Title: Family vs. Friendship (William Baddoo)

General Information about Item:

• Proverb
• Language: Spanish
• Country of Origin: Spain
• Informant: Rosa Matorras
• Date Collected: 10/16/18

Informant Data:

• Professor Matorras is a Senior Lecturer of Spanish in the Spanish and Portuguese department at Dartmouth College. She was born and Raised in Madrid, Spain. After completing undergraduate studies in Spain she earned her PhD at the Ohio State University. She is married with two sons. She tries to go back to Madrid ever summer if possible.

Contextual Data:

• The proverb was told to Professor Matorras by her grandmother. She in her brother would often get into fights when they were younger. Her grandmother wanted them to know the importance of family despite the differences they had.

  Professor Matorras says that the prover is about how important family relations are in life. While it is important to have friends, there is certain level of connection and bond that can only be achieved by your family. Family is always there for you at the hardest moments in life. It is your family that has immense influence on who you become as a person. Another aspect is that family provides a stable foundation. During life, friends can come and go. When you move somewhere, get a new job or go to a different school, you will likely lose some of the friends you made. This never happens with family. A bad fight may end a friendship, but families can quarrel all the time and still live under the same roof.

Item:

• “Un litro de sangre vale más que 100 gramos de amistad.”

  Translation “An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship”.

Informant’s Comments:

• The bond between family members is a permeant bond that can withstand the tests of time, arguments, and travel, which is not always true with friendships.

Collector’s Comments:

The structure of the proverb is a comparison. Blood is used as a metonym for family. Overall the proverb is literal and direct. Family is more valuable than friendship. This proverb, along with a few other that we collected send the message that family comes first over friendship. This concept seems to be culturally significant in Spanish-speaking countries.

Collector’s Name: William Baddoo

Tags/Keywords:

• Spanish Proverbs
• Family
• Blood