Category Archives: Folk speech

“Closed mouths don’t get fed”

Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: Houston, Texas
Performance Date: 02/21/2023
Primary Language: English

1. Text (proverb)

“Closed mouths don’t get fed”

2. Context 

The informant heard this from his father numerous times growing up. He and his father use and interpret this proverb as a way of saying you need to speak up for what you want because if you don’t ask, nobody knows that you want or need anything. My informant heard this proverb from his father. He characterized his father as assertive and outspoken. Growing up, it was encouraged in the informant’s household for them to speak up to be heard and use their voice, don’t be passive. He came from a large, loud family where it was uncommon for people to engage passively with one another. Almost everyone had a voice and wanted to use it, because after all, “closed mouths don’t get fed.”

3. Analysis/YOUR interpretation

I have heard this saying numerous times growing up from my grandfather and from adults in my family in general, though I’ve never heard the saying outside of the south. This is an example of a proverb, it’s a piece of metaphorical advice often given to more stereotypically soft-spoken or passive. While I’ve heard of the proverb and understand the meaning behind it, I recognize I don’t usually appreciate it when this is said to me as I feel as though it can sometimes come off as disingenuous and has a more negative connotation to me. In saying “closed mouths don’t get fed”, I interpreted it as if you don’t speak up for yourself and voice your opinion on what you want, how will anyone else know what you want or need? While this piece of advice does have some truth to it, the saying itself doesn’t seem like it would be taken as exceedingly positive when told to a more passive person. For people who are more extroverted and who thrive in social situations or gain energy/confidence from social interactions, speaking may be as necessary as eating for them, hence the comparison of closed mouths not getting food. In line with Alan Dundes’ definition, this proverb, like many others, is concise and expressive of my informant’s worldview. This proverb in particular is expressive of an assertive, outspoken view where speaking up, gets your voice heard. 

Friday Riddle

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: student
Residence: Texas
Performance Date: 2-16-23
Primary Language: English

The Riddle:

 “A cowboy rode into town on Friday, and he stayed for three days. Then he rode back on Friday. How did he manage to do that? The answer is that the cowboy had a horse named Friday.”

Context:

AR is a student at USC who grew up in a suburb outside of Houston, Texas. Although the suburbs may not be considered very country anymore, her mother grew up in a much more rural Texas setting. AR shared a riddle with me that her mother told her while growing up, which was also a common riddle for kids to test each other with. She said it was less of a comical riddle and supposed to be a thinking challenge.

Analysis:

 This riddle is fairly common, but the “cowboy” is often interchanged with “a couple,” which is an oikotype of the Texan version. The use of a cowboy as the character could speak to the stereotyped nature of Texas, but it also represents that Texans still uphold their wild west roots. In terms of analyzing the riddle, how different people solve it is where the Texan culture truly lies. Although Texas has large metropolitan areas, there is still an abundance of open land and rural towns. Therefore, when a kid from Texas is told the riddle, they are much more likely to consider a horse as a mode of transportation than kids in urban settings. The differing thought processes speak to the significant impact that regional culture can have.

A guest is equivalent to God

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: student
Residence: Houston, Texas
Performance Date: 2-20-23
Primary Language: English

Text:

“A guest is equivalent to God”

Context

NT is my roommate at USC and a very close friend. Her parents are originally from Southern India and moved to the U.S. thirty years ago. As a family, they have moved around a bit and have lived in New York and Michigan, and now reside in Texas.

NT- There is one saying that I feel like my mom has burned into my brain, “Athithi Devo Bhavaa.” She would always say it in Hindi, but the English translation is “A guest is equivalent to God.”

Interviewer- Would she say it only when specific people were coming over?

NT- No it didn’t really matter who was coming. But if she knew someone was planning to drop by, she would always shout the phrase in Hindi as a reminder to me, especially since I am an only child (rolls her eyes).

Interviewer- Do you know of a specific origin of the phrase, or does it just come from the cultural view of how important guests are?

NT- So there’s like a story in India that apparently some of our Gods will periodically go in random people’s houses and see how they are treated. It’s like a test to make sure you are being kind and welcoming to everyone.

