Folklore

1
Folklore

• Folk speech, proverbs, riddles, jokes, rhymes,
  games

2
Folk Speech and Naming

• The study of dialects
• Grammar--I clum the tree He drownded
• Pronunciation--aunt, vase, Mary, Harvard
• Vocabulary--boot, bonnett, pop, knock up
• Onomastics--The study of names
• Place names
• Nicknames

3
Folk Speech--Vocabulary

• Words for a downpour
• Hay rotter, toad strangler, sewer clogger
• Euphemisms for diarrhea
• Rocky Mountain foxtrot
• Expressions for a person who is not competent
• a few cards shy of a full deck, elevator doesnt
  go all the way to the top, a few sandwiches short
  of a picnic

4
Proverbs

• Definition A popular saying in a relatively
  fixed form in oral circulation
• True Proverbs Live and let live, Dont cry over
  spilled milk, Dont kill the goose that lays the
  golden egg, Not everything is gold that
  glitters, He who laughs last laughs best, Look
  before you leap, Haste makes waste, A bird in the
  hand is worth two in the bush, A picture is worth
  a thousand words.

5
Proverbial Expressions

• Proverbial phrases -- Metaphors
• To raise the roof
• To be in hot water
• Behind the eight ball
• Up a creek without a paddle
• Proverbial phrases -- Similes
• Red as a beet
• Greedy as a pig
• Slower than . . . as slow as . . .
• Colder than . . . smarter than . . .
• As big as . . .

6
Proverbial Expressions II

• Wellerisms A quotation ascribed to someone who
  has done something humorous and appropriate.
• I see, said the man, as he picked up his hammer
  and saw.
• It wont be long now, said the monkey, as he
  backed into the fan
• Miscellaneous
• You make a better door than a window.
• He is all right in his place, but that hasnt
  been dug yet.
• Is the sky blue? Is the Pope catholic?
• It is snowing down south.

7
Riddles

• True riddles are essentially a comparison between
  the unstated answer and something else that is
  described in the statement or question.
• Two legs sat on four legs eating one leg.
• The man who made the coat didnt use it the man
  who bought it didnt want it the man who used it
  didnt know it. (a coffin)
• A house full, a hole full! And you can not
  gather a bowl full. (smoke)

8
Riddles and Riddling Questions

• Catch questions--Do you know what virgins eat for
  breakfast?
• Pretended obscene riddles
• What is a four letter word starting with F that
  gives young folks pleasure and old folks a back
  ache? (a Ford)
• Which part of the body, when properly stimulated,
  is enlarged to almost twice its original size?
  (the pupil of the eye)
• Neck riddles--Prisoners or condemned people pose
  an unanswerable riddle to save themselves.

9
Riddles and Riddling Questions II

• Riddle jokes
• Moron jokes, lightbulb jokes, pollock jokes, BYU
  coed jokes, elephant jokes, frog jokes,
  quadraplegic jokes, blond jokes,
• Droodles (non-oral) /R/E/A/D/I/N/G/
• Connundrum--What is the difference between a
  patriot, a rooster, and a BYU coed?
• Palindromes--noon, mom, dad Madam, Im Adam A
  man a plan, a canal, Panama.
• Puzzles/Problems --Brothers and sisters have I
  none . . .

10
Analysis Functions of Proverbs, riddles, jokes,
games, etc.

• Laughter, easing a social situation
• To laugh at oneself or ones culture
• To confirm stereotypical images of a particular
  sex, class, race, religion, group
• To grieve together over a shared tragedy
• To express fear informally, humorously
• To establish power over others
• To share views of sexuality