Category Archives: Dartmouth College

Full list of Collected Slang Words and definitions

Baby- A term often thought of as an inappropriate way to address women is deemed more acceptable in New Orleans.

Bayou – A small  slow moving water way usually near swamps in Southeastern Louisiana and along the Gulf coast

Boudin – a rice based sausage

Brake Tag– an Inspection Sticker given bythe Louisiana Department of Motor vehicles

Cafe au’ Lait– coffee with steamed milk, otherwise known as a latte

Cher- A term of endearment meaning “dear” in French, but said with a Cajun accent the r-sound is dropped.

Chicory- A caffeinated root added to coffee giving it a strong flavor.

Coke– a carbonated beverage, not limited to the brand name coca cola

Cold drink– a carbonated beverage

Crawfish– small marine crustacean that resembles a small lobster, also known as a cray fish

Down in the Parish– to travel south down the Mississippi River

Doubloons- Coins tossed out during Mardi Gras Parades that symbolize the group throwing them.

Dressed– to have the traditional toppings of mayonaise, lettuce, and tomato put on a po’boy sandwich

“For” Versus “At”– a new orleans speech quirk where a person says they want to meet for “2pm” instead of at “2pm”

Gumbo- A thick-rue based stew served with rice.

K&B purple– a deep lavender color that is associate with the Katz and Bestoff (K&B) drugstore chain

King Cake- A Mardi Gras cake.

Langiappe – A little something extra, or a small plate sent out by chefs at New orleans Fine dininf restaurants

Making Groceries– to go out and buy or pick up groceries

Maw maw– a term for Grandmother, also an adjective to describe something that is old, frumpy or dowdy.

My mama n’ dem– your relatives

Neutral Ground– the median between two opposing lanes of traffic, usually has grass, trees, or a canal in it

NOLA– the acronym for New Orleans Louisiana, used to refer to the city

Parish- The Louisiana term for County

Po’boy– a shortening of the term “Poor Boy” which is a traditional New Orleans Sandwich

Rally Possum– a new term born from the Possom that wandered into an LSU baseball game and subequently becme regarded as a good luck charm

Second Line–  a line of people dancing toTtraditional New Orleans music while waving handkerchiefs and following a leader with an umbrella

Shotgun House – a long narrow housw with no hallway and interconnecting rooms

Snowball– a sweet treat made with finely shaved ice and sugary syrup served in a cup and popular in the summer, very similar to a snow cone

Stand in the Wedding-– To be part of a wedding party

Tableauxs- A silent satirical play performed during the balls held by some societies during Mardi Gras.

The Interstate– Interstate 10, which is the only interstate to pass through New Orleans

The Parish-  St. Bernard Parrish

Throws– the objects throen to spectators at New Orleans parades

Wank- The term for a neighborhood on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.

Where Y’at– a phrase which means both where are you going/ where are you and how are you doing?

Who Dat-  a phrase used by Saints (The New Orleans Football team) fans and often used to describe those same fans

Yat-  a term to describe a New Orleans Accent, also used to describe native New Orleanians, especially those from St. Bernard parish. derives from the Phrase “Where Y’at?”

 

 

Sorority Welcome Song

Welcome Song Initiation/Ritual

  • Informant Info
    • Sophomore Year of Dartmouth College
  • Type of Lore
    • Verbal
  • Language
    • English
  • Country of Origin
    • United States
  • Social / Cultural Context
    • Dartmouth Sorority
  • Informant’s Comments
    • Taken very light-hearted. The sorority and those who wish to partake sing a welcome song to new members that replaces the lyrics of notorious “Sweet Home Alabama” with lyrics that are unique to the sorority. Only members of the sorority sing the song.
  • Collector’s Comments
    • Anonymity in order to not reveal identity of fraternity and informant. The seriousness with which the songs are treated varied greatly between southern houses and Dartmouth. The amount of time and material coordination was directionally proportional to seriousness/geographic location.
    • See “Bid Chant” post for example videos of sorority welcome songs

“TDX-mas”

“TDX-mas” Initiation/RitualScreen Shot 2016-05-31 at 4.41.43 PM

  • Informant Info
    • Sophomore Year
  • Type of Lore
    • Customary
  • Language
    • English
  • Country of Origin
    • United States
  • Social / Cultural Context
    • Dartmouth Fraternity
  • Informant’s Comments
    • Taken light-hearted yet seriously as all brothers of the house partake in the festivity. The basement is completely covered in Christmas-styled wrapping paper. This is done for an end of the term party that the entire school is welcome to join.
  • Collector’s Comments
    • Anonymity in order to not reveal identity of fraternity and informant
    • Further research of publicly available fraternity information revealed that this practice is also done at other campuses that have this fraternity, such as MSU, dating back past 2010.

