Category Archives: Folk speech

Farsi Curse #3

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Encino, CA
Performance Date: April 3, 2018
Primary Language: English

Background: Lauren was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Her parents are both Persian Jews, and Lauren considers herself Persian as well. Lauren does not know how to write the curse in the original Farsi. The pronunciation is based on how Lauren said the phrase during our interview, keeping in mind that she is not a native Farsi speaker. Her first language was English and she also learned Hebrew growing up, and while she understands Farsi her speaking capabilities are, in her own words, limited.

Context: I called Lauren on the phone since she attends university in Florida and recorded our conversation. I have transcribed what she said over the phone below. She was sharing with me her favorite Persian curse words and phrases. She had just shared her favorite, which is published under the title “Farsi Curse #1” as well as a more offensive curse that is published as “Farsi Curse #2”.

The phrase: khag tu sar

How it is pronounced: kh-oh-g too sahr

“Our final curse word is khag tu sar. It basically means throw dirt on your head. I don’t know the correct grammatical terms for it but I’m pretty sure you can use it universally, not sure if its a gender related term. I learned this word from my parents when I was very young but I never used it until I was a sophomore in high school. Now its just a part of my language. People use it in many ways, but I use it almost like “kill me now” or “oh no”. I think its supposed to be said to put people down if they’re being annoying. Most people use it in the sense of “kill me” or “oh god”, like khag tu sar!”

 

Days of the Week Riddle

Nationality: Jewish
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angles
Primary Language: English

The informant is my film partner (referred to as MR) who has a Jewish mother  who apparently loves jokes and riddles. The informant grew up hearing this riddle and never being able to solve it and now tells this riddle all the time. His mother learned it when she was younger from her father when they lived in Cherry Hill, NJ.

This is the riddle:

Q: Name three consecutive days without using these words: Monday…….Tuesday…….Wednesday…….Thursday……Friday.

A: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

MR: “What makes this riddle successful is the misdirection in the instructions. The trickery comes from the word “days,” because your mind goes to the names of the days of the week. Once you know the trick the riddle is super obvious. I think it is funny we always tell this riddle to dinner party members if they haven’t joined us before or if I meet someone new.”

 

I think the context of this riddle is particularly interesting. This riddle seems to be a running joke within his family and whenever a new member joins the dinner table or party, the riddle is told. It is almost a rite of passage and way to prove yourself to the rest of the family or members of the party. Like the informant stated, once you know the answer, the riddle is painfully obvious and so people who know the answer are all in on the joke, while they wait for the answer. It is almost an initiation.

Procrastination proverb

Nationality: Irish
Age: 56
Occupation: Lawyer/Screenwriter
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

The informant is my mother who is Irish and she grew up in Buffalo, New York. She always used to tell me this proverb growing up and still says this to me today.

 

“Your tomorrow self will thank your today self.”

 

I have never heard this proverb before and she is really the only person I have ever heard say it. My mother said her Irish grandmother would say it to her growing up. Upon further research I could not find where the proverb originated from, but I kept finding this:

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”

 

Which has the same sentiment and was apparently originally said by Sean Patrick Flanery who is also Irish.

If this is an Irish proverb, it tells me that the culture is very efficient and very in the now. I think American world view is very much future oriented and we put things off, but this proverb encourages people to do things now so you don’t have to think about it in the future.

 

For another version of this proverb see “Jane Two,” written by Sean Patrick Flanery.

 

Australian Proverb

Nationality: Australian
Age: 49
Occupation: Accountant/Talent Manager
Residence: Australia/Los Angeles
Primary Language: Panjabi

The informant was my best friends mother (referred to as KM) who is Australian. She is from Brisbane Australia and has been living there for around 50 years now. She works as a talent manager and an accountant. She told me her mother used to tell her the following proverb.

 

KM: “The more you know, the less you need.”

 

I think this short proverb is very powerful and says a lot about Australian culture. I think a lot of people in western culture view knowledge as power and power also equates to material items and money. So this is kind of the opposite of that. Knowledge is power and therefore, it is the only thing you need. Through my time in Australia and my friends, I have over there I saw a lot of people living a minimalist styled life. Obviously, people live in excess over there as well, but I think this is a beautiful way to live by. When you know more you become more resourceful and are filled with less desire to constantly consume.

 

 

 

 

 

Indonesian Proverb

Nationality: American
Age: 27
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English
Language: Indonesian

The informant was my cousin (referred to as LG) who spent 4 years being a Fulbright scholar in Indonesia. There she was teaching school girls English and art. She told me one of the Indonesian teachers would always say this proverb to the girls:

 

LG: “Bagai pungguk merindukan bulan. Which translates into Like an owl reaching for the moon.”

 

CI: “What does that really mean?”

 

LG: “It’s definitely kind of sad, It is basically saying, ‘you’re wishing for something impossible.’ I feel like the older Indonesian generations definitely tried to be what they thought was realistic with their students or children, but also it definitely could be seen as putting the children down.”

 

I find this particularly interesting because teachers in America are very encouraging and there is a strong sentiment that “The children are the future. But in Indonesia, especially in the village, my cousin lived, which was very poor, it seems that adults think it is important to not encourage the children too much. This proverb isn’t necessarily putting children down, it is just telling them not to dream too big.