Category Archives: Verbal Lore

On-Night (Annabel Revers)

Leave a reply

Title: On-Night

General Information:

  • Type: Verbal Folklore
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: AM ’23
  • Date Collected: 11/1/2021
  • Location: Baker/Berry Library at Dartmouth College

Informant Data:

  • AM ’23 is from Orange County, California, and is a student at Dartmouth College studying Economics and Government. He is involved on campus as a teaching assistant in the Government Department. He plans on going into consulting after graduation.

Contextual Data:

  • Culture Context: Dartmouth has a “work hard, play hard” culture where students are expected to perform well academically and work hard at the schoolwork while also maintaining an active social life on campus. Furthermore, fraternities are a very prominent part of the social scene at Dartmouth.
  • Social Context: Dartmouth students typically go out to parties to socialize on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. While students can find things to do on other nights, these three nights in particular are when larger events are hosted by the dozen fraternities on campus.

Item:

  • The phrase “on-night” refers to nights when Dartmouth students typically go out to parties. For example, someone will say to their friend, “Are you going out tonight?”. Their friend might respond with the following: “Yeah of course, it’s an on-night.”

Associated File:

  • Transcript: “An on-night is Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday when more parties are hosted. There’s parties on other nights once in a while, but those are the days most people go out. On-night is a phrase you hear all the time around campus. Friends will throw it around all the time, usually in the context of whether or not they should go out. I’m not sure when it originated: it’s be used since I’ve been here and I would guess long before.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • Even students who go out a lot might not go out every on night, myself included.

Collector’s Comments:

  • While this phrase might not be entirely Dartmouth specific, it is a very prevalent phrase in our vocabulary.

Collector’s Name: Annabel Revers

Tags/Keywords: Verbal Folklore, Students, English, Dartmouth, Social

Chinese Tea Ritual: Tomb Sweeping Day

Leave a reply

Title: Tomb Sweeping Day

General Information:

  • Customary Lore: Tea Rituals
  • Interview Language: English
  • Location of Origin: Wenzhou, China
  • Informant: Irene Lam
  • Date Collected: 11/01/2021

Informant Data:

Irene grew up in NYC in a Chinese immigrant family. Her mom is from Wenzhou and her dad is from Fuzhou.

Contextual Data:

I asked Irene if there were any Chinese tea rituals or customs that she knew of. Since Irene was born and raised with her parents and grandparents whom are Chinese immigrants she was able to share a tea ritual that is done on Tomb Sweeping Day, which is a holiday where people pay respect to their ancestors.

Item:

On Tomb Sweeping Day, her grandmother wakes up early in the morning and cooks a lot of food. She lights incense for the ancestors. A lot of cups are placed on the table. She will pour wine or tea into the cups and no one drinks from them because it is for their ancestors.

Associated File: 

Collector’s Name: Kimberley Rangel

Tags/Keywords:

  • Chinese
  • Customary Lore
  • Tea Ritual

Facetimey

Leave a reply

General Information:

         Verbal Lore, Slang

         Language: English

         Country of Origin: United States

         Informant: Nina Prakash

         Date Collected: Oct 12, 2021

         Location Collected: Wheeler Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Informant Data: Nina Prakash is a member of the Dartmouth Class of 2025 studying biomedical engineering. She lives McLean, Virginia, but is originally from Chicago, Illinois. She attended the Sidwell Friends school in Washington D.C prior to coming to Dartmouth. At Dartmouth, she is involved in Dartmouth EMS and the Club Tennis Team. Her hobbies include playing tennis, cooking, and being with friends.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: This folklore is collected in Wheeler Hall. The word “facetimey” was mentioned when the informant was asked about a piece of Dartmouth slang which they resonated with. The informant learned this term on first year trips from her trips leaders. Trip leaders often pass words like these down, which is a common method by which freshmen attain knowledge of Dartmouth slang. Trip leaders somewhat act as a bridge between ones’ home culture and Dartmouth culture. All Dartmouth students know this word, but it is largely used by upperclassmen

Cultural Context: People at Dartmouth tend to be extroverted, so a large proportion of Dartmouth students tend to be constantly socializing and talking with friends. Certain Dartmouth spaces, such as the first floor of Berry Library, Baker Lobby, and FOCO are spaces where a lot of Dartmouth students linger and social people tend to spend time there saying hello to friends and chatting.

Item: Facetimey: Definition: Someone who is very social and will frequently stop on social spaces on campus to say hello to and talk to people; Example: “That girl is so facetimey. She was in FFB for 30 minutes talking to her friends on her way to write her english paper.”

