Tag Archives: proverb

Proverbs

Nationality: American - (Scottish, Irish, English)
Age: 57
Occupation: Doctor (Cardiologist)
Residence: Winnetka, IL
Performance Date: Saturday March 26th, 2016
Primary Language: English
Language: French

D is a 57 year old man. He is a practicing cardiologist at a hospital in the northern suburbs of Illinois. He identifies as American as he grew up in Boston, but he strongly associates with his Scottish heritage as well. D completed his undergraduate studies at Dartmouth University and he attended Cornell University for his degree in medicine. During his studies, both undergraduate and med school, D studied abroad in France two times. While in medical school, D studied at the Faculté de Médecine et de Maïeutique de Lille in Lille, France. English is his primary language, yet he is also fluent in French.

D: Funny thing, it’s hard to remember proverbs out of the blue. They’re so associated with experiences that I usually only think of them in context. On the other hand, I use them all the time to explain things to patients because they get complex ideas across in a familiar and easy way.

Me: What proverbs do you use often?

D: Well, I just used “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” today when talking with a colleague of mine about treating his wife’s normal blood pressure. She gets distressed in some doctor’s offices & her blood pressure rises. In the end we both agreed that “things are normal & should not be messed with.”

Me: Any other proverbs you use?

D: Another classic I use all the time with patients is “if you don’t use it, you lose it” as a universally-recognized motivation to “get off your butt.”  I’ve tried it with my dad too, but with no success.  My mom and I even mapped out their condo on a piece of paper with distances marked and put it on the fridge in hopes of encouraging him to get out and walk.

D: There’s also: “the larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.” This is a recent one which is a favorite of mine, by a pastor in New York named Ralph Sockman, who preached in the 1930s-1960s.  My corollary has been “the more the islands of knowledge, the greater the archipelago of understanding.”

Me: What do you mean by that?

D: What I am trying to say is the more stuff you know, the more stuff you understand. I say this to my son a lot. It’s using the things you learn in life like putting the pieces of a puzzle together in order to understand other stuff.

D, while having a bit of trouble at the beginning trying to remember a proverb, ended up talking about three proverbs that he really likes and uses a lot. He uses proverbs in his everyday life, especially with his patients at work, to get across a point that might otherwise be confusing, or maybe even boring. By using proverbs and saying things in a different way, it is more likely to reach someone than by saying the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different reaction every time. So while proverbs didn’t seem to be a prominent part of D’s everyday speech, they are something he uses very frequently.

Jesus Be A Fence!

Nationality: American (African American)
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/21/15
Primary Language: English

“Whenever I’m tired or have a hard practice I be like, “Jesus be a fence” like be my strength…or before a hard test…or just when I have a lot to do and I need Jesus to be a fence, that’s like when I say it so…pretty much every day! Or like, “Oh Lord stop me from doing somthin wrong…” like if I’m feelin temptation…it goes from simple to extreme.”

 

Analysis: As a Christian, my informant looks to Jesus as a source of inspiration and fortitude in all aspects of her life. The proverb is laid out in a metaphor in which the speaker literally asks Jesus to hold them up or provide support like a fence. The proverb can be used in many different situations as a means of conveying momentary weakness and a desire for divine intervention on behalf of the speaker.

 

Although it is mostly used in serious scenarios or during times of legitimate distress, the phrase can also be used in a more humorous setting depending on the scenario. For example if someone was on a diet and saw a donut in a shop window they might use the proverb as a means of conveying their desire to restrain from eating the donut and their need for divine intervention to help them do so.

Ile oba t’o jo, ewa lo busi

Nationality: Nigerian-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/19/15
Primary Language: English

My informant is a senior at USC and of Nigerian ethnicity. Her parents were immigrants to America from Nigeria and with them brought customs, traditions, and phrases with them to their new home, including proverbs that they would use to raise their daughter.

“Ile oba t’o jo, ewa lo busi. In English it means a King’s palace that burned down, actually became more beautiful…meaning that every cloud has a silver lining or that good things can come from something bad. My parents would tell me this if I was going through a rough time or if I lost something important.”

 

 

Analysis: This proverb was originally given in Yoruba and essentially states that there is a silver lining to every cloud. Even in instances where things are bad, you can always find something good about the situation that you find yourself in. In a way, the proverb is also saying that the process of “rebuilding the palace” is the silver lining, because the final product or new thing is more beautiful than before because of new appreciation for it and the work that was put into achieving it.

Iwa Lewa

Nationality: Nigerian-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/19/15
Primary Language: English

My informant is a senior at USC and of Nigerian ethnicity. Her parents were immigrants to America from Nigeria and with them brought customs, traditions, and phrases with them to their new home, including proverbs that they would use to raise their daughter.

“Iwa lewa translates I think, literally to “character beauty”. Iwa Lewa…so your behavior or the way you act is what makes you beautiful.”

 

Analysis: Originally written in Yoruba, this proverb expresses Nigerian values in the content of a person’s character. A person’s character is what composes their beauty, not just their outward appearance. The proverb is used mostly in reference to women, however the message could be applicable to both sexes. This proverb sheds light on the cultural values of Nigerian people. It allows the listener to understand that within Nigerian culture, external beauty is not valued or appreciated as much as being a good or morally upstanding person.

This proverb particularly reminds me of the English proverb “Don’t judge a book by its cover” which my parents used to tell me all the time as a means of getting me to understand that people are not just what they look like on the surface, you also have to look within that person to see who they really are and what they’re really about.

 

The Old Goats Have the Hardest Horns

Nationality: Norwegian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles/Norway
Performance Date: 4/22/15
Primary Language: Norwegian
Language: English, French, Danish

My informant is a friend and sophomore student at USC from Norway. She lived for the majority of her life in Norway before moving and living in Thailand, Dubai, and Namibia until she attended college. Having lived for over a decade in Norway, Norwegian is her primary language.

 

“De gamle bukkene har de stiveste hornene, which, this basically means eh…it directly translates into ‘the old goats have the hardest horns’. Meaning that eh…the older you get the wiser you get.”

 

Analysis: This proverb speaks to a relatively universal idea that age brings wisdom. It is widely accepted in many cultures that the older members of the community are the ones that are most respected and have the most knowledge. My informant told me that her parents used to tell her this when she was younger in instances where she was impatient, made poor decisions, or was acting “smart”.