Category Archives: Folk speech

“Iru di nma adiro nma itu mbo”-Onitsha Proverb

Nationality: Nigerian American
Age: 56
Occupation: Budget Analyst
Performance Date: 3/30/2020
Primary Language: English
Language: Igbo

Context: This is a proverb that is native to my dad’s village and he learned it as a child growing up in Onitsha. Proverbs like this were a prominent means of giving advice and life lessons especially to the children of the tight-knit community.

  • “Iru di nma adiro nma itu mbo”
    • Transliterated Proverb
      • Iru: face
      • Di nma: is nice, beautiful
      • Adiro: is not
      • Nma: nice
      • Itu: to throw
      • Mbo: nail
    • Full Translation: A beautiful face is not good to be scratched, meaning do not ruin a good relationship or look for trouble where there is none.
      • Explanation: This proverb is especially important to my dad because it represents a warning against telling lies or spreading unsupported allegations about someone. My dad learned this from his own father. This expression presents a metaphorical scenario where an individual scratches[falsely accuses] a beautiful[innocent]person. It means that a person in power should not accuse someone without any valid evidence and that in doing so you are not only telling a lie about that person, but you are also ruining a possible relationship and starting unnecessary trouble.  

Thoughts: I have to agree with the premise of this proverb because I grew up in a household that always emphasized the importance of never telling lies and not starting trouble. The saying is indicative of many of the life experiences that my parents have amassed living here in the United States. My dad, in particular, suffered a lot of hardships from individuals that would take his kindness and trust for granted and would try to discredit his character. However, this proverb speaks to a profound belief that my dad possesses. He believes in the law of karma, or the idea that if you lead a good life and stand by truth as opposed to lies that your good nature will be rewarded. I grew up with the heavy rhetoric of telling the truth and I honestly believe that it is one of the reasons why I am not a good liar. This proverb really speaks a lot of truth into who I am as a person, and who my dad still is. While I still tell the occasional white lie here and there, I do my best, to tell the truth, and I hope to pass that on to everyone I interact with.

Ojinnaka-Folk Title/Name

Nationality: Nigerian American
Age: 55
Performance Date: 4/24/2020
Primary Language: English
Language: Igbo

Context: This name was given to my dad by my grandfather or his father. This name is a title given to sons who have surpassed the expectations of their father. 

  • The name Ojinnaka means that he is greater than his age-mates because of his father. Meaning that the greatness of his father is passed down to his son.
    • Thoughts: This was something that I never knew about so learning about the significance of my dad’s given name was really eye-opening. Like I stated before with my mom, names in my culture are very significant because they are given on the basis of a wide variety of things. Names can be given based on traits and characteristics displayed during the time spent in your mother’s womb, you could be named based on the day you were born, the environment you were born in, or as a thank you to God for bringing you into the world. Every name has a meaning and is something that is very important when it’s given. My dad’s name was given to him by his father because he made my grandfather proud and wanted to mark this by bestowing the name Ojinnaka to him. I enjoyed learning about this because it really opened my eyes and made me value my name even more. Names are really cool because they carry so much weight in a variety of contexts and cultures. I believe all names have meaning and value, and learning about this reassured that belief.

Act in Haste, Repent at Leisure

Nationality: America
Age: 63
Occupation: General Manager
Residence: San Diego
Performance Date: 4/27/20
Primary Language: English

Context: The informant is my uncle and he is identified as J.I. He was raised in the Bay Area by my grandparents alongside my mother. In the following quote gathered from a phone call I had with him, J.I reflects on the aphorism, ‘act in haste, repent at leisure’; one that his father would often tell him in his adolescent years.

Main Text: “My dad had so many great expressions. I was always kind of impulsive, and I still am in some ways, but he always used to tell me ‘Act In Haste, Repent at Leisure’. It was his way of teaching me a lesson and warning me that making impulsive decisions could leave me with an unwanted result. Many times after making a rash decision I was like why did I do that, or why did I act so quick, because I’m stuck with it now, you know? And I think that this quote is really great when you look at life. You can always pull the trigger on something, but it’s usually best to marinate on an idea or big purchase so you don’t feel stuck with something later.”

Analysis: This saying passed down to my uncle from my grandfather is one that reteaches a common lesson: that if you act fast and don’t like the end result, you’ll have plenty of time to regret it later. I think this piece of folklore is relevant to many adolescent boys and even grown men because it is often tempting to make what seems like a fun, short-term decision without considering all of the long-term ramifications. After researching, it seems that this saying is derived from the 17th century saying “marry in haste, repent at leisure”, which originated from the 1693 novel “The Old Batchelour” by William Congreve.

He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Longest

Nationality: American
Age: 63
Occupation: General Manager
Residence: San Diego
Performance Date: 4/26/20
Primary Language: English

Context: The informant is my uncle and he is identified as J.I. He was raised in the Bay Area by my grandparents alongside my mother. In the following quote gathered from a phone call I had with him, J.I reflects on the aphorism, “he who laughs last, laughs longest”; one that his father would often tell him in his adolescent years.

Main Text: “My father used to say ‘he who laughs last, laughs longest’. The way I looked at that is it’s not always about getting noticed or winning first, but how you come out in the end. This could be in a game, a job, in school, in any aspect of life. It can be tough sometimes when you are not winning or getting credit, but in the end, many times you come out on top by working hard and staying focused. This comes to mind in my life as I was never the biggest in high school; I didn’t start growing until junior year. But maybe two years later, I was out at a party, and by that point, I had grown and started working out. Some girls took notice of this and mentioned my arms, cause I had some guns at that point. So one of my old buddies, who was sort of the alpha, challenged me to an arm-wrestling match at the party, and I ended up beating him. And that’s what I’ll remember, it really captures the message behind the saying.”

Analysis: This proverb reminds people that everyone is bound to have some bad luck or not get their way in life, but what really matters is how you handle these situations and create your own fortune. My uncle’s story is a great example of how you can’t let immediate misfortunes get to you and how you ultimately have to look at the big picture. A similar anecdote is a tale of “the tortoise and the hare”, which also teaches that persistence and hard work can overcome superficial or immediate losses. The sweetest victory is the final one.

Bless His Heart

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: student
Residence: Kansas City Kansas
Performance Date: April 26 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece, transcribed from a conversation:

“Bless your heart. It means aw, you fucking idiot. We say it like an insult, like oh that poor soul. It’s a southern, midwest thing. I learned it from my mom, who is from Texas. It’s definitely not a compliment, and it’s usually said behind someone’s back when you think they are stupid. But it also applies as a synonym for thank you, like when someone does something nice to you you say ‘bless your heart’ and that is meant sincerely.”

Background: My informant is from Kansas City, Kansas with her extended family being from Texas, Kansas and some in Florida.

Context: She is a good friend of mine I made at USC. We Facetimed (quarantine prevents live conversations), and I asked her if she had any sort of folklore after explaining the concept, and she immediately thought of this. I am from LA, and I don’t know much about the midwest or south so she immediately went to those identifying factors.

Thoughts: I think this is in line with the idea of Southern hospitality existing in the same space as extreme xenophobia. I don’t know much about the South, but I found this interesting because it’s the fake nice that you would expect. I’ve heard this used in California, but only as an expression of thanks, and only ever from older white people.