Associated File:

Informant’s Comments: Informant says that this term can be either derogatory or positive depending on the context by which it was said. Nina said, “Some upperclassmen make fun of underclassmen by calling them Facetimey, but Facetimey is generally considered a positive or neutral word”

Collector’s Comments: I believe that the informant is quite Facetimey from personal experience, so I think that she has a good grip on the meaning and implications of the word

Collector’s Name:  Colin Kearns

Tags/ Keywords:

FA21

Dartmouth

Verbal Lore

Slang

Social

Layup

Leave a reply

Title: Layup

General Information:

         Verbal Lore, Slang

         Language: English

         Country of Origin: United States

         Informants: Alex Misiaszek

         Date Collected: November 5th, 2021

         Location Collected: McCullouch Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Informant Data: 

Alex Misiaszek is a member of the Dartmouth Class of 2025 studying Biology on a pre-Medical Track. He is from McLean, Virginia, but now lives in Charleston, South Carolina. His main campus involvement used to be the Division 1 Swimming Team, but he has recently stepped back from it.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: I collected this folklore in the McCullouch at Dartmouth College. The informant said that he learned this word while selecting classes from friends, and that they learned it from upperclassmen. This word is known by virtually all Dartmouth Students

Cultural Context: Dartmouth is known for being a very academically challenging school. Therefore, students try to lighten their course load by taking less academically demanding or work intensive courses, called “layups.” Students who are taking two other difficult classes in a term will often be on the hunt for a layup.

Item: Layup; definition: A conceptually easy, low-workload course that people tend to take when they are in other difficult classes; example: “I’m taking COSC 50 and ECON 20 next term, I’m really going to need a layup”

Informant’s Comments: The informant said that his Writing 5 class, which is a class that all first year students need to take, was a layup. He is in an honors biology class, so he said he chose this layup so that he could have more time to do other things. He said that this word comes from basketball, and “Like you are close to the net in basketball and don’t need to run during a layup, you do not need to do a lot of work in a layup class.”

Collector’s Comments: I think that it is a good idea to take a layup if you are doing 2 other time demanding classes. Next term I am doing a difficult engineering class and a time consuming computer science class, so I chose to do an easy writing class so that I do not become overwhelmed and have time to enjoy myself.

Collector’s Name: Colin Kearns

Tags/ Keywords:

FA21

Dartmouth

Verbal Lore

Slang

Academic

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Ignacio Ortiz)

Leave a reply
  • General Information about item:
    • Verbal Lore, lullaby
    • Language: English
    • Country of Origin: Madison, Wisconsin
    • Informant: J.J.
    • Date Collected: 10-20-2021
  • Informant Data: J.J. lives in East Wheelock and is a member of the class of 2025. She is majoring in Mathematics. She is a member of DSO orchestra group in campus and is affiliated with the Christian church on campus. She looks forward to the next four years here!
  • Contextual Data:
    • Cultural Context: This lullaby and it subsequent types were made actual songs. This were soothing and very effective at making a child go to bed and have nice dreams.
    • Social Context: Father used to sing this lullaby to J.J in carseat and before going to bed. It was a very common lullaby that was learned at the Oaks Pre-School in Madison, WI.
  • Associated File:
  • Transcript:
    • Somewhere over the rainbow
    • Way up high There’s a land that I heard of
    • Once in a lullaby Somewhere over the rainbow
    • Skies are blue And the dreams that you dare to dream
    • Really do come true
    • Someday I’ll wish upon a star
    • And wake up where the clouds are far
    • Behind me Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    • Away above the chimney tops
    • That’s where you’ll find me Somewhere over the rainbow
    • Bluebirds fly Birds fly over the rainbow
    • Why then, oh why can’t I? If happy little bluebirds fly
    • Beyond the rainbow Why, oh why can’t I?
  • Informant’s Comments: This was very special to me as I was extremely close with my dad. When I heard this song it was not uncommon that I cried.
  • Collector’s Comments: It seems like such a sweet, and soothing song. I can see how this helped prevent nightmares.
  • Collector’s Name: Ignacio Ortiz

Our Father (Emma Macaione)

Leave a reply

General information about item: 

  • Verbal Folklore
  • A prayer sung as a lullaby 
  • Language: English
  • MA, USA
  • Informant: Nina Nesselbush 
  • Date Collected: 10-30-21

Informant Data:  Nina Nesselbush is a female student at Dartmouth in the class of 2023. She is the youngest of five sisters and grew up in Massachusetts. Nina is a Junior on the Dartmouth women’s field hockey team and is an engineering major. She shared this lullaby with me that was sung to her and her sisters before bedtime.  

Contextual Data

  • Social Context: Nina grew up in a very religious household. From as young as she can remember, this lullaby was a prayer that her mother transformed into her own tune. She was shocked to learn in church as she grew older that the prayer was not in fact a lullaby. 
  • Cultural context: This lullaby is the “Lord’s Prayer,” but Nina refers to it as “Our Father.” It is a Catholic prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples. Nina’s mother grew up in the church choir and was very familiar with hymns. Given the religious nature of her family, it was very important that Nina was involved with her religious roots at an early age.  

