Category Archives: Folk speech

Slang Word ‘Mafioso’

Nationality: American
Age: 63
Occupation: Small Business Owner
Residence: Santa Barbara, California
Performance Date: 4/20/2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Polish, French, Spanish, Italian

Informant: Mafioso

Collector: Who said this word?

Informant: My father.

Collector: What does it mean?

Informant: Literally a mafioso is a member of an organized crime society, originally from Sicily but now from anywhere.

Collector: When would he use the word?

Informant: My dad used this word to describe someone who was a little bit suspect, or just kind of a weird character, or a bit of a bully, or was doing something out of character. That restaurant owner is a mafioso, he might say, because the restaurant owner was wearing a garish tie or whispering in someone’s ear.

In my personal experience, I’ve found that many words can be taken out of their original context and transferred to mean something vaguely similar but with less rigidity or offensiveness. In the case of ‘mafioso,’ the informant’s father meant no harsh criticism of the person’s character. Rather, he was commenting on a strange aspect of something out of the ordinary. Two possible reasons for this use of the word could be a mistranslation or something that happened in brining the word from Italian to English or it’s possible that this was common in its original tongue and used as slang.

Proverb

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 4/28/2015
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Informant: A day late and a dollar short.

The informant learned this proverb from her mother.

Collector: Why would your mom say this proverb? In what context?

Informant: It was always meant jokingly/lightheartedly but I guess with the context of death or talking about not experiencing something.

Collector: Did you hear proverbs from your mother a lot?

Informant: No, mom didn’t say proverbs often.

Collector: Did you have a strict upbringing?

Informant: Not a super strict upbringing but in some ways, yeah; like with school want what not.

Collector: Did the day late and dollar short proverb make you think about missing opportunities or not experiencing life enough? Why or why not?

Informant: Yes, that quote made me want to embrace life and make the most because I don’t want to fail or live with regrets.

Under the context provided by the informant, this proverb expresses a correlation between success and finances. This shows a very westernized obsession with monetary goods. To relate being ‘a dollar short’ with not experiencing something also associates all aspects of life with money whether it be specifically a financially secure occupation or the ability to adventure and participate in recreational activities.

Proverb

Nationality: Black and Cherokee Indian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 4/23/2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Informant: Be swift to hear, slow to speak.

The informant learned this proverb from her mother who said it often.

The proverb was said in situations where the informant was speaking too much or saying things that weren’t beneficial to her or those around her.

The informant admired the proverb and took it to heart when it was said. The informant still attempts to live by it.

Collector: where do you think your mother heard this? From her parents, church, elders?

Informant: From church

Collector: Did you know that this is similar to something from the Bible (Epistle of James): “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath?”

Informant: Yes, she told me. All of her teachings were biblical.

Children are unaware of societal etiquette or proper behavior and tend to speak hurtful truths, share unnecessary thoughts and ignore other people talking. This proverb could help to teach the children the importance of being careful of what they say and always listening to others.

For another version, see Epistle of James in the Bible.

 

Chinese tongue twister

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Primary Language: English
Language: English

The informant is Chinese American who was born and raised in California. He can speak Chinese, but he is not very fluent. At home, he speaks English to his parents, whom replies back to him in Chinese. He is a business student at USC.

Tongue twister: 吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮，不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮 (chi putao bu tu putao pi, bu chi putao dao tu putao pi)

Informant:  “The literal translation of this tongue twister is “eat grapes but not spit out the skin, not eat grapes but spit out the skin.” It doesn’t have any meanings. It’s just made for tongue twister purposes. When I was young my mom told me it, and then she had me say it. I think she taught me this tongue twister as part of language development.”

“Some of my Chinese American friends also know this, because it’s something that they teach in Chinese schools here. I went to a Chinese kindergarten, because my mom wanted me to speak Chinese fluently. I learned this tongue twister again at that kindergarten. I think it definitely helped me improve Chinese. Chinese have several different tones, and saying those tones differently may make the sentence mean something totally different. So practicing the tones and exact pronunciations is an important part of learning Chinese, and tongue twisters definitely help me practice tones and pronunciations.”

Tongue twisters exist in many different language groups. Like the example given by the informant, many tongue twisters do not have meanings. It’s solely made for language development. No one knows who made it, but the tongue twisters definitely help people to improve their pronunciation. Tongue twisters may differ by regions. In China, the difference is larger than any other countries, because there exists so many types of language groups in China. 

Chants

Nationality: Asian America
Age: 21
Primary Language: English
Language: English

The informant is California-born Chinese American. She is a member of Chaotic 3 (or C3), which is a hop hop organization at USC.

Chant:

We’re not C1

No!

We’re not C2

Hell No!

We are C3

C3

We are C3

C3

We are C3

Whoop Whoop!

Informant: “C3 is a hip hop dance organization at USC. We say this chant after each practice, and at competitions for team morale. We choose one person to say the first line, and the whole team says the every second line. The first line is said by different person, and how to pick that one person is completely random. Somebody just yells at a name, and that person has to do it.”

“I don’t know who made it. All I know is that this chant has been around a long time. The chant hasn’t changed in three years for sure, because it is the same chant I said when I first entered this group. This year is my third year.”

“When we say it, we put our hands to the middle, and at the last line, we throw our hands up. We almost always do it, and it’s nice. It definitely boosts our morale, and we feel like we are together as a team.”

Team chants have long history. Anthropologists claim that humans, even at the time of their first appearance, made team chants to establish a sense of society. Those chants were said before going hunting, before going to war, etc. The activity of chanting together, especially when the message honors the group as a whole, is enough to boost up the team morale. By chanting daily, the members are reminded of their membership, and their loyalty towards the team grows. This C3 chant is easy, simple and fun. Chanting this would definitely help the team come together.