Category Archives: Childhood

Korean Handgame

Performance Date: 2/22/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

English translation: 

On the blue sky, Milky Way,

White boat

A tree of a tree and a rabbit 

It’s not a mast and there’s no sting.

It’s good to go to the west country. 

Cross the Milky Way to the cloud country. 

Where are you going after the cloud country.

Shining brightly from a distance

It’s a new star lamp. Find the way. 

First, you clap with two hands, then each other’s front of their hands touch, then clap together (all in a wave-like motion). Then clap again, then both mirror one hand above, one hand below, and clap together, then a final clap with both hands from each. This will continue until the song ends. 

The informant explains that the Korean hand game combines a Korean song with hand clapping that goes along with the rhythm. She was taught as a kid by her mother and quickly began to do it with her friends. The song is called Half Moon, and the lyrics seem to relate to the night sky and stars. The informant believes that it may have some tie to other Korean folklore but is not entirely sure. She explains that most if not all Korean children know this game.

The interesting thing about this hand-clapping game is that the game really is not a game. There is no winning in this game, and it simply ends when the song ends. There is no competition, and nothing to achieve other than the cultural aspect. I believe that because it is of Korean culture and origin, it has a more collectivist culture and thus its purpose is different.

Pepito Jokes

Performance Date: 2/22/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
  1. “Pepito le pregunta a su maestra, ‘Maestra me castigaria usted  por algo que no hice’. La maestra le dice, ‘No pepito, por supuesto que no’. Pepito le responde, ‘Que bueno porque no hice la tarea’”.

2. “Pepito encuentra a su hermana haciendo el amor con su novio y les pregunta, ‘Que estan haciendo’ y el novio le contesta, ‘La estoy vacunando’y Pepito dice ‘Oye pero estara bien enferma porque ayer vino un amigo tuyo y la vacuno dos veces. Lo unico que parece es que ayer la jeringa era mas grande porque grito mas’”

Translated to English:

  1. “Pepito asks his teacher, ‘Teacher, would you punish me for something I didn’t do?’ The teacher tells him, ‘No Pepito, of course not’. Pepito responds, “That’s good because I didn’t do my homework.”

2. “Pepito finds his sister making love to her boyfriend and asks them, ‘What are you doing’ and the boyfriend answers, ‘I’m vaccinating her’ and Pepito says ‘Hey, but she must be very sick because yesterday a friend of yours came and vaccinated her twice. The only thing that seems weird is that yesterday the syringe was bigger because she screamed more.’”

The informant stated that Pepito is a mischievous little boy who in every joke, he says something funny. The informant says they were similar to knock-knock jokes because there is a structure that doesn’t change with the joke, but the content of the joke varies. Pepito’s jokes start with him talking to another person, a lot of times a parent or teacher, then Pepito asks a question, the person responds and finally, Pepito delivers the punch line. Most of the jokes are imprudent or have a double meaning, sometimes dirty jokes. The informant mentioned she would read these jokes in Mexico as well because, in certain calendars in Mexico, you would rip off the top of the current date and on it, there would be an interesting fact, jokes, or tongue twisters. She learned the jokes through friends at school as well. 

The Pepito jokes seem to be common for children to know. They were popular in Mexico and seem to be a bit different from knock-knock jokes although being similar. Yes, they maintain a structure, but knock-knock jokes tend to not be funny and just quip you throw whenever you learn a new one. Pepito jokes on the other hand seem to be something where the more one collects, the better. Additionally, the dirtier the joke, the funnier it was which alludes to the feeling kids have transitioned into puberty and how they feel having knowledge about dirtier subjects.

Hand Lizard

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: Feb 14 2023
Primary Language: English

This hand gesture is supposed to look like a snake or lizard. There are multiple variations, where the pinkies are used as a tongue vs used as a tail, but the main concept is that it looks like a reptile

My informant learned about it in elementary school. It was way to differentiate who was “in the know or who was not”, sort of as cool thing you could do with your hands. However, the hand gesture was not exclusive, in that if someone didn’t know how to do the gesture they would be taught.

I recognized this hand gesture as it was something I used to do in my childhood despite being us growing up 4 years apart and across the country. Much like my informant, for my childhood it was used as something cool you can do when you were bored and it wasn’t ever withheld from others.

Que te pasa calabaza? Nada nada limonada

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: n/a
Residence: California
Performance Date: 2/16/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish (non-native)
  1. Original Text: “Que te pasa calabaza? Nada nada limonada” (Spanish)
  2. Transliteration: “What is happening to you pumpkin? Nothing nothing lemonade”
  3. English translation: What’s up pumpkin? Nothing nothing lemonade”

Context: The informant is 18 and grew up in Barrington, Illinois. They are a freshman at USC, studying Theater and Anthropology. They learned this saying on the playground from friends in elementary school while involved in a dual language program in Spanish and English. “It’s ‘sort of like a greeting’”, the informant says, “similar to the popular English saying ‘see you later alligator, in a while crocodile’”. The informant describes that one person says “Que te pasa calabaza”, while another responds to the greeting by saying “Nada nada limonada”. 

Analysis: The informant is white, not Hispanic/Latino, but learned this saying from native Spanish-speaking children on the playground. There is a large percentage of Hispanic/Latino identifying individuals in the Chicago area (which includes Barrington), specifically those of Mexican descent. Therefore, the saying may be common in Mexican culture specifically, as well as in other Spanish-speaking countries. This saying reflects the playful nature of elementary-age children, taking delight in fun rhymes and games with their friends. Greetings are a way to indicate your relationship with another individual. Having a special saying in a shared language to exchange with your friends indicates closeness and shared culture. 

“Interrupting Cow”: Knock Knock joke

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Residence: California
Performance Date: 2/16/23
Primary Language: English

Original text:

Informant: “Knock knock.”

Collector: “Who’s there?”

Informant: “Interrupting cow.”

Collector: “Interrupting cow who–”

Informant: “MOOOO!”

Context: The informant is 18 and a freshman at USC studying Theater and Anthropology. They learned this joke while on the bus in elementary school. They exchanged this joke with their friends at school, getting laughs on either side with this unconventional delivery of the classic “Knock Knock” joke. They state that “recess, lunch, or in between class time” was the perfect stage for this joke. 

Analysis: The informant is a white American that went to public school in Barrington, Illinois. Among jokes that are popular with young American children, “Knock Knock” jokes are definitely one of the top choices. The format is one that almost every kid knows, and it goes a little something like this: the joke teller says “Knock knock”, the listener responds “Who’s there”, the teller says “x” (any word or phrase), in response the listener says “x who?”, and the teller tells the punch line. This variation of the “knock knock” joke is interesting because it doesn’t follow the typical pattern: the teller interrupts the listener mid-sentence as the punchline. The phrase “interrupting cow” is already humorous and familiar to young children because of the emphasis placed on learning the names of animals in elementary schools. Children also memorize the sounds that each animal makes very early on, making the punchline of “MOOOOO!” relatable and funny. Many families in the rural American Midwest own farms with cows, which also might bring an extra sense of familiarity to the children in the general semi-rural area of Barrington, Illinois.