Category Archives: Folk speech

Spanish Earth Riddle

Nationality: Argentinian-American
Age: 20

“¿Qué cosa es redonda como una pelota, pero pesa más que un elefante?” “El Planeta Tierra!” (“What is round like a ball, but weights more than an elephant?” “Planet Earth!”)

Context 

MD is my roommate’s friend here at USC. She is originally from Miami Beach, Florida and has lived there her whole life. She was raised by Argentinian parents who immigrated to Florida when they were in their teenage years. She describes her parents as both free spirited and herself in the same fashion. 

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MD: My dad would always tell me riddles growing up while he drove me to school in the morning. Sometimes if we were taking my friends to school with us after a sleepover he would tell them to both of us. I remember trying to figure them out and getting upset if my friend got it first. 

DO (Interviewer): Can you remember one that was hard for you to get?

MD: Yeah. He would turn around in his seat at the red light and make hand motions with it. So like he would start off asking “Qué cosa es redonda como una pelota?” Which translates to “What is round like a ball?” And he would make a circle with his hands. And then he’d follow it up with “pero pesa más que un elefante?” And would make this funny elephant sound. Then we would guess. After a few times he finally would tell us. The answer to this one is “El planeta Tierra” which means planet Earth. I remember I was so upset after and thinking how stupid it was. But now I laugh at it. 

DO: What did these riddles mean to you growing up?

MD: Well they were pretty fun to do every morning. Looking back, I don’t know how my dad didn’t run out of ones to say. Riddles were part of our little routine that we had going on. I also loved when I got them right, it made me feel like the smartest kid ever. But it was also just a way for me to chill with my dad and bond with him so I guess there’s a little bit of nostalgia in them now.  

Analysis

This riddle was part of children’s lore for this family. It was a way for her dad to bond with the kids and continues to be an important part of their childhood memories. This was one of the earliest and most impactful introductions to folklore for her. After this specific riddle, I was told a few more that stood out from this time. The riddles being simple and silly allow the kids to have enough knowledge about the topic to understand it but were still challenging enough to have them think hard about the answers. It also served as a confidence booster for the children if they solved the riddle and allowed them to think about things differently since the answer is not obvious. 

No One is So Young…Nor So Old

Nationality: Argentinian-American
Age: 20
Language: Spanish

Nadie es tan joven que no se pueda morir mañana, ni tan viejo que no pueda vivir un día más. (“No one is so young that they cannot die tomorrow, nor so old that they cannot live another day.”)

Context

MD is my roommate’s friend here at USC. She is originally from Miami Beach, Florida and has lived there her whole life. She was raised by Argentinian parents who immigrated to Florida when they were in their teenage years. She describes her parents as both free spirited and herself in the same fashion. 

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MD: I think my parents both always had these really poetic and pretty sounding sayings growing up just because of the type of people that they are. If I had to pick one I’d say, “Nadie es tan joven que no se pueda morir mañana, ni tan viejo que no pueda vivir un día más.”

DO (Interviewer): Can you explain more about that?

MD: Well a literal translation of it is “No one is too old that they can’t live another day, nor too young that they cannot die tomorrow.” My mom always says it to me. 

DO: What do you think the significance is to her? Or even what does it mean to you?

MD: My mom is a free spirit, live in the moment type of woman for sure. So I think this is her way of saying two things actually. The first part is saying you’re never too old to go after what you want. Never too old for adventure. The second part is more of a warning I guess. I think a lot of people, especially in our generation, have a “live fast, die young” mentality. To me this phrase is like a balance thing. Go after what you want because it’s never too late, but also remember that what you do can have consequences. 

Analysis

Even though the saying is in Spanish it has more of a lifestyle type of folklore than a cultural one. Societal norms may place certain restrictions or even uphold certain ideals based on age and common perceptions of certain age groups. This phrase can serve as a statement to break these ideas of what age means and go against the grain of what expectations are placed on you based on your age. Western culture has a notion of the youth being reckless and free and the older generations being wise and sometimes even sort of stagnant in their lifestyle. With phrases like these, it’s an encouragement to break these norms. Additionally, this phrase can stand to represent the importance of life itself, encouraging others to enjoy it while it’s here but also live in a way that lets you enjoy it as much as possible. It can also stand to talk about time and how we all have these ideas about it. Some believe they have a set amount of time here and others feel, in a sense, immortal. This phrase works to explore that. 

