Tag Archives: proverb

Behind the Clouds the Sky Will Always be Blue

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.

 

“Bak skyene er himmelen alltid blå…this one translates to um… ‘behind the clouds, the sky will always be blue’ meaning that there’s always something positive in everything depending on how you look at it.”

 

This proverb immediately reminded me of the American saying “every cloud has a silver lining”. I find it very interesting that many cultures share a saying that embodies the belief that you always have to be able to see the good in a bad situation. My informant had a relatively difficult upbringing as a child in Norway. As an infant her parents had to keep her in a dresser drawer instead of a crib because they could not afford one. The extended period of hardship that she endured while a child and the position that she is in now (a successful student at USC) demonstrates a cultural belief in staying positive and continuing to look on the bright side even when things are looking bad.

Han får gå lenge barfot som venter på å arve en annen mann’s sko

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.

 

“And uh, there’s one more that I like—Han får gå lenge barfot som venter på å arve en annen mann’s sko— that translates to ‘you’re going to have to walk barefoot for a long time if you’re waiting for someone to pass you down their old shoes.’ This basically means that eh…you won’t get any—anything for free in life and that you have to work for what you want.”

 

This particular proverb seems like one that would ring true with many American ideals. It essentially states that you have to work for anything that you really want in life, otherwise you’re just going to end up waiting for something that may never come. This particular saying was one that my informant hears frequently throughout her life and instilled the belief that you cant just be passive and wait on life to drop opportunity on your doorstep, you actually have to put in conscious effort and work for the things that you truly want most.

Only A Stupid Child Falls More Than Once at the Door

Nationality: Cameroonian
Age: n/a
Occupation: Social Services Supervisor
Residence: Long Beach
Performance Date: 4/25/15
Primary Language: English
Language: French, Spanish, Anyang, Kenyang, Pidgin

My informant is the mother of a USC student. She is an immigrant from Cameroon and came to America with her husband and son before giving birth to their daughter.

 

“Most of the houses have entrance doors that are raised. There are no accommodations for the less able….everyone is expected to get in and out. If you fall or trip once, you should remember the next time you approach the door. If you miss again, you will be considered incompetent.”

 

Analysis: This proverb is essentially one that states that you should learn from your mistakes and from past experiences. If you trip once at the door, an intelligent person would remember the next time they encounter it, whereas a person who is oblivious will trip again because they did not pay attention the first time. Though the proverb can be applied to all situations where people fail to learn from their mistakes, the use of the word child implies that the person who is hearing the proverb—regardless of age—is acting like one. It exemplifies the expectation in the Cameroonian community to learn from your mistakes and take care not to make them again.

 

Track is Life

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/28/15
Primary Language: English

My informant is a senior member of the USC track and field team. He is of African American descent and is entirely dedicated to his sport.

 

“Track is life. To eat healthy—these are words I learned from J.P—to eat healthy, to practice hard, to watch videos and film and study other people and how they run and how to help yourself run. So you just eat, breathe, sleep track. Its all you think about, its all you do. It’s a thing, it’s a thing actually, but it can also be applied to other sports. Like, ball is life. Like when n****s eat, drink, and sleep basketball. So like even if you *motions twisting his ankle* you just keep goin cause its life.”

 

Analysis: This proverb exemplifies the lifestyle of the person or people who use it. The statement is simple but powerful “track is life” meaning that everything that that individual does, is for track. I thought that this piece was particularly interesting because the noun in the beginning of the proverb can be changed depending on the sport and the groups of athletes that use it. Track is life for someone who runs, but “ball is life” for another individual who plays basketball or football. The universality of the proverb is part of what makes it so powerful, it can be applied to almost anyone and anything with simple changes to the word choice. It is also something that can be universally understood, because anyone who is in love with their sport will understand what the speaker is saying when they state that “Track is life” or “Ball is life” etc.

 

Golden Rule

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/23/15
Primary Language: English

My informant is a USC student from Wyoming. She is a Christian and her grandmother was a strict Catholic, so many of the things she learned from her mother and grandmother had tied to Christianity and the doctrines of the bible.

“Do unto others as you would do unto yourself”

“My mom taught me that. And basically it means just treat other people how you would want to be treated. So you don’t want someone to be mean to you then you shouldn’t put out like, bad vibes cause then your Karma’s gonna come back and someone’s gonna be really mean to you. But if you’re nice–if you’re nice to everybody then hopefully somewhere somebody’s gonna be nice to you, even though i dunno, people aren’t very nice but if you just like, put good vibes out in the world it’ll be good! And you’ll be good! So just treat people how you want to be treated.”

 

Analysis: This was a proverb that my informant learned from her parent. Often times some of the most important lessons that we learn come from things that our parents tell us as children growing up. In this case the proverb reflects my informants religious and personal values, as she mentioned that in the bible one of the principles that is expressed is to treat others with kindness. The spread of this proverb within the family from parent to child demonstrates the nature of folklore and the natural affinity for people to share beliefs important to them with other members of their family as a means of maintaining collective views within that family.