Category Archives: Folk speech

No one owes you anything

Nationality: USA
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: USA
Performance Date: April 21st, 2017
Primary Language: English

Interviewee: “The idea that no one owes you anything and there isn’t an overarching power or system that prevents you from getting what you want to achieve”

Interviewee: “and it’s always your fault”

Interviewer: Where did you hear this and what is its’ significance?

Interviewee: “everytime I tell my mom something didn’t go my way…she says its your fucking fault, and don’t blame anyone else for something that didn’t go your way”

Interviewee: “…and its significant because now we live in a time where victim blaming is not allowed and when something doesn’t go someone’s way it’s always someone else’s fault.

Interviewee: “people lack accountability and responsibility for their own decisions and how they approach solving their problems and I think this is why Asians fare well in America’s capitalism structure. if you work hard, if you try, if you don’t blame other people for putting you down, then you’ll naturally come out on top because Capitalism has no color but green…but when you persist on saying that there are people holding you down…and focus on why people, not you, don’t let you achieve what you want then you naturally prevent yourself from doing what you want to do and it’s significant because it instills resilience, perseverance and that you control your life.”

Business

Nationality: USA
Age: 50
Occupation: Business
Residence: China
Performance Date: April 5th, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Interviewee: “When you are in a partnership where there are many shareholders, it doesn’t matter if you are a big shareholder or a small shareholder, if you are running the business, you have to take care of everyone, doesn’t matter how big of a shareholder you are”

Interviewer: What does this mean to you?

Interviewee: “what it’s saying is, even if you are a small shareholder and you have no voice, but … if you are in a position of running a business, you must be fair to everybody no matter how big or small they are.”

 

Lebanese Proverb

Nationality: Lebanese-American
Age: 22
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Feliz, California
Performance Date: 04/05/17
Primary Language: English

“Live for today, as if you’re going to live forever. Live for the year after, as if you’re going to die tomorrow morning.”

My informant is from a Lebanese family. She is a college student at the California State University Northridge. She is very close with her father, often helping him run the family store. We sat down at a coffee shop to talk about folklore from her family.

My informant explains that you have to live your life to the fullest. Don’t think of the year after. But when the times come, you must remember the year before. You have to live life to the fullest, while also preparing for the future. She heard this saying from her father.

When first listening to this proverb, it too me some time to understand what it was hinting at. I had to spend some time repeating it to myself to understand its meaning. This is an interesting take on living your life to the fullest. It kind of sound like it is cautioning people to live life to the fullest but at the same time make it meaningful.

Salvadoran Joke Proverb

Nationality: Salvadoran
Age: 50
Occupation: Chief Building Engineer
Residence: North Hills, California
Performance Date: 04/20/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

” No te mais, aquien temio”

Literal Translation: Do not be afraid, of he has been afraid

Joke translation: Do not be afraid, of he who has peed on you

The literal translation comes from the proper Spanish from Spain. The way it is used in El Salvador is they make the last word into two words turning it into “pee.” This joke is usually told to  friend or close family member that is having a bad day or is anxious. My father heard this joke from his friends.

I asked my dad for some folklore while walking to the store.

My informant is a building engineer. He migrated to the United States form El Salvador when he was 16 years old. He grew up in a city in El Salvador. Lots of the folklore he has heard has come from his family.

What is interesting about this piece is how a slight shift in space of a word can change the meaning of the whole proverb. Salvadorans are known for being jokers. They like to call it being “trucha.”

Salvadoran Proverb for Women

Nationality: Salvadoran
Age: 50
Occupation: Chief Building Engineer
Residence: North Hills, California
Performance Date: 04/20/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“Las muchachas anda tan caliente, que cuando se orinen haste el sacate agarra fuego.”

Translation: Young girls are so hot (horny), then when they pee even the grass catches fire

This proverb was told to my informant by his wife. It represents the stigma that comes with women having free sexuality. it is usually told to daughters as a warning.

 

My informant is a building engineer. He migrated to the United States form El Salvador when he was 16 years old. He grew up in a city in El Salvador. Lots of the folklore he has heard has come from his family.

What is interesting is that this proverb really attack female sexuality. There is this idea in Salvadoran and most Hispanic culture that there are only two women; saints (women that are pure and do not have sexual urges) and whores (women that give into their sexual urges).