Category Archives: Folk speech

Goosey Night (AKA Mischief Night)

Text:

M: “So on Goosey Night, we’d all sneak out and we’d bring ivory soap. It was always ivory soap. And you’d go around and you’d be putting soap all over people’s car windows so they can’t drive. And we’d throw eggs at people’s houses and stuff. People called it mischief, we called it goosey night”

Context:

M grew up in New Jersey. Every Halloween Eve, the kids in his town partook in “Goosey Night.” A night full of pranks, mischief, and mayhem.

Analysis:

The phrase “Goosey Night” is a form of esoteric form of folk speech. Most people call Halloween Eve Mischief Night, but my father and the kids he knew called it Goosey Night. By have a different, unique name for the night, the kids were able to communicate with each other in ways outsiders wouldn’t understand. The pranks and mischief of Goosey Night are rituals – repeated, patterned actions. It was a tradition for kids to break the rules once a year, on Goosey Night. In a way, the kids existed in a space of liminality because they weren’t ignorant babies or knowledgeable adults. If an adult partook in Goosey Night, they would most likely be arrested, but kids could because they existed in the in-between space.

“Dale Boys”

Text:

D: “[at school] We were the Dale boys.”

C: “Because you were bussed in?”

D: “We were bussed in so we didn’t have our own high school so we were bussed in so we were from Riverdale so they call us the Dale boys, the people from the other side of the tracks. People from the other side the tracks were considered poor. And so we were from the other side of track because we weren’t canola, smoke rise, the rich kids.”

Context:

My dad grew up in a poorer town in New Jersey called Riverdale. The town/district didn’t have their own high school, so the kids in Riverdale were bussed into the nearest town’s high school. That town was much wealthier than Riverdale, and classism and elitism were always present between the two groups. My dad and the other Italian kids from Riverdale were called the “Dale Boys” to mock and patronize them for being different and less wealthier.

Analysis:

The name “Dale Boys” is simultaneously both an esoteric and exoteric. It was esoteric in the way that it connected all the kids from the wealthier town and made them “better” than the kids from Riverdale. It communicated a sense of superiority within the group. “Dale Boys” is also exoteric in the sense that it was a way for the bullies to communicate their distaste to the “outsiders” – the kids bussed in.

Orange County Folk Speech

Text:

When swimming with friends in the ocean and a big wave is coming, you shout “Over, Under,” triggering the “over, under” game.

Context:

S, who is from and grew up in Orange County, spent many hours and days at the beaches with her friends. When swimming in the ocean, they would see waves come in, and one of them would shout “over, under,” meaning, so we jump over the wave or swim under it. The bigger a wave was, the higher the chance everyone would swim under it because you would get pummeled if you tried jumping over a wave that was too big.

Analysis

It seems like this folk speech of “over, under” is a form of “esoteric” folk speech because the use of “over, under” is to trigger a reaction from S’s friends, who are part of her folk group. Therefore, “over, under” would function as “esoteric” speech as it is a form of communication aimed at the members of her folk group, rather than “exoteric” since it is not trying to be communicated to the general public or people outside of the folk group. I believe “over, under” could also be considered “emic” rather than “etic” since it is an insider’s (people who live and grew up in OC) perspective of the ocean and waves, and it would probably not be understood by someone who grew up no where near the ocean. For all the outsider may assume from hearing the shout “over, under” in the ocean a shark could be coming to attack them!

Nicaraguan Saying – God Save Me from Innocent People

Age: 20

Context:

The informant’s family is from Nicaragua and has many culturally important sayings that are passed down from her grandmother and mother. In times of uncertainty or distress, they both tend to say the below in response to general circumstances.

Text:

A: “So the second saying – still from Nicaragua is : ‘Del agua manza libreme Dios que de la brava me cued yo’ and that basically means you’re asking God to save you from calm innocent looking people similar to the other one, because you stay away from turbulent waters. “

Analysis:

This saying is a form of verbal folklore that communicates cultural knowledge surrounding trust and deception. The contrast in the metaphor and symbolic imagery shows how calm appearances usually mask hidden dangers. The proverb circulated through the informant’s family, reflecting how proverbs can help to interpret difficult social situations in moments of uncertainty. The continued use of this phrase within the informant’s family reflects how diasporic communities hold onto culturally significant phrases as a way to make sense of unexplainable cultural phenomena and human behavior.

Nicaraguan Proverb – The Viper is Under the Stone

Age: 20

Context:

The informant’s family is from Nicaragua and often uses this proverbial phrase as a warning about the unseemly character of others. It is said to caution others in regards to friends or acquittances.

Text:

A: “Okay, so my grandma is from Nicaragua and so one of the sayings my mom will say to me sometimes it’s : ‘debajo de la piedra está la víbora. ‘ So, in English, it means the viper is under the stone.”

K: “The viper is under the stone?”

A: “Yeah, so that basically translates to for example somebody who seems nice on the outside or one way but behind the scenes they are not as nice as they seem and actually could be like manipulative or like rotten inside.

Analysis:

This Nicaraguan proverbial phrase is a part of verbal folklore and acts as a metaphor within the informant’s culture to warn against deceptive people. It follows the structure of proverbial phrases by commenting on the hidden character of manipulation, represented by the image of a viper. The passing down of the proverb shows how verbal folklore continues across generations to socialize and educate children. This metaphor highlights the role of folk belief in navigating personal relationship and uncertainty.