people who are new.”

Interpretation:
This phrase is circulated throughout the students. It isn’t a proverb which relays some form of wisdom or life lesson to the listener and it is also not a joke, as there is no humor behind the reality of the statement. It observes a complex power dynamic and metaphorically summarizes it in a concise way, likely as a call to how unfair such a hierarchy is and an acknowledge about the inevitability of its insistence in the school system. It’s a stereotype of athletes at this school widely known and accepted by the students, a blason populaire of this community of soccer players. Such speech is usually created by an external audience, the students who are not in the soccer team themselves but are familiar with it. When asked why the juniors bully the lower classmen, the answer could be this phrase. It is a lighthearted observation of the corruption and power play at school and its unfair treatment of the students, so much so that N associates this phrase with his specific team. Simultaneously, it encourages no revolt against such a system, already knowing full well the impossibility of change that could come from speaking up. This acceptance adds to the stereotype, almost perpetuating its truth.

“Hen-pecked”

Nationality: American
Age: 48
Occupation: Social Worker
Residence: Houston, Texas
Performance Date: 02/21/2023
Primary Language: English

1. Text (folk metaphor)

“Hen-pecked”

2. Context 

My informant heard this phrase often from her grandmother. They were born and raised in the south, Louisiana specifically, before moving to Texas. She recalls an old saying that states that you don’t let your boyfriend or husband carry your purse for that mean he’s “hen-pecked.” She further elaborated on how hen-pecked often referred to when a man “is not the head of household”, but the woman is and “as a woman, you have taken his power from him.” She heard this when she was a child growing up as a black woman in the south during the 80s. 

3. Analysis/YOUR interpretation

From my understanding of the phrase, it seems to be rooted in southern misogynistic beliefs. My informant was raised in a rural Texan community after her family moved from Louisiana. As someone who was born and also raised in Texas, I am aware of the stereotypes, traditions, and customs commonly associated. Being the head of the household typically entails the male figure is seen as the provider, masculine, and generally opposite of many stereotypical feminine traits associated with the women. So when a man holds his wife’s purse, these shared belief systems may consciously or subconsciously take hold resulting in narrow-minded beliefs. During the time my informant recalls these ideologies, hegemonic masculinity in the black community was apparent. Hegemonic masculinity at its core refers to the belief that men’s position in society remains dominant. This is often seen as the social pressures men have faced of being expected to depict a perfect “expression” of masculinity. The term hen-pecked means not seen as masculine but seen as subservient to one’s wife and therefore not upholding the hegemonic masculine standards. This is an oikotype of the original meaning. Hen-pecked originally came from the way hens are constantly pecking at the ground for food and the way a wife or girlfriend may nag at her significant other resulting in the man complying with the wife. It seems the term became used more generally not only referring to the woman pecking/nagging their partner, but anything done by the man which could be seen as subservient to women.

Minor Genre: Folk-Object

Nationality: Puerto Rican/Dominican
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Evil Eye

Context: A symbol that wards off evil. It is used a lot in Santeria which is a mix of Caribbean magic and Catholicism and is kind of considered a form of witchcraft. If you wear it, you are protected. However, you should never buy an evil eye for yourself because it should always be gifted to you or else it is considered a bad omen and will not work. The evil eye is usually worn on pieces of jewelry and has been seen for thousands of years in cultures such in Latin America, Europe, and parts of Asia. To the informant, the evil eye is special to them because their grandmother gave them an evil eye necklace nine years ago and they’ve worn it ever since. It’s a symbol that deflects negative energy towards the person it originated from and allows the wearer to stay safe and protected.

Analysis: It was surprising to find out that if you buy an evil eye for yourself it’s a bad omen because I’ve gotten myself a crystal called the black tourmaline, which has a similar energy to the evil eye that they deflect negative energy and keep you protected from whoever sends that negative energy towards you. However, there is nothing saying it won’t work if you buy it for yourself. It is interesting that now, in contemporary culture, the evil eye symbol has become popular in fashion and home decor, often used in the form of jewelry, clothing, or wall hangings. While some people may use the symbol for its protective qualities, for others it may simply be a fashionable or decorative element in their homes.

Minor Genre: Proverb

Nationality: Russian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 2/22/2023
Primary Language: Russian
Language: English

“Не пуха, ни пера, к черту” – translate to “no feathers, to the devil”

Context: Before a competition, interview, exam or something that you needed to do well on, your coach, family members, or friends would say this to you. In a personal context, this was said before her ballet competition in Russia every time she was about to compete in order to have good luck. This proverb is used rhetorically as a fixed phrase and was mainly said by elders to a younger audience. This was a very common phrase she heard growing up in Russia and was something she used as encouragement and confidence to succeed in whatever she was doing. She first heard it from her dad when she went to school for an exam and from then on it became a very common phrase used by the people around her, and eventually her ballet coach. Whether she was at school, in a tournament, or about to do something exhilarating, this was the phrase heard every time.

Analysis: This phrase is very similar to one we have in American culture, “break a leg,” which has the meaning of good luck and is said before an important event that you want to succeed in. As a fixed phrase used to give a blessing, the metaphorical meaning behind it is similar to the American version of this proverb. Nobody wants you to actually break your leg, but instead it’s a backwards metaphor saying good luck to you. This was apart of Russian “paremiology” where essentially everyone knows this basic proverb. Similar to the United States, everyone knows the phrase “break a leg” and the real meaning behind it.

Minor Genre: Folk-Speech

Nationality: Puerto Rican/Dominican
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“Culito de rana si no sana hoy sana mañana”

Translation: “Heal heal frogs butt, if it doesn’t heal today, it’ll heal tomorrow.”

Context: The context of this saying is typically used to provide comfort to someone who is feeling discouraged or disappointed about something that didn’t work out as planned. Additionally if a kid gets physically hurt, they would use the lullaby phrase to make them feel better. It suggests that sometimes things don’t work out right away, but with patience and time, they will eventually improve or heal. It’s important to note that this saying is often used in a light-hearted or playful way, especially when it’s being said to children. However, it can also be used in more serious situations to encourage perseverance and hope. The informant first heard this saying when they were four years old and fell on the playground. After coming home from school that day, their mother recited the lullaby to them and gave them comfort.

Analysis: As a child, this sounds as though it would be very nice to hear when you get a scratch on the playground. Although the phrase is most commonly used for children, I interpreted it having a playful and lighthearted tone, which may help to alleviate stress or anxiety in difficult situations or setbacks. It’s a reminder that sometimes it’s okay to take a step back, relax, and trust that things will eventually work out in their own time.