Category Archives: Folk speech

How many times did I say your name?”(a Nigerian Saying)

Nationality: Nigerian
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: Abuja, Nigeria
Performance Date: 4/22/18
Primary Language: English

Michael Iluma, a senior studying International Relations and Acting at the University of Southern California, who hails from Abuja, Nigeria, provided three pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, within his bedroom, on West 30th Street in the outskirts of the University of Southern California campus.

Folk Performance: “How many times did I say your name?”(a Nigerian Saying)

Folk Type: Folk-Speech.

“Anything more about Nigerian Parents?”– Stanley Kalu

STORY: oh for sure, you could literally do your whole project on just that. The worst though is when they like say your name a bunch of times and then ask you how many times they’ve called your name. So i’ll be like “three?” then my dad will be like “that’s how many times i’m going to beat you. Go get a slipper.” How fucked up is that?

Background Information: Discipline is a huge part of Nigerian culture. The repetition causes psychological duress because you understand, from the beginning of the statement, that you are going to be hit with a slipper.

Context of performance: Michael performed this act, as many Nigerian children do, in an accent-heavy impression of his father. The Father, in Nigerian culture, is often the disciplinarian.

Thoughts: Nigerians should stop hitting their kids.

 

 

 

 

Dental Joke

Nationality: Irish American
Age: 19
Occupation: student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 4/20/18
Primary Language: English

What is the best time to go to the dentist? Tooth hurty.

This joke was told to me by one of my closest friends, and she is quite the jokester. As she was telling me this joke, she pretty much admitted to telling everybody this joke because she finds it so funny. It’s very senseless and does not really have any catch lines or interesting elements to it. It was ironic because I had heard this from my uncle many years ago, as he always tells everyone he meets this joke too. It is not inventive or really that funny, that makes everybody laugh, almost every time because of the simplicity of it.

 

I Pray The Lord My Soul To Take

Nationality: American
Age: 59
Occupation: Psychiatric RN
Residence: NYC
Performance Date: 4/5/18
Primary Language: English

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep, if I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take.

This is a prayer that my parents always taught me every night before I went to sleep. As the saying goes, if you were to die in the night, to give your soul to the universe. There is no implicit rule or distinction that you’re sore should go to God, but more of a higher being of some sort. It was first heard from my father’s grandmother, and most children are scared of the dark, she told him this prayer to reassure him that everything would be okay.  My parents instilled they’re saying into my brothers and my brain from as young as I can remember I could speak. It gave me the certainty that no matter what happens if I woke up in the morning I would be happy that I didn’t die.God is this omnipotent great thing, and asking God to watch over before I fall asleep, and take my soul if I pass. You never know what will happen, and send positive energy to the universe.

 

Proverb from the Past

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Cell Tower Technician
Residence: Tustin, CA
Performance Date: 4/19/18
Primary Language: English

Collection: Proverb

After being asked about significant phrases or sayings, the informant recounted a proverb that his grandmother had previously told him. His grandmother would express that “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed.” This proverb implies that without asking or demanding what one needs, there is no way to obtain the goal.

Context/Interpretation: Proverbs are often used to teach valuable lessons. This proverb would be told to younger generations to encourage speaking out about what they need or want.

 

Childhood Rhyme

Nationality: American
Age: 56
Occupation: Contract Landscaper
Residence: NYC, USA
Performance Date: 4/4/18
Primary Language: English

 

 

 

 

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This came from the Wiggles, a show that my brother and I used to watch as a child. The song always came on and we danced around and had a great time. This song lyric was a large part of my childhood. My father and mother have a very large role in my life, and as a child, I remember singing this song pretty much every day. First, we would sing it when it came on the television when the famous wiggles would sing it. This then turned into a tradition where my dad would have my brother and I eat apples and bananas but also learn vowels at the same time and how to speak. We would sing this song before we eat apples and bananas every time or any kind of piece of fruit just to have a fun time. It was a way for all of us to be goofy and enjoy ourselves and also be healthy at the same time.