Category Archives: Humor

Salvadoran Joke – “Mato Tunco Tu Tata”

Context: This folklore is in the form of a Joke that is very common in El Salvador. It is used throughout the country, and seems to be unique to the Central American country,

Explanation of Folklore: I interviewed F about a joke that is commonly told in El Salvador. The joke goes as follows. One asks, “Mato tunco tu tata?” (Did your father kill a pig?) where one then answers yes, then the response is a follow up question “Le tuviste miedo al machete?” (were you scared of the machete?) and then the other person answers no. Finally the joke teller flinches at them as if they were to hit them with a machete, which usually provokes some sort of scared reaction from the other person.

According to F, this joke is super common among the Salvadoran people of all ages. It is also a very old Joke that is commonly known.

Analysis: The Premise of the joke is to prank the other person by following a storyline of a father killing a pig. The Jokester implies that the father used a machete to slaughter a pig, and that the other person was scared of it, which is why they flinch, emulating a machete swing.

F informed me that this joke is old enough that it is very popular among the older generations. It is a joke that has made its way through different generations and still remains relevant. F said that the joke is so popular in the country, that the mainstream media and popular culture in El Salvador have incorporated the joke in marketing, commercials, and even restaurant names. The Joke uses uniquely Salvadoran slang. The word “Tunco” is Salvadoran slang for Pig. It also uses “Tata” Salvadoran slang for father. This joke is uniquely Salvadoran, and is very connected to the countries own cultural identity and expression. F was not sure when the Joke came to be, he only informed me that it was very old, and that generations of his family and country had kept it going

Personal Analysis: This is a Joke I grew up hearing all of the time. I have distinct memories of my grandfather telling it to me, as well as my mom and dad. One of the reasons it stuck out to me is due to its unapologetically Salvadoran perspective. The use of colloquial slang makes it an ode to cultural expression, and that is very fascinating. Due to the specificity of origin, there do not appear to be any regional variations and Oicotypes. In terms of origin, I theorized that this might be a post colonial joke due to its specific choice of language.

Both “tunco” and “tata” are uniquely Salvadoran words, that are based off of the indigenous Nahuatl language. This pre hispanic language was melded with Spanish to produce much of the Salvadoran slang used today. This leads me to believe that the joke has origins in a post colonial El Salvador. Additionally, the mention of a pig implies a post colonial environment as well. Pigs are not native to El Salvador, and were introduced by the Spaniards. Once again these context clues can be utilized to help bring these theories of origin to play.

Folklore as humor is very common, and can be observed all over the world. It is a clear example of humanistic oral folklore that is passed on through word of mouth. In the case of this Joke, it is interesting to see how specific to El Salvador it is, since there are no other accounts of this joke anywhere else in Latin America. It is fascinating to see how this joke stayed within the confines of the Country, and how relevant it remains to this day.

Sichuan Rhyme about Domestic Life

Text:

Original Script in Mandarin Characters:

锅你洗了哇? 碗你洗了哇? 脏衣服一抹多, 你都洗了哇?

Pronunciation in Sichuan Dielect, Noted in Mandarin Pinyin:

guō nī xī lě wā? Wān nī xī lě wā? Zāng yī fu yí mō duō, nī dōu xī lě wā?

Transliteration:

You wash the wok? You wash the bowl? Dirty clothes so many, you finish washing?

Translation:

Have you washed the wok? Have you cleaned the dishes? Have you done the laundry?

Context: 

The informant is a 24-year-old female who currently studies in the United Kingdom, and was born and raised in Chengdu (the capital of Sichuan province). Sichuan dialect is her first language. Like other Sichuan families, the informant’s family used to have their TV on at dinnertime around 7 to 8 PM, when the local channel plays a TV series called The Happy Henpecked (“幸福的耙耳朵”, “耙耳朵” means soft ears and specifically refers to henpecked husbands in Sichuan dialect). The informant first learned the aforementioned rhyme as the first few lines from a rap at the beginning of the series’ opening theme music. As the TV series and its theme music grew popular among Sichuan people, the rhyme became an identity marker of Sichuan people who have seen this widely-known TV series due to its catchiness and somewhat accurate depiction of the Sichuan domestic life.

Analysis: 

Henpecked husband is a Sichuan stereotype that is not only recognized locally, but also transforms into a joke across mainland China. Known for their fiery temper, Sichuan wives are portrayed as the dominant “head of the family” in Chinese mainstream media. The Happy Henpecked is a comedy that depicts Sichuan domestic life in a humorous way, and the content of the aforementioned rhyme communicates exactly what to expect from a dialogue between the series’ protagonists, when a “bossy” wife questions her husband how is his progress in doing chores. According to the informant, most Sichuan Gen-Zs and their elder family members likely remember the rhyme because the popularity of the TV series has made it Sichuan’s cultural symbol.

