Category Archives: 18F Spanish Proverbs

Spanish Proverb: Similarities

Similarities

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal folklore, Proverb
  • Language: Spanish
  • Informant: Jose Alvarado-Carcoma
  • Date Collected: 10-26-18

Informant Data:

Jose Alvarado-Carcoma is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. His family is from El Salvador, and he is a first-generation college student. Jose is a Spanish major, and, as such, he interacts with many other Hispanic students on campus. He finds that his closest friends so far have been first-generation, Hispanic students, and he finds this proverb especially apt in explaining this event.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Jose explains that in Spanish/Hispanic culture, there is an emphasis on community. Community is defined through shared culture and language, but, more importantly, common morals and values. His family has used this proverb to remind him that when making friends, he will likely build the strongest connections with those whom he share similarities.
  • Social Context: This proverb was particularly important when Jose was transitioning into college, and was searching for a community that would allow him to feel safe and comfortable. He has found that he is more likely to get along with students who are from Honduras or Guatemala, countries geographically close to El Salvador, because they speak the same language and shared similar cultures. Jose applied this proverb throughout his first year at Dartmouth as he was searching for a community away from home.

Item:

Orally transmitted proverb:

“Cada quien con su cada cual.”

 

Translation:

“Each one with his own.”

Transcript:

“Cada quien con su cada cual” is a phrase that describes an individual’s search for friendship. Essentially, what it states is that an individual will search for other people who resemble their characteristics, their personality, along with values, morals. This is particularly important in college, when an individual is searching for people who will allow them to feel comfortable, feel safe; and this is usually done through the process of similar activities, similar likes…interests. I’ve heard this phrase used by my mom and by other people in my family, particularly when they have told me to focus on finding people that I will build a connection with; building connection through similar morals, similar values. In spanish culture, we see an emphasis on collectivist community, particularly individuals who are close to one another through common interests and language. So I have used this personally to  make friends who are geographically close to me. So in terms of El Salvador, I get along with someone who is from Honduras, let’s say, or Guatemala, as opposed to someone who may live farther off and have a different language, culture, and ideas.

Informant’s Comments:

  • This proverb resembles the English proverb, “Birds of a feather, flock together.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • This proverb falls under the theme of “Like Attracts Like.”
  • The proverb reiterates the importance of community within Spanish culture.

Collector’s Name: Vi Nguyen

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Spanish Proverb
  • Friends

Spanish Proverb: Raising Crows

Raising Crows

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal lore, proverb
  • Language: Spanish
  • Informant: Odalis Hernandez-Medrano
  • Date Collected: 10-15-18

Informant Data:

Odalis is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She grew up in Florida, but is a Mexican immigrant. Her hometown (in Florida) is a very small, tight-knit, rural community, that is majority Hispanic. As a first-generation student and immigrant, Odalis had to learn to work hard for everything she wanted to achieve. She is very close with her family, and continues to maintain this strong relationship with them even after moving away for college. She  is interested in serving the immigrant community, especially in terms of activist work. She also volunteers to teach English to migrant farmers in the local community.

Contextual Data:

Odalis has heard this phrase being used several times by her mom and other older members of the family to describe someone’s style of parenting. In her community, there is an emphasis on working for and earning what you have, and it is important to teach your children the same thing. This proverb describes how “bad” parenting will produce bad children, which will eventually cause trouble for the parents. Odalis describes that the proverb is used particularly when a child is spoiled, meaning they have everything given to them without having  to work for it. The child will then not know how to work for and take care of themselves, which, in the end, will come back to cause trouble for the parents. The parents may have to continue taking care of their child once they are adults, or the child will not know how to fend for themselves in the real world and cause their parents to worry.

Item:

Orally transmitted proverb:

“Cria cuervos y te sacarán los ojos”

 

Translation:

“Raise crows and they will poke your eyes out.”

 

 

Transcription:

This proverb describes, like, if you have a child, and you raise them badly — as in, you give them everything without teaching them to work for the things that they have or that you’re giving them, then it’s going to come back and bite you. That’s the part where it says “te sacarán los ojos,” take your eyes out, because [the kids] will be spoiled. They are not going to know how to do work.