Item:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins, as we forgive them that sin against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Informants Comments:

  • This lullaby is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about my childhood. My sister’s and I loved our mother’s voice, and found it soothing to listen to before bed. 

Collectors Comments

  • I found this prayer, turned into a lullaby, to be unique. Nina’s mother was able to incorporate religion into her daughter’s lives at a very young age. It was interesting to see the impact it had on Nina’s upbringing through her mother’s creativity 

Collector’s Name: Emma Macaione

Dartmouth Football Medley (Jonathan Hu)

Leave a reply

General Information About Item:

  • Verbal Lore, Customary Lore, Song, Countdown Ritual
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States (New Hampshire)
  • Informant: Josh Greene
  • Date Collected: November 4th, 2021

Informant Data:

Josh Greene is a twenty-year-old male from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He is currently a football player for the Dartmouth Big Green, playing the specialist role of long snapper. Prior to playing at the collegiate level, he earned his varsity letters at the Benjamin School before being recruited to play Division I football at Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

Josh Greene currently attends Dartmouth College, which was founded in 1769 and features a storied history of both academic and athletic excellence, especially in football. After playing his first collegiate football season, he was exposed to traditions that have been passed down the team for decades. Before and after every game, the football team practices a multitude of traditions that are meant to invoke school pride, foster a sense of community, and energize the players in preparation for a hard-fought game.

Item:

Following a victory, an assortment of time-honored songs is sung by the team which are collectively referred to as the “Dartmouth Football Medley.” Immediately after the conclusion of the medley, players count up how many points were scored in the game in order to bring the tradition to a close. This is done as a form of celebration for a job well done and victory against an opposing football program.

Dartmouth Football Medley as performed by The Dartmouth Aires (2015)

Transcript:

Stand and shout for Dartmouth

Cheer when the team in green appears

For all the strength of Harvard

When they hear our mighty cheers

Ra! Ra! Ra!

Fight, fight, fight for Dartmouth

And plunge on down the field

Touchdown! Touchdown! Dartmouth

For the old Crimson strength must heal

Dear old Dartmouth, that’s her name

We sing of her fame

For dear old Dartmouth, dear old Dartmouth

Dear old Dartmouth, that’s her name

Whether in defeat or in victory

We are loyal just the same

And we’ll sing to dear old Dartmouth

Just for her we’ll fight for fame

Collector’s Comments:

This medley was really interesting to me because it contained so much history and connects the football team’s historical legacy with the school itself. Dartmouth’s traditions and history are intricately interweaved with its football program in this song, even referencing other schools in the process.

Collector’s Name: Jonathan Hu

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Customary Lore
  • Medley
  • Counting Up Points
  • Countdown Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Football
  • Locker Room Tradition

Edelweiss (Emma Macaione)

Leave a reply

General information about item: 

  • Verbal Folklore
  • Childhood Lullaby
  • Langauge: English
  • PA, USA
  • Information: 10-22-21
  • Informant: Tamer Luzi 

Informant Data: Tamer Luzi is a member of Dartmouth’s 2024 class. She currently lives in Pennsylvania but was born in London, UK and lived there until she was 5. In her spare time, Tamer loves to watch movies. 

Contextual Data: 

Social Context: This lullaby was sung to Tamer by her grandmother whenever she visited her. The two of them would watch The Sound of Music together, and Edelweiss was Tamer’s favorite song. Tamer’s grandmother would always sing this lullaby before she went to sleep.

Cultural Context: Edelweiss is a song in The Sound Of Music. It translates to “noble white” and is a flower that can be found in the Alps. 

Item:

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Ev’ry morning you greet me
Small and White
Clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossem of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever

Clean and Bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossem of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever

Informants Comments: The Sound of Music was my favorite movie growing up and it reminds me of my grandmother. I don’t really recall many lullabies that were sung to me when I was younger, but I definitely remember Edelweiss.  

Collector’s Name: Emma Macaione

Tags: 

Verbal Folklore, English Folklore, Dartmouth, Students, Movie

Overall Reflection and Generalization (Dylan Lawler)

Leave a reply

Cultural Globalization 

The United States is a melting pot of world cultures and truly doesn’t have its own identifying culture as a result. Instead, America often distills these cultures down into something commercialized and convenient. However, though this persists throughout Christmas traditions, this collection shed some light on the individuality that still exists around the holiday season. The Hallmark movies and the mall Santas may saturate the public eye during the Winter, but behind closed doors true folklore remains as unique traditions exist on both familial and culture-wide levels.