Tag Archives: proverb

Take From Life with the Small Spoon, not with the Ladle

Nationality: Bulgarian
Age: 46
Occupation: Bookkeeper
Residence: Palos Verdes, CA
Performance Date: March 2, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Bulgarian

Proverb: “Греби от зивота с малката лажичка, а не с черпака”

Transliteration: Grebi ot zivota c malkata lazichka, a ne c cherpaka.

Literal translation: Take from life with the small spoon, not with the ladle.

Meaning: Don’t do so much at once that you can’t enjoy the sweetness of life.

Analysis:

This is a Bulgarian proverb I heard from my mother when I went home for one weekend. She said it to me when we were talking about my college life and I was feeling overwhelmed by all the meetings, classes, and work I had to do. She encouraged me to slow down and perhaps limit my activities so I could better enjoy my time in college, and as we were speaking in Bulgarian, she mentioned this proverb.

I asked her more about it, and she said it was related to “бяло сладко,” (byalo cladko) or “white sweets”, which is a small dessert served in delicate plates or saucers alongside an appropriately sized spoon and a glass of water, to offset the sugary taste. Since the spoon is very small, only miniature bites can be taken of the sweet, but that way it lasts longer and one can relish the dessert much better than they could if they ate the sweet all at once. “White sweets” is a traditional Bulgarian dessert, so it naturally lends itself to folk sayings.

My mother also mentioned that there was another similar saying: “шоколада се яде по малко” (shokolada ce yade po malko), meaning “you eat chocolate only little by little.” Beyond this phrase serving as a dietary suggestion, it again indicates that life should be appreciated in small bites and small moments. One should not guzzle down all the desserts or become greedy in getting too much of a good thing. Additionally, as Bulgaria has been mostly agrarian and many people have been relatively impoverished, they would naturally value small enjoyments and appreciating the simple things in life. Both these proverbs reflect that state of mind. They also gave me a craving for a sugary or chocolaty dessert, which I indulged in, and most importantly, it relieved some of my stress from my classes.

Proverb: Hebrew proverb

Nationality: Israel
Age: 40
Occupation: Sociology Professor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March 27, 2013
Primary Language: Hebrew
Language: English

Note: The informant is from Jerusalem

Hebrew Proverb

Proverb:

Note: Hebrew is written from right to left

Transliteration: Hatzava Tzoed Al Keyvato

Translation: The army marches on its stomach

My informant doesn’t remember where exactly he heard the proverb but he does mention that the military is a prominent part of daily life in Israel so military sayings are common. According to my informant the proverb basically means that ideas can’t sustain themselves until they become real. According him ideas need “food”, they need to link themselves to material before they become important. An example he uses to explain this is Leonardo da Vinci and his models of machines; perpetual motion machine, manufacturing machines, etc. According my informant these machines were revolutionary in hindsight but not important at the time because they served no practical purpose at the time. Those concepts became useful later when fossil fuel and independent workers became commonplace. As opposed to the Renaissance which had other energy sources and serfs.  According to him the proverb isn’t very important to him, he just knows it.

I looked up this proverb and apparently its a quote from Napoleon Bonaparte. Makes sense considering how military-centric Israel is. Although the informant stated that this proverb isn’t very important to him he still it connected to his profession. The da Vinci analogy is not directly connected to the proverb it is just something he used to explain it better. He says that the proverb is a military proverb but he applies it to the nature of scientific progress, which he is teaching a class on. It’s the same proverb but the informant took it out of its “original” context and gave it a different meaning.

Three Monks, No Water

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 26
Occupation: Student
Residence: Shanghai, China
Performance Date: 4/16/2013
Primary Language: Chinese

My informant told me that his mother used to tell him this story when he was younger, around the age of 6. The proverb goes “One monk will get two buckets of water, two monks will share a load of water, three monks will have no water.” The original proverb is here: “一个和尚挑水喝，两个和尚抬水喝，三个和尚没水喝。” (Yi ge he shang tiao shui he, liang ge he shang tai shui he, sang ge he shang mei shui he.)

Informant: “One monk lived on a mountain, and every day he went down the mountain with a stick with two buckets to haul water. However one day, another monk came to visit. The first monk made him help carry the stick, but the stick could only hold one bucket now. When the third monk came along, they all fought over who should go get the water. In the process, they knocked over a candle, and there was a fire in the temple. Finally, with a combined effort, they manage to put out the fire. Through this realization, they joined hands in fetching the water and the temple never lacked it again.”