Analysis:

This folk simile originated in India as a reminder to treat everyone well. Interestingly, the phrase instructs one to treat guests not just as they would want to be treated, but as a God. This implies that one should put their guests’ wants and needs above their own, as they do with their higher powers. The second element of this folk simile is the proverbial warning attached to the origin story. It implies that any time, a test could be administered to you unknowingly, likely with consequences if you fail. The possibility that a person or a family could receive a punishment directly from a deity, is a motivator to treat everyone very well. The phrase is told even to small children, which indicates how serious it is in Indian culture.

Bottom of my shoes

Nationality: Greek
Age: 82
Residence: Northridge, Los Angeles
Performance Date: 2-22-23
Primary Language: Greek
Language: english

Text:

“I will write your name on the bottom of my old shoes” (Σε γράφω στα παλιά μου τα παπούτσια)

Context:

EF is an eight-two-year-old woman who is like a surrogate grandma to me. She lives in Northridge, CA., but grew up in a small Greek village called Corfu; she remains very connected to her Greek heritage and culture. From her cooking to her proverbial warnings, she is filled with unique folklore that she loves to share. I facetimed EF and asked her to give me staple proverbs or sayings from her small village. She decided to share this proverb because it stood out in her mind.

EF- When a guy is very angry at another guy, he can say “I will write you on the bottom of my shoe.” That’s when they want nothing to do with each other. 

Interviewer- Can you remember a time when you heard someone say this?

EF- (in a serious tone) Yes! My ex-husband screamed it at my brother (bursts out laughing).

After she finished chuckling, she explained that it is a very serious insult but mostly exchanged between men.

Analysis:

Since the informant did not know when she heard this proverb, that pointed to a possible historical origin. I researched the phrase and found one explanation. According to the article, this insult dates back to a practice by a Babylonian king when firing the lords. The king would write the unlucky lord’s name on the bottom of a pair of old shoes and send them to him. This represented not only the lord’s loss of title but also that he meant nothing to the king anymore (Kontolemos, 2022). It is understandable why this is perceived as a very serious statement that is only used in intense arguments. The fact that this folk speech is still widely used in Greece illustrates how important history and tradition is in Greek culture. Beyond the Babylonian explanation, one could interpret this phrase as the person is so worthless that they belong under my shoe like trash. The theatrical nature of writing a person’s name on old shoes represents an ongoing insult because the name will never come off the shoes, just as the person who wronged you will never mean anything to you again.

Kontolemos, A. (2022, May 12). 11 greek expressions you should know. Mental Floss. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/greek-phrases

You ate my ears

Nationality: Greek
Age: 82
Residence: Northridge, Ca
Performance Date: 2-22-23
Primary Language: Greek
Language: English

Text:

“You ate my ears” (μου έφαγες τα αυτιά)

Context:

EF is eight-two-year-old women who is like a surrogate grandma to me. She lives in Northridge, CA., but grew up in a small Greek village called Corfu; she remains very connected to her Greek heritage and culture. From her cooking to her proverbial warnings, she is filled with unique folklore that she loves to share. I asked EF to facetime with me, so I could gain knowledge from her, for this project. Since she is eighty-two, she does not remember the origins of most of her folk speech. However, she did recall where and who she always heard saying the metaphor, “You ate my ears.”

EF- There was a group of widows in my village that always sat around and all they did was gossip (rolls her eyes). They were always saying that someone ate their ears, so someone is too loud and obnoxious.

EF- Many Greek husbands yell this at their wife if she is nagging (laughs).

Interviewer- Did your ex-husband ever say that to you?

EF- No! You crazy girl (laughing). If he did, I would’ve slapped him (powerful Greek woman smile).

EF also explained that the reason for so many odd sayings in her small village was due to lack of education. She said since they didn’t have good vocabularies, people would try to express themselves with combinations of words they knew. She also mentioned that another use for the metaphor was to ward off street salesman who wouldn’t leave.

Analysis:

This folk metaphor is common throughout Greece; however, like a lot of folk speech, is it difficult to pinpoint the exact origin. The informant first heard the saying from a group of older women who were widows in her small village, which shows how useful this phrase was in multiple generations’ conversations. This is a blatant insult that seems to only be directed at women and never men but can be used by either gender. As the informant explained, the phrase is often used by husbands to describe their wives’ unfavorable behaviors. This speaks to how prominent the stereotype was of Greek women, especially Greek wives, as very loud nagging figures. The commonality of the metaphor reveals some degree of sexism during that time period, perhaps by both men and women, since the widows used it to describe only other women in the village, but not men.