Category Archives: Folk speech

Dentist Joke

Nationality: Irish American
Age: 57
Occupation: Dentist
Residence: San Carlos, Ca
Performance Date: 4/6/2017
Primary Language: English

Informant:

Terry is a second generation Irish american who grew up in los Angeles in the ‘60s and 70’s. He is now a dentist working and living in the Bay area.

Piece:

Ok, so here is a joke that I learned in dental school. It goes like this:

What did the dentist see in the North pole?

A molar bear

Collector’s thoughts:

This short dentist joke is a pun which replaces polar bear with the word molar. The informant laughed at his own joke and got great pleasure from telling it. To me it seemed that half of the fun in telling this joke for the informant came from the fact that it is a somewhat boring joke.

Waking Up Early According to Colombians

Nationality: Colombian American
Age: 48
Occupation: Lawyer
Performance Date: April 14th
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“Al que madruga Dios le ayuda”

Ines Elvira Ortiz- Colombia, Bogota

Ortiz’s mother would tell her this in the 70s when she would have trouble leaving her room in the morning.

This reminds of the proverb: early to bed, and early to rise, that I’ve heard in the United States. It places a value in productivity, which overtime has begun to be correlated with rising early to begin the workday. The eight hour work day is obviously a reality in Latin America as well, and the prevalence of Catholicism among Latino populations can account for the added element of religion in the proverb.

Don’t Procrastinate

Nationality: Colombian American
Age: 48
Occupation: Lawyer
Residence: Tampa, Florida
Performance Date: April 26th
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“No dejes para mañana lo que puedes hacer hoy”

Don’t Leave for tomorrow what you can do today.

Ines Elvira Ortiz, Bogota Colombia, heard it from her mother.

Psychologists

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 4/12/17
Primary Language: English

 

  1. The piece being performed:

 

The most fucked up kids are the kids of psychologists.

 

  1. Why do they know or like this piece? Where/who did they learn it from? What does it mean to them?

 

“My father is a psychiatrist and I have met many people that have parents that are therapists or psychologists and we share in the mutual bond, the shared experience of being raised by someone who consistently tries to ‘shrink’ us.”

 

  1. The context of the performance.

 

Madison’s bedroom, right after speaking with her mother.

 

  1. My thoughts about the piece.

 

It is a telling proverb, because it highlights the emotional distance between Madison and her father, especially as she grows older and tries to be a daughter, not a patient. It also might be indicative of growing up Jewish, as Madi feels she has heard the saying from many others of the same religion.

 

 

El Salvadorean Proverb

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 48
Occupation: Payroll Administrator
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March 26, 2017
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

I went home for dinner. During a conversation with my mom, she mentioned the following:

Proverb

“Ponte Las Pilas.” translated to “Put You Batteries [On].”

I then asked my mom what that meant, she responded:

“Ponte las pilas means ponte las pilas. It means to put on your batteries but I always say it to remind you guys to work hard, be alert, and be attentive. The whole statement is used as a quick pick me up, or like a mini motivational speech. Ponte las pilas is a way for me to remind you and your sister to be more responsible, to get up, and to go get what you want. That’s how I use it. Some people use it differently. I’ve heard it been used like lets say you have a couple and the boyfriend isn’t giving the girlfriend enough attention then you’d say ‘Ponte las pilas’ like ‘Hey, be more attentive or someone may steal her’.”

Collector Analysis:

At this point, this proverb is ingrained into my mom’s brain. She was raised listening to this proverb. I have heard my grandma say it in the past, and my grandma has definitely said the proverb to me as well. This proverb is very generational, as my grandma told my mom and now, my mom has told my sister and I. To my mom, this proverb is obviously a way of telling my sister and I to work harder. She believes that just saying “work harder” is too blunt and that no one would listen. ‘Ponte las pilas’ is a more generous way of saying “get it together”.

Just like my mom, I have been hearing this proverb my entire life. I have heard it for a wide array of reasons. Normally, if I am complaining to my mom about how much school work I have she’ll merely respond, “ponte las pilas”. Another circumstance is if I’ve been in bed all day, my mom might come into the room and say the proverb. This proverb is the type of statement I’ll probably hear or say for the rest of my life.