UCLA Initiation

Initiation/Ritual

  • Informant Info
    • Freshman year of UCLA (1983)
  • Type of Lore
    • Customary
  • Language
    • English
  • Country of Origin
    • United States
  • Social / Cultural Context
    • UCLA Fraternity
  • Informant’s Comments
    • Taken very seriously while light-hearted as the event could last up to 12-24 hours. The freshmen were painted, blindfolded, then driven 30 minutes from UCLA’s campus to USC’s and then duct-taped to the flag pole in the center of campus at midnight. During this time, USC students would say profanities and throw items at the freshmen until they were cut down.
  • Collector’s Comments
    • Anonymity in order to not reveal identity of fraternity and informant

UCLA Initiation

Initiation/Ritual

  • Informant Info
    • Freshman year of UCLA (1983)
  • Type of Lore
    • Customary
  • Language
    • English
  • Country of Origin
    • United States
  • Social / Cultural Context
    • UCLA Fraternity
  • Informant’s Comments
    • Taken very seriously while light-hearted as the event could last up to 12-24 hours. The freshmen were painted, blindfolded, then driven 30 minutes from UCLA’s campus to USC’s and then duct-taped to the flag pole in the center of campus at midnight. During this time, USC students would say profanities and throw items at the freshmen until they were cut down.
  • Collector’s Comments
    • Anonymity in order to not reveal identity of fraternity and informant

Story 1: “Following Instructions”

“Following Instructions”

Informant Information: 

Terry has a son who has Down Syndrome. He is twenty years old, and has been a member of the “My Own Voice” choir for several years now, and still participates. “My Own Voice” is a choir for children with special needs in Andover, Massachusetts.

Type of Lore: Not Applicable

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States of America

Social/Cultural Context: Little stories such as these are shared often throughout the community, similar to how parents share mishaps regarding their typical children as well. These are often given as cautionary tales.

Informant Comments: 

Dear Angelina,

So nice to hear from you!  We were in the process of packing up to move when we received your email telling us about the project you are working on.  We have been in our new home just over one week and this is the first time I am opening and responding to them.  

What a fun project!  So, Brian and I were just talking about how Joshua has viewed or understood a particular thing and we recalled a time when:

[He] was, maybe, 10 years old, and he had his first Gameboy and was playing Ratatouille.  He was mixing together all the ingredients for the recipe needed for the game and putting it into a baking pan.  Well, next, it needed to be “cooked”. The Gameboy, along with the game of Ratatouille, recipe ready, was placed into the microwave and turned on for cooking!  How could we feel anything except, grateful that the only things that did not survive were the Gameboy and the microwave, and compassion for [our son], and a greater “SENSE” of humor.

Life can be taken too seriously.

We hope you will enjoy this little story.

Collector’s Comments: 

While this story is entertaining, we have determined that it is not folklore. This is a story about an individual child told by his mother. What is significant in the characteristic of this particular story, though, is how it all hinges on this child’s interpretation of instructions literally, which is a view of the world that many, many people with special needs share.

Tags/Keywords: Literal, Stories, Children, Special Needs, Down Syndrome

 

Freshman Construction of Bonfire

  1. Title
  2. Informant info
  3. Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
  4. Language
  5. Country of Origin
  6. Social / Cultural Context
  7. Associated file (a video, audio, or image file)
  8. Transcript (if verbal lore)
  9. Informant’s comments
  10. Collector’s comments
  11. Tags/Keywords

Music as Communication among Peers

Music as Communication among Peers

Informant information:

Mary Kate resides in Andover, Massachusetts. She has a daughter who has an undiagnosed developmental disorder. Her daughter is nine years old and participates in the” My Own Voice” choir, a choir for children with special needs in Andover.

Type of lore: Customary

Genre: Children’s Folklore

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States of America

Social / Cultural Context:

Mary Kate and Neal’s daughter cannot speak even though she is now nine years old as a result of an undiagnosed developmental disorder. Among the challenges this presents, she often has a difficult time connecting with her peers. This video captures how she and her peers created a methods of sharing a common act on a daily basis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpzWLQUB4Pk

 

Informant’s comments:

The “typical” girls that [our daughter] is friends with at school also use music and songs to connect to her. They make up dances to show the teacher and even have a secret handshake which is really an elaborate high five routine with some dance moves and a sing songy recital of the moves. I would say this is the most included that [she] has been in the classroom in a long while and it is through music and movement.

Collector’s comments: 

This seems to be a piece of true children’s folklore, the girls work on songs, dances and routines like this together. What makes this particular one special is how it is in an effort to communicate with the girl who has special needs in a way that she is capable of reciprocating. At the end of the video one girl raises her hands and begins to shake them, which symbolizes applause in American Sign Language.

Tags/Keywords: Music, Communication, Custom, Special needs, Children, Dance, American Sign Language

Keg Jumping

 

Winter Carnival Keg Jumping

keg jumping

  • Informant info
    • Junior fraternity member at Dartmouth College
  • Type of lore (verbal, material or customary), Genre, Subgenre
    • Customary
  • Language
    • English
  • Country of Origin
    • United States
  • Social / Cultural Context
    • Banned tradition of fraternity
  • Informant’s comments
    • It was a tradition of our fraternity to have a keg jumping contest every winter carnival. Empty kegs would be lined up in the lawn and people would put on ice skates and a jump would be created to see who could jump the farthest. This was banned prior to my arriving at Dartmouth, but is a story that is always shared when joining the fraternity and is a defining story of our fraternity.
  • Collector’s comments
    • The fraternity is kept anonymous in order to protect the fraternity and the informant.