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

Title: Fake Friend (William Baddoo)

General Information about Item:

• Proverb
• Language: Spanish
• Country of Origin: Argentina
• Informant: Natalie Monetti
• Date Collected: 10/17/18

Informant Data:

• Professor Monetti is a Senior Lecturer of Spanish in the Spanish and Portuguese department at Dartmouth College. She is was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Professor Monetti got her bachelors from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. She came to the United States in the mid 2000s for graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis.

Contextual Data:

• Professor Monetti was told this proverb by her father when she was in primary school. At the time she had just moved to a different school and was having trouble adjusting.  Some of her new friends were not the best people. Her Father wanted her to be more careful in the friends she chose.

  Professor Monetti said that the proverb is about the dangers someone who betrays your trust can do to you. In life there are people who can seem like they are genuine and care about but are putting on a facade.  This especially true when you are young and there is a lot of pressure to make friends and fit. These are the types of people who may then say things about you or reveal information to others that you believed would remain private. It hurts a lot to have someone who you are comfortable being honest with betray. One silver lining is that having to deal with bad friends makes you appreciate those who are genuinely kindhearted and have your best interest in mind.

Item:

• La lengua que pertenece a un amigo falso es más afilada que un cuchillo.

  Translation: The tongue that belongs to a fake friend is sharper than a knife.

Informant’s Comments:

• Pick friends wisely or you can end up suffering significant emotional damage.

Collector’s Comments:

• The proverb is two part, using comparison Pain caused by a person pretending to be your friend and can hurt more than physical damage. There is common theme this proverb has which is that people should avoid bad friends. It was told to the informant by a parent, which also is a common theme.

Collector’s Name: William Baddoo

Tags/Keywords:

• Spanish Proverbs
• Friends
• Betrayal.

Title: Stay Positive (William Baddoo)

General Information about Item:

• Proverb
• Language: Spanish
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Luis Valdovinos
• Date Collected: 10/19/18

Informant Data:

• Luis Valdovinos is a junior at Dartmouth College majoring in Government. He is a member of the class of 2020. He is from Los Angeles, California. He is of Mexican-Descent. He is an undergraduate advisor for the Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies (LALACS) house.

Contextual Data:

• Luis learned this proverb a few years ago from one of his friends. The proverb was said to him when he was going through a particularly hard time. While the proverb is fairly simple, Luis said that it is still meaningful. The proverb is not specifically about family or friends, but it is almost always used in the context a family or friend giving encouragement to another family friend. Proverbs or sayings that come from people that you are close to can be powerful and help you get through emotionally and or physically challenging periods in your life.

Item:

• Original Proverb: “A mal tiempo, buena care”
• Translation:“In bad times stay positive, or at least look at it”

Associated file 

Informant’s Comments:

• It’s important not to give into despair during difficult times.

Collector’s Comments:

• This proverb fits our theme even though it is not specifically about friends or family. What’s relevant is the context which it is used. It is often said by a person’s family or friends. Those are the people most likely to provide words or encouragement during hard times. The proverb has a simple structure.

Tags/Keywords:

• Spanish Proverbs
• Family
• Hope

Title: Gift Horse (William Baddoo)

General Information about Item:

• Proverb
• Language: Spanish
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Jose Molina
• Date Collected: 11/4/18

Informant Data:

• Jose is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2021. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He comes from a family of Mexican descent. On campus Jose is a member of various student organizations.

Contextual Data:

• Jose first heard this proverb when he was in middle school. Jose says that up until high school he had a somewhat privileged upbringing and lacked the perspective that he has now. During middle school he participated in a secret Santa for his birthday. He received a gift from his friend that I had a lot of thought put into it. Jose did not like the gift even though his friend put effort and time into the gift. The proverb was relevant in this situation because its meaning is that a gift is a gift and that you should not be ungrateful for something that was given to you.  At the time Jose was trying to explain or justify his dissatisfaction with the gift, instead of the appreciating the fact that his friend cared enough about him to give him the gift.

Item 

Transcript:

“Un caballo Regalado no se le mira el diente”

Translation:

“A horse given as a gift you shouldn’t look at its teeth.

Informant’s Comments:

• When you receive a gift you should be grateful for the gesture and not look for flaws. For example, if you were given a horse, you shouldn’t look at its teeth because that’s not important.

Collector’s Comments:

• This proverbs highlights the importance of appreciating gestures from family and friends. It also uses a horse a metaphor for gifts in general. Not all gifts are perfect but it’s not appropriate for the person to look for flaws in gift, especially when a lot of thought and passion is put into it. Culturally, many gifts given are more practical rather than superficial or flashy.

Collector’s Name: William Baddoo

Tags/Keywords:

• Spanish Proverbs
• Friends
• Gifts