Structurally, the rhyme is broken into three questions, with the first two questions containing 5 characters each and the last one broken into 2 phrases of 5 characters each. In addition to its rigid structure, the three questions end the same with “洗了哇” (“Have you washed…”) and rhyme together. As for the tones of the endings, they all end with an upward tone which is favored in the way Chinese people usually end a question or a poem. 

Rejecting socially constructed gender roles and gender stereotypes, the rhyme portrays a domestic relationship symbolized by a dominant wife and a submissive husband who finishes most chores. Unlike what people oftentimes expect from a piece of folk speech decades ago, the Sichuan henpecked husband stereotype proposes an anti-conservative family dynamic that embodies a relatively new view on gender and domestic life.

Cantonese Proverb Examining Appearance VS Reality

Text: 

Original Script in Mandarin Characters:

扮猪食老虎

Pronunciation in Cantonese:

baan[6] zyu[1] sik[6] lou[5] fu[2]

Transliteration:

Play pig and eat tiger.

Translation:

The proverb is used to describe ambitious individuals who pretend to be dumb.

Context: 

The informant is a 23-year-old female who was born and raised in Guangzhou, and currently studies in the United States. Cantonese is her first language. The informant could not remember when, where, and from whom she learned the proverb, but it has always been natural for her to both understand and use it regularly herself.

Analysis: 

The two animal metaphors in this proverb play their own parts, and combined, they work together to describe someone who appears to be ignorant and simple, but is in fact dangerously ambitious. Pig, often seen as a carefree animal, is featured to suggest someone’s simple appearance whereas tiger, the animal correlated with strength and superiority becomes the pig’s prey in this proverb. The seemingly absurd scene of a pig devouring a tiger suggests a dangerously ambitious individual can play dumb to achieve great means, touching on the discrepancy between appearance and reality.

The informant never researched but instinctively understands the proverb and has been using it quite regularly herself. Born and raised in the folk culture, she has no trouble understanding exactly what the two animals symbolize and is able to identify that the “pig” is actually what the proverb is describing. Despite the proverb is only made up with 5 characters, its concise and humorous message fascinates her even today.

No Crowmouthing yourself

Context

“No Crowmouthing yourself” means to not say things like car crash, suicide, cardiac arrest, especially in correlation to anyone in the family. “Joking things like “I’m going to die” is definitely going to get me scolded by my grandparents even in a joking way, and they’d call that “crow mouthing.” big nono, not safe, and they’d give a whole lecture about how to be better in a well being since… they had it rough in their life,” reports my informant. Her parents and grandparents lived through many different wars, and thus they believe that dangerous things like swimming in the river, riding a roller coaster, or speaking of things related to death put your wellbeing at risk. In China, this proverb is used quite often and is a big theme in Chinese culture. Younger people tend to say it to themselves to scold themselves. 

An example of this proverb being used genuinely goes as follows:

Person 1: “Oh god, I have a flight this afternoon, I hope the plane won’t crash haha.”

Person 2: “Stop! Do not crowmouth yourself, saying plane crash is such a bad thing.”

However, later this proverb has evolved into a dark joke, akin to saying “Haha imma kill myself.” An example of it being used in this way goes as follows:

Person 1: “I’m going to die because of this assignment”

Person 2: “Haha, crow mouthing yourself, huh?”

As my informant says, “it’s a bit morbid but silly funny.” She believes because society has become more safe, “the past concerns of war, hunger, limits and so on don’t exist in this modern time in China,” and thus a proverb that may have held great weight in the past doesn’t scare the youth today.

Analysis

I find it interesting how proverbs can change from being held with great meaning to being used in a sarcastic joke. Perhaps a combination of a change in environment, like my informant said, and the fact that proverbs are typically widespread and are a collective knowledge have a hand in this evolution of the ways certain proverbs are used now.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Context

My informant had first heard this proverb in middle school, when a kid was sad and the teacher made a silly face. The environment got more lighthearted and the teacher used it as an example of how the proverb, “laughter is the best medicine,” works in action. They have noticed that it still works to this day, as they have found that usually when you try to make people laugh in an appropriate situation, the mood gets better. They notice laughter works too when they are feeling down.

Typically they use this proverb in friend settings when things seem sad. While the lesson in the proverb holds true, saying the proverb can also work, if said in a joking manner. 

My informant still believes in the proverb because they have seen it happen in real time and because it has happened to them. Their personal experience enforced their belief in the proverb.

Analysis

In comparison to some other proverbs said to children, like “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” and “actions speak louder than words”, “laughter is the best medicine” is surprisingly positive. This may be due to a more peaceful upbringing than in times of war. My informant told me that this proverb may have originated from the bible verse Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart does good, like medicine.” The more modern version may have been simplified to be understood easier by children.