Category Archives: Folk speech

Camarón

Nationality: Mexico
Age: 70
Occupation: None
Residence: Los Angeles
Language: English and Spanish

“Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente”

My informant mentioned this proverb, “Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente” which in English means “Shrimp that falls asleep is carried by the current.” The informant told me that their mother would bring up this phrase when they missed out on opportunities. My informant is from Michoacán, Mexico, and learned it from their mother, but has also heard from other regions of Mexico. They now use that proverb and tell their kids and grandkids in order to teach them about how to make the most of their lives.

It is a phrase that warns of the dangers of passivity and inaction. It’s a way to teach a lesson that if you don’t take control of your life, you risk being swept away, just like a shrimp that is carried by the water.

STEP ON A CRACK, BREAK YOUR MOTHER’S BACK

The informant was told in the third grade that if they stepped on a sidewalk crack, their mother’s back would break. This superstition lasted for years and is widespread, and is something that is often told amongst young elementary children. It is also believed that it can cause bad luck and misfortune.

Age: 24

Date: April 3rd 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: This story falls into the category of superstition and this story is often shared among young students in school. This superstition has racist origins, dating back to the 19th century. The original saying was “step on a crack and your mother will be black”, which then later evolved from being a harmful racist saying to being about bad luck.

Stupid Games

Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Language: English

Text: You Played Stupid Games, You Win Stupid Prizes.

Context: Informant details that this proverb was first heard in a Taylor Swift song. Informant commonly uses this proverb when discussing the decisions of others, especially when addressing relationship decisions. Informant describes themselves as being an advisor to many friends when it comes to relationships. When they bring up issues that are centered around making bad decisions, especially choosing romantic partners, the informant relays this proverb. Informant acknowledges that it can sometimes come off as harsh, but understands the necessity of tough truths, especially with people they care for. Informant wants their friends to understand that, sometimes, the best way to avoid troublesome issues is to be more precautious in decision making.

Analysis: I believe this proverb is very fundamental to how the American people view hardships. A lot of people separate themselves from the event, and treat the situation as something that has been, “done to them,” rather than, “done to self.” This is rooted in the tendency of people to not take responsibility for their actions. This proverb provides the wisdom that negative outcomes are likely to come from non thoughtful decisions. This can, and should be, applied to decision making on all scales. The American decision making culture has long been rooted in a “now is better than later” mindset. This means that the quicker decision is the better one, as it allows for action to be taken at a rapid rate. This, however, leads to many unforeseen issues that would have likely been thought of if the decision was made more carefully. This proverb’s importance then becomes as a reminder that the best choice is the thoughtful one.

Parable / Wisdom Tale

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: USC Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Context:

A story my informant was told when they were growing up, used to reframe seemingly bad things into a positive light. It’s an example of intergenerational folklore because his mother was told the story as a child as well.

Text: Pulled from a message my informant sent me

“My mom would tell me this story about a man that seemingly fell into continuous fortune and misfortune. The man owns a farm and has a son. His son falls off his horse, and breaks his leg. Everyone tells him “how unfortunate,” but he says “don’t say how unfortunate.” A week passes and there’s a draft, all young men must go fight, but his son isn’t taken because of his broken leg. Everyone says “how fortunate,” again the man replies “don’t say how fortunate.” Later when the boy was healed, he wasn’t able to use his leg the same way. My mom would say this to keep me centered no matter what I’m doing. That not everything that happens to you is bad luck, because everything can change. She was trying to teach me a moral lesson that we must be thankful in every situation and not focus on a specific outcome.”

This story can be categorized as a teaching tale, which are used to convey moral, spiritual, or philosophical lessons. It’s not just a story for entertainment, it’s supposed to be instructive. This story teaches us patience, perspective, and detachment. It also overlaps and can be condensed into some common proverbs like “everything happens for a reason” and “don’t judge too soon”.

Fable – The Ant and the Grasshopper

Nationality: Thai
Occupation: USC Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English and Thai

My informant is from Thailand and this is a story they were told by their parents as a child.

The Ant and the Grasshopper:

The story goes that the one Fall, there was a group of ants and a grasshopper. The ants were hard working, collecting food for the upcoming winter. However, the grasshopper was not. All he cared about was having fun and playing around without a care in the world. Later, Winter comes and the ants have food to eat but the grasshopper doesn’t. He begs for food but they scold him and say he can’t have any because he was being lazy and didn’t get it for himself. Since he didn’t work for his own food and the ants won’t give him any, he dies from starvation.

This story would be categorized as a tale, more specifically a fable. This story is a fable because it’s a fictional tale with talking animals who are being used to teach a moral lesson.

The moral lesson of this story is that you shouldn’t be lazy and expect people to help you out when you didn’t do the work you were suppose to. It’s a fable that discourages laziness, shortsightedness, and expecting people to give you things you don’t deserve. It encourages being like the ants who work hard for what they have, practice collective and collaborative labor that benefits them all, and are well equipped for the Winter (hard times) because of their hard work.