Me: “What does the proverb mean to you?”

Informant: “Umm… hmmm…. I guess it means that you should always try to work together no matter what. But it’s weird… it suggests that people can’t work together. So I guess you need to stop being selfish and take responsibility?”

Analysis: The proverb suggests that with many people, no one wants to take the major responsibility. It can be related to the American proverb: “Too many cooks in the kitchen.” With too many people, it’s hard to divide responsibility because no one would feel right with someone resting. Like the story, with only two buckets it is impossible for all three monks to fetch water at the same time, but none of them were okay with one person resting. However with the story, it also shows that “many hands make light work”, or that unity can be harmonious and advantageous. In fact, after research, I discovered this story is often used as an anecdote or reference in books about people management.

This story was made into an animation in 1980 that contains no dialogue. Near the end of the animation, you see that the fat monk stays at the bottom to fill the buckets. The short monk then pulls the buckets upwards with a rope that has a hook attached to the end, and passes it to the tall monk. The tall monk then dumps it into the giant urn. This suggests dividing responsibilities up based on a person’s strength. The fat monk is not fast at running up a hill, so therefore it makes more sense that he stays at the bottom.

Annotation: Three Monks No Water. Perf. N/A. YouTube. YouTube, 21 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 May 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rolBiHfWokY>.

Three Monks, No Water animated short

 

C’est La Vie

Nationality: USA, France
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: Irvine, California
Performance Date: 4/16/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: French

My informant tells me that the first time he heard the phrase, he was seven and complaining about the rain on a beach day. His mother then sighed, and said “C’est la vie”, which translated roughly into “Such is life.”

Me: “What does this saying mean to you?”

Informant: “It means that some times you can’t change things and just have to accept life as it is.”

Analysis: This proverb may also have to do with dealing with bad luck, as sometimes the world may seem to intentionally mess with your plans. It is a phrase often said when life isn’t fair, but one has to deal with life. Similar American sayings are, “That’s the way the ball bounces”, or the more slang term, “Shit happens.”

In modern American culture, a popular response to “C’est la vie” is, “la vie”, a pun on the pronunciation of the words. (C’est la vie = Say ‘la vie’). This joke was present in the romantic comedy film, Easy A, featuring Emma Stone and Penn Badgley.

Annotation: “Easy A (2010)”. Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved January 27, 2011.

My informant was born in France, but currently goes to school at UC Irvine.

If at first you don’t succeed…

Nationality: Japanese-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/18/13
Primary Language: English

If At first you don’t succeed…

 

The common proverb reads, “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again”. This proverb suggests that failing should not mean defeat—if you do not succeed the first time, a second [and maybe even third and fourth] attempt should be made. It speaks to perseverance and determination. Failure is just a lesson. One can learn from the lesson and turn failure into success. Never accept defeat after only one attempt. If the Wright brothers had given up after their first attempt, we may have never learned to fly.

 

Haley, my informant, is an olympic diver whose success really embodies this proverb. Diving is a sport that is all about making mistake, learning from your mistakes, and, most importantly, never being afraid to do a dive again after it has gone awry. Haley dives from the 10 meter platform–an event that includes a great deal of risk. Is she does a dive incorrectly she could face hospitalization. However, even when she has landed flat on her stomach or on her back from 33 feet in the air, she never gave up. She never accepted defeat even when she felt that the water was beating her and she wasn’t quite grasping the correct technique.

 

Annotated:

Although the traditional proverb reads, “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again”, I am citing the first episode—“Lessons”—of the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which she twists the proverb to fit her current situation. While fighting phantom-like projections of dead people from her past, Buffy realizes that she must get to a door that the three phantoms are conveniently blocking. When she tries to fight her way through them the first time she fails and is beaten back. The second time, she leaps over them as they charge at her and she makes it to the door. As she does this she utters, “if at first you don’t succeed, cheat!”

 

Even though she failed the first time to make it past the phantoms she did not give up. She tried a second time and was successful. Her success embodies what the original proverb promotes: don’t give up. However, rather than taking the more difficult route—fighting her way through again—she decides to avert this struggle once more by “cheating” and jumping over them.