 

Collector’s Comments:

  • This proverb falls into the theme of “Proper Behaviors” in Spanish proverbs.
  • It shows that within Spanish culture, there is an expected, proper way to raise children.
  • Again, the proverb shows the trend of using metaphors of animals in Spanish proverbs. The proverb has a two clause, cause and effect structure,  with a more serious tone.

Collector’s Name: Vi Nguyen

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Spanish Proverbs
  • Family

Spanish Proverb: Family is Forever

Family is Forever

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal lore, proverb
  • Language: Spanish
  • Informant: Jonathan Bonilla
  • Date Collected: 10-26-18

Informant Data:

Jonathan is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. He is an international student from Honduras, and is also first-generation. Transitioning both into college and into American culture have been quite the experience for him. His family was been his greatest support system, despite being thousands of miles away. Coming into his sophomore year, Jonathan is feeling more comfortable and stable within his friend group, but the love and support from his family continues to remind him that he will always have people on his side.

Contextual Data:

Jonathan heard this proverb several times from his mom. He explains that it represents her values of family, which especially reflects the values of Latino families. He describes that his mom would use this phrase whenever one his relationships or friendships was not going well, or if a friend let him down. This was his mom’s way of reminding him that family was always going to be there for him. Jonathan also explains that, in his case, family did not necessarily mean blood-related; rather, it can be anyone who has been there for you since you were young, or who has never let you down. There is a significant element of trust in family. “Friends” in this phrase mean someone that you are just getting to know or who is not yet close or significant enough to you to have met your family.

Item:

Orally transmitted proverb:

“Los amigos van y vienen, pero la familia es para siempre.”

 

Translation:

“Friends come and go, but family is forever.”

 

Transcription: 

My mom used to always tell me this proverb that represents her values of family, latino family especially. The proverb goes like, “Los amigos van y vienen, pero la familia es para siempre,” and it literally translates to, “Friends comes and go, but family is forever.” She would always tell me that when a relationship didn’t work out or, like, a friend let me down. She would let me know that family was always going to be there for me. And what she mean by family doesn’t necessarily mean blood-related, but who has been there for you since you were a kid, or who like never let you down. So that can also be considered family. When they say, “Friends come and go,” it means people who you have just met or people who you  haven’t introduced to your family.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This proverb falls under the theme of “Family Comes First.”
  • It reiterates the importance of family (over friends) within Spanish culture.
  • The structure of the proverb follows the formula “___ is ___,” and has a more serious image/tone.

Collector’s Name: Vi Nguyen

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Spanish Proverb
  • Family

Spanish Proverb: Donkey Ears

Donkey Ears

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal lore, proverb
  • Language: Spanish
  • Informant: Gabriel Onate
  • Date Collected: 10-14-18

Informant Data:

Gabriel Onate is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. He was born and raised in what he describes as a “typical Mexican household”  in Los Angeles, California. His parents are married and he has one younger brother. His family’s values are more conservative and traditional compared to his own, but he still holds onto much of the Mexican culture and traditions, even now that he no longer lives at home. On campus, Gabriel is the Undergraduate Advisor for La Casa, a living learning community for Spanish speaking students.

Contextual Data:

Gabriel was told this proverb by his mom one day when he was feeling upset. He couldn’t quite recall the exact event that led to this discussion with his mom, but he remembers that it was about his high school friends, or maybe just classmates, being unkind to him. His mom wanted to remind him that he was not much different from his friends, and his friends were not much different from him, and so it was ironic that they would bully or gossip about him when they were just like him. Just like how it is ironic and hypocritical that a donkey is talking about ears when it has ears itself, his friends were being being ironic and hypocritical when being unkind to Gabriel because they were just like him, and could probably relate to him. Gabriel also adds that this proverb is commonly used in reference to friends gossiping, or people gossiping, in general, because often the gossiper is no better or no different than the person they are gossiping about.

Item:

Orally transmitted proverb:

“El burro hablando de orejas.”

