Reading Comprehension

PT134 · S4 · P2 · Q11 Mexican American Proverb Use

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Mexican Americans share with speakers of Spanish throughout the world a rich and varied repertoire of proverbs as well as a vital tradition of proverb use.

Topic

Mexican American proverbs: their origins, uses, and cultural significance

Framework

Highlight Noteworthy

Main Point

Mexican Americans not only have a rich tradition of proverbs inherited from broader Spanish and European sources, but proverb use plays a particularly important role in teaching youth and fostering a sense of ethnic identity in Mexican American communities. (Most Valuable Sentence: The final sentence of paragraph 3 encapsulates the main takeaway: )

P1: Introduction to Mexican American Proverbs

Mexican Americans, like Spanish speakers worldwide, have a diverse and abundant collection of proverbs, most of which were passed down from Spain or the broader European tradition. These proverbs carry wisdom and can be understood outside specific conversations.

P2: Functions and Didactic Role of Proverbs

Using a proverb is personal and adapts to different situations, BUT community and tradition shape how proverbs are used. In Mexican American communities in particular, proverbs are often used by parents to teach young people—especially about behavior and peer relationships, sometimes more so than in English-speaking traditions. The example proverb about friends highlights concern over outside influences and the desire to maintain traditional norms.

P3: Proverbs as a Foundation for Ethnic Identity

Proverbs aren’t just for giving advice—they also help Mexican Americans feel connected to their ethnic heritage, teaching not only values but also language and cultural traditions. Even the proverbs that aren’t directly educational still help pass on Mexican culture and reinforce a sense of belonging.

11.

The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

Most Mexican American proverbs have
Contradicted
The last two sentences of the first paragraph say that, the great majority of Spanish-language proverbs came reached Mexico from Spain, though they did not all originate there. many belong to the common proverb tradition of Europe. It sounds like most proverbs came from Spain, and a minority of them from the common proverb tradition of Europe.
18% picked this
Mexican American parents are more
Unsupported Comparison Word Salad
The one line of comparative emphasis we got was that Mexican American parents are more likely than other American parents to use proverbs as a way of talking to their kids about who theirs kids are friends with. At the end of the 2nd paragraph, the author speculates that maybe Mexican American parents like proverbs because proverbs seem to carry the gravitas of traditional wisdom. But we can't blend those two ideas together in a Word Salad and say that Mexican Americans are more likely to emphasize traditional wisdom. Other American parents might be just as likely (or more) to emphasize traditional wisdom; they just don't use proverbs as much. Perhaps they emphasize traditional wisdom through greater respect for elders or for classic literature.
8% picked this
There are more Spanish-language proverbs
Unsupported Comparison
We can't quantify who's got more proverbs: the Spanish language, or the common proverb tradition of Europe. At the end of the 1st paragraph the author says that Mexico received more of its proverbs from the first source than from the second one, but that's not necessary because the first source has more proverbs. Maybe it was primarily because Mexican people generally speak Spanish already.
2% picked this
Correct
Proverb use in some communities
Why this is right
The soft, supportable language of "some, may" makes this answer worthy of our attention on the 1st pass. We slow down for safely worded answers to think about whether we could support them. In the 2nd paragraph, the author is emphasizing the pronounced use of proverbs within Mexican American families as means of regulation of peer-group relationships. She then says, Perhaps this emphasis on peer-group relations derives from a sense that traditional, community-approved norms are threatened by those prevalent in the surrounding society. That line seems to be saying what this answer is saying. The Mexican American parents are using proverbs because they are concerned that traditional norms approved by their community are being threatened by those prevalent in the surrounding society. For example, maybe a traditional norm is to go to church every weekend, but when a teenager starts hanging out with atheist heathens from the surrounding society, the teenager starts to question whether they should keep going to church.
Skill tested: Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
72% picked this
Most proverbs cannot be accurately
Too Strong / Specific: cannot, most
This is scary, loaded language. Does the author ever say that a majority of proverbs only make sense in their native language? This answer's only potential support seems to be the fact that in the 2nd paragraph the author provides a