“Well when it comes to my language, Chiu Chow, it was the first language I learned and my grandpa wanted my parents to teach me that language since he wanted the tradition to be passed down to every generation including all my cousins and uncles aunts, any who the whole family. My grandparents grew up from a small village in the eastern coast of china where they spoke the native language there and my grandpa now wanted every generation in his family to know this language as well. The language, I remember hearing my mom say came from a village on the east coast of china called Shantou. Not a lot of people know that language because well clearly it’s like not as popular as Mandarin and the rest of the like more popular languages. Doesn’t really influence us much but if I had to say something then uh I guess it makes our family feel more connected? And my mom found friends who speak the same language as well so it brings them together in ways that I guess like only a language can bring them together. I like having kind of my own secret language with my family cause like not a lot of people know it, but I know it’s not secret but still makes me feel cool.”

When it comes to smaller towns a particular article of folklore that unites them is the language, and in this case being in such a small environment allows them to share the language with those close to them and anyone else who knows it becomes as close as family.  Even though it is not a commonly know language the people that have actually learned it from their parents have managed to pass it on in order to make sure it prevails and future generations of this family are able to hold on to this form of folklore that unites them so much.