 

Translation:

“The donkey is talking about ears.”

 

Transcript:

“One of the proverbs I remember the most growing up throughout the times was just, I guess, in reference to gossiping. But one time my mom applied it perfectly to my friends while I was in high school, or at least, they’re not really friends but my classmates. And the proverb goes, ““El burro hablando de orejas,” which translates to, “The donkey is talking about ears.” And what my mom was referencing was because I think I was just upset that like…I guess people were…bullying me was it? I think? My mom, in saying that, was trying to remind me that we as teenagers, we’re not that very different, and it’s very ironic that a teenager would make fun of another teenager as if they were not a teenger themselves. I don’t remember exactly what I was upset about, but my mom told me that to remind me, like, that. I guess it just comes down to gossiping. It is a very commonly used proverb in Mexican culture when you want to reference someone who is gossiping to say that, how ironic it is that the donkey will gossip about ears even though it was like a giant pair of ears.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • This proverb falls into the theme of “Proper Behaviors” and “Like Attracts Like” in Spanish Proverbs.
  • It shows that within Spanish culture, there is a disapproval of gossip.
  • This proverb also functions based on the assumption that friends are similar and, thus, gossiping about friends is hypocritical.
  • This proverb is a metaphor using animals (a trend in Spanish proverbs), and follows the “___ is ___” Dundes formula. Like most Spanish proverbs, the image or tone is more serious than humorous, despite using an animal character to make the proverb more light-hearted.

Collector’s Name: Vi Nguyen

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Spanish Proverbs
  • Friends

Spanish Proverb: Old Devil

Old Devil

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal lore, proverb
  • Language: Spanish
  • Informant: Gabriel Onate
  • Date Collected: 10-15-18

Informant Data:

Gabriel Onate is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. He was born and raised in what he describes as a “typical Mexican household”  in Los Angeles, California. His parents are married and he has one younger brother. His family’s values are more conservative and traditional compared to his own, but he still holds onto much of the Mexican culture and traditions, even now that he no longer lives at home. On campus, Gabriel is the Undergraduate Advisor for La Casa, a living learning community for Spanish speaking students.

Contextual Data:

Gabriel was told this proverb during his first time visiting Mexico. It was also his first time meeting his grandparents and, as a little kid, he did not know what to expect of the trip. He knew that he would have to respect his grandparents no matter what, even if he did not agree with them, because that was expected in Mexican culture (respecting elders no matter what). Gabriel’s mom told him this proverb to remind him that, despite  his own opinion, an older person is wiser and can pass wise things onto him. Therefore, he must always respect them, because they likely know more and know better than him. She told him this to prepare him for meeting his grandparents for the first time, and, to this day, he still respects them regardless of their different opinions.

Item:

Orally transmitted proverb:

“Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo.”

Translation:

“The devil knows more through being old than through being a  devil.”

 

Transcript:  

“So there was this one time where I, um, as a little kid…I was meeting my grandparents for the first time. I was going to Mexico and…I didn’t know what to expect ‘cause I’d never met my grandparents from my mom side before and there’s just this whole cultural thing around being Mexican where you respect your elders no matter what. Even if you disagree with them, which, to this day there are some things i don’t agree with my grandparents, but I still respect them because they are my grandparents nonetheless.One of the things I remember being told is,“Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo,” which literally translates to, “The devil knows more through being old than through being a  devil.” And I think that just went on to like… what my mom meant to explain is that it meant that, like, you had to respect older people. Don’t take wisdom through old age for granted. And that’s just coming from the fact that maybe I don’t agree with everything my grandparents say, but they are still wise; they have a lot of wise things that they can pass on to me. It was really nice meeting them for the first time.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This proverb falls into the theme of “Proper Behaviors” in Spanish Proverbs.
  • It shows that within Spanish culture, respecting and listening to elders are important values.
  • The structure of the proverb, itself,  has two clauses, cause and effect, and follows the “__ than __” Dundes formula. It is also a metaphor using a character (the devil), a common trend in Spanish proverbs.

Collector’s Name: Vi Nguyen

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Spanish Proverbs
  • Family