Category Archives: Folk speech

“Festina lente”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 12 April 2015
Primary Language: English

Text:

Original Latin: “Festina lente”

English: “Make haste slowly”

Background:

This is a Latin motto I learned in high school during my four years of learning Latin. We learned it as a motto that Augustus Caesar would use as a way of progressing as an emperor; always have something you want to do, and wait for the right time to do it. It is a classic example of the literary device oxymoron. This proverb has governed how I think about parts of my life, especially working on film sets. One always needs to be working on somethings, but sometimes to work, one must wait. And on film sets, you always have a job to do that involves waiting: waiting for actors to fly in, waiting for lights to be set up, waiting for the camera to roll, etc. There are so many moving parts in a film, and it’s important to understand how all of them work together. So for one part to progress well, it must wait for the others.

Context:

This proverb comes up a lot in work environments, particularly those that rely on multiple people to finish one’s own job.

My Thoughts:

I think it was interesting that my informant described this piece as being used almost exclusively in a professional context. I think this is the only piece I’ve collected so far that is used thusly. In any case, it seems to be particularly applied to film for the informant’s life… I wonder how it applied in ancient times? If there were specific professions or tasks that utilized this proverb more than others?

 

“Sleepin’ Jesus”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Concert Photographer
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4 February 2015
Primary Language: English

Text:

“Sleepin’ Jesus”

Background:

I heard this from my dad. It’s something he says sometimes when he’s upset at something or other. I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean exactly other than “fuck this.” It’s pretty singular. I asked him once where it came from and he said he didn’t know, it was just something his dad used to say. He never heard it from anyone else in his whole life.

Context:

You just say it whenever you’re pissed off.

My Thoughts:

I kinda like this one. I think it’s just a little flippant, and I like that kind of attitude. Like damn.

“Devil Frying Pan”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 18 March 2015
Primary Language: English

Text:

The devil is in hell beating his wife with a frying pan.

Background:

My mom told it to me probably in Louisiana on one of my trips there because she learned it from her family who’s lived in rural southern Louisiana for a long time which I think is important cuz it’s not so much a Cajun thing as a southern Louisiana thing. I like how it doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a funny image that really has no significance when uttered, it’s just something people associate. If I don’t like anything about it, it’s that kinda same thing that this weird nonsensical thing about violence related to rain. I can only imagine that it caught on when one guy was like oh man this is such a weird occurance that there must be something going on in the other world so he just said something super ridiculous and outlandish and it caught on. I think that’s why people remember it, I think that’s why I remember it.

Context:

Whenever you see the sun out while it’s raining, not like behind a cloud or whatever, like it’s shining bright, but it’s raining. And you just know, Satan’s doing his thing.

My Thoughts:

I’m really interested to know if there’s more mythology about the devil’s wife. Is that just the sun in this context? Or could the sun be the frying pan since it’s round? Anyway, I also want to know if there are more sayings like this which have the same context of raining while the sun is out. I suppose that phenomenon is only observable in certain parts of the world, so it wouldn’t happen everywhere. But it is bizarre enough that I would think other cultures would have some sort of saying or ritual to accompany it.

Texan Proverbs/Sayings

Nationality: Irish, American
Age: 24
Occupation: Student, Freelance writer
Residence: Dallas, TX and Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/10/15
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The informant says she grew up in Texas, and naturally picked up some Texan proverbs during her years there from neighbors, friends’ families, and teachers. However, she finds that they don’t always translate well to others.

Take, for example, the saying “They tried to hang him, but the rope broke.” It’s a saying that means someone has been incredibly lucky, but the informant recalls saying that to a new friend at college and getting a weird response. “I said this to her while we were talking about one of our friends who forgot to study for an exam, only to have the exam pushed back a week that same day. My friend looked at me, kinda horrified, and asked if we really still hung people in Texas. I had to laugh because I didn’t know how else to respond.”

Interestingly enough, this is one of a handful of colorful Texan sayings that were published in Anne Dingus’ 1994 article about Texan speech in Texas Monthly. The article was published in the magazine itself a day after it ran online. Here is a link to the online article: http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/more-colorful-texas-sayings%E2%80%A6/page/0/1

Another saying that the informant recalls using with frequent confusion is “There’s more than one way to skin a cat,” which essentially advises people that if you can’t accomplish something one way, then you should try doing it a different way because it might be successful. “My friends had practically the same response to this proverb that they did to the one about the hanged guy being lucky,” she said. “It took me the longest time to convince them that Texan proverbs are very… metaphorical in the most colorful way possible.”

Tummy Full, Heart Happy

Nationality: American/Guatemalan
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Boston, MA
Performance Date: 04/25/15
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The informant is a student from my folklore class, and we ended up meeting and exchanging stories and superstitions one night.

Original Script

“Barriga llena, corazón contento”

Transliteration

“Belly full, heart happy”

Translation

“If your stomach is full of food, then your heart is content”

Background & Analysis

This is a saying that the informant’s mom says, and that the informant herself will say after a meal. She describes it as a little happy thing you say after eating to give thanks or show appreciation.

The informant’s mother is from a small, secluded town that is surrounded by mountains called Monjas in Guatemala. Although the town has become more modernized over the past few decades, many of the traditions and superstitions still circulate. The informant is from Boston, MA, but attends USC, and she often travels to Guatemala to visit family.

My dad, who is from Chile, has a variation of this saying, “Guatita llena, corazón contento.” This is translated as “Tummy full, heart happy,” and is used the exact same way the informant uses her variation of the saying. My dad most likely learned this from his father, whose vocabulary was full of proverbs and sayings.