Category Archives: Proverbs

Family Proverb

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: New York City, NY
Language: English

Text: “Finish the job”

Context: C.’s mom would often say this to her when she was growing up to encourage her and her sisters to complete what they started as it made life and other tasks easier. Her mom would also say it at work. For example, her mom would say to finish the job when putting away laundry so that you aren’t left with it and it makes it better later. C. uses this mindset in her life now and says it to herself.

Analysis: This phrase is a family proverb that has now been passed down through the generations. It reflects the family’s strong work ethic and the belief that following through on things leads to longer term ease and success. It has been adapted to various situations (work and home) while still carrying its original meaning.

Family Proverb for Stressful Situations

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: New York City, NY
Language: English

Text: “Sit down and think”

Context: C. shares how her mom often said this to guide her in stressful situations. Her mom learned it from her own father, who told her during a snowstorm when they were stuck in a car. C.’s mom also recalled it when she missed her stop on the German subway, getting separated from her friends and lost in a foreign country. Now, C. repeats it to herself in times when panic isn’t helpful, reminding her to pause and think instead.

Analysis: This is a family proverb and folk speech passed down through multiple generations now as a way to navigate stressful situations. The wisdom evolves through each lived experience, like survival knowledge. The knowledge has been helpful in many different situations.

Lei Gong

Text:

“雷公 (Lei Gong)”

Translation:

The Thunder Father, the Thunder God

Context:

“I remember it being a more folkloreic thing. Becuase there were these gods, and it wasn’t authoritatively taught to us or anything. It’s more of like a- my parents would use it as a way for discipline thing… It’s funny because they only ever use him a lot because he’s the one that causes the thunder, and that scares children. It’s kinda a way to explain where thunder comes about. But it is the idea that if you behave badly, the thunder god will come to judge you. He punishes the morally guilty. So whenever you are misbehaving, he is gonna strike you down. It is related to thunder because you kind of caused it. And whenever it did thunder, and I didn’t do anything. My mom will reinforce that: ‘You hear the thunder? He is coming. Listen to how angry he is.’”

Analysis:

J: Turns out it is just a tactic for the parents to manipulate their children…
P: Yeah- but also,I guess the fact that it exists- in Chinese, it is a personification of the judge of guiltiness. It is really interesting that it passes down. Our parents say it.
J: Right, it is like- culturally, how our (Chinese) parents teach their children by scaring them instead of teaching them actual lesson.
P: Yeah, yeah. So I always have fascination about this. Even when I know it isn’t real now, I still have a fascination with thunder and rain. It makes you pay attention to it.

Lei Gong is not only a figure featured in Chinese legend; he is also taught to children as an invisible figure who judges them. It is interesting to see how the loud thunder in many cultures and legends always symbolizes judgment. But it is not hard to imagine having to come up with an explanation for loud bombing noise from the sky other than some omniscient beings.

TC Love

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Rochester, Minnesota
Language: English

Story: “In this organization that I’m in, Troy Camp, we have this saying: TC Love. It’s something we use to appreciate each other and the work that we do. In Troy Camp, we do mentorship programs for kids from elementary school to seniors in high school. I love the work that I do in this organization, and I adore the people and kids that I get to work with. So, to show appreciation for these people, we love giving each other shoutouts, and we like to say that TC Love is different than any other kind of love. Just the other day, another member of Troy Camp shared with me her cousin’s embroidery business so that I could get my name embroidered on one of my Troy Camp quarterzips .. so at our next meeting, I made sure to share the TC Love with her by giving her a shoutout! Typically we say, “TC Love to …” and then the person’s name, and then why we are giving them TC Love. Out of all the traditions in this org, this one is my favorite.

Analysis: After speaking with this informant, I could tell that this organization and this tradition means the absolute world to them. Community builds community, and I could tell that this person and this organization fosters such a great community for both the people and the kids in it. Love is such a strong word, and it’s beautiful how different cultures and communities can take that word and adapt it to make it mean something entirely new, but just as special–I could tell this is something that took place for Troy Camp. After our conversation, this informant shared TC Love with me, and just from that, I could feel the weight that the phrase carries.

It’s Not May, It’s Summer

Age: 25
Occupation: Restaurant Manager
Residence: Sewell, New Jersey
Language: English

Story: “At my restaurant job, our boss is one of the craziest guys I’ve ever met. He’s always ranting about random stuff, leaving notes around the restaurant, and sending texts with zero context. But one day, he left a note basically screaming at us saying that we needed to get in line and work better. However, the one thing he wrote in all caps at the top of the note was: IT’S NOT MAY, ITS SUMMER! Now, the funny part of all this was, it was May. This was years ago, but this is something my coworkers and employees still talk about. Anytime someone is “slacking” or not doing a “good job,” we always crack a joke and say “It’s not May, it’s summer!”

Analysis: It’s very cool and interesting to see how different jobs and different workplaces have their own niche sayings. Typically, all workplaces have their own words and phrases recognizable to their stuff, but this one — “It’s not May, it’s summer” is definitely unique. It’s humorous, it has a great backstory, and its shared amongst the coworkers at this restaurant. Another really cool thing about this “phrase” that they share, is how not only is it used in a humorous way, but it also carries meaning in a serious way–being used to get other employees back on track and doing a better job. It’s super versatile, and it gets its message across. It’s obvious that this message carried a lot of meaning with this informant, and honestly, how important this phrase is to the community that works at this restaurant. Even now, they say the boss is in on the joke!