Que Fresa!

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 19
Language: Spanish, English

Context

PC is my roommate at USC. Her mother is Spanish and her father is Mexican. They both immigrated to the United States when they were young adults and work to incorporate both cultures in addition to American culture. She grew up in the suburbs of Miami and now lives in Dallas, Texas. 

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PC: Growing up in the suburbs my whole life I feel like I always walked the line between being Latina and being white washed. And since my mom is Spanish I was different than my cousins in Mexico too. So I would always go visit my family in Mexico and they would always say “Que fresa!” whenever I did something they considered more American or stuck up.

DO (Interviewer): I know that in English that translates to “what strawberry”, could you explain that a little bit more?

PC: Yeah so basically it’s like a term used to describe kids who were like richer Hispanic kids who have a certain personality. My family uses it as a joke but sometimes it’s used as an insult that basically means spoiled rich girls. 

DO: Interesting. I know that your parents are both Mexican and Spanish, is it more prevalent to use in one culture over another or is it used pretty commonly in both?

PC: I think I’ve heard it more used by my dad’s family. It might be just a common term for Hispanic people but I think it’s more of Mexican slang. It’s sort of like the equivalent to people’s ideas of a valley girl. So saying “like” a lot, mixing spanish and english, when things are said more like a question than a statement. Things like that. 

Analysis

This metaphor is commonly used in Mexican culture and serves as a separator of social status. This phrase is used by lower to middle-class individuals to poke fun at the wealthier class. Oftentimes in society, it is those of the wealthier class that may be making fun of those who don’t have the same social status, so through this term, we see the reversal of that. The direct translation may not make sense to someone, not in this culture so this phrase shows the complexity of lore not in our native languages and cultures. To outsiders looking in it may make no sense, but to those in this culture, it is a common term.  

It’s easier to shear a sheep than raise a lamb to sheep-hood

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: English

Text: It’s easier to shear a sheep than raise a lamb to sheep-hood

Minor Genre: Proverb

Context: AH is a junior at USC. He is from Santa Monica, California, and is well-known for his creativity: he has his own religion for which he has created an entire alphabet. He told me this new proverb that he had come up with himself while writing an essay. He told me, “It’s about writing essays, but it could be about editing a film, it could be about a lot of things that you’re creating…” He told me that the process of creation is much easier if you begin by creating a lot, because after that it’s just about “shear[ing] it off and collect[ing] the wool and mak[ing] something out of it.’” He recounted his new saying to a friend who now uses it often. This friend then told it to her screenwriting professor who has apparently since used it while teaching his students.  

Analysis: AH did not clearly delineate which type of speech his saying was, but I assert that this is a proverb. It gives advice, it is metaphorical and short, and though AH is young, his soul is old and wise. While there is so much to be learned from old proverbs whose origins are now indefinite, it is also important to understand how pieces of folklore are created in the first place. For many proverbs, one might assume that the literal situation which creates metaphorical meaning was probably experienced by the person who first spoke the proverb. However, I know that AH did not grow up shearing sheep nor raising lambs, and thus it makes me consider how self-reflexive folk speech can be. He is someone who values old sayings and has a wealth of them memorized, and so it is more the inspiration of other proverbs rather than lived experience that seems to have brought him to create his own. It is wonderful to see how this proverb has already begun to spread throughout the USC community, and it will be interesting to see if it catches on elsewhere.

The Earth is round

Nationality: USA
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: CA, USA
Performance Date: 2/23/23
Primary Language: English

NM told me a phrase his mother would say when someone takes a wrong turn in the car. He described his mother a “casual, very laid back, person.”

I forget the actual phrase, but basically it’s like “The Earth is round, we’ll get there eventually”

-NM

This saying could be a response to contemporary American culture. In the United States, there much respect given towards working people. Leisure and relaxation are often viewed as laziness, which can lead to people becoming upset when unnecessary time is taken to complete a task. In contrast to this, NM’s mother takes a more laid-back approach, choosing to accept the extra time taken in stride and stay content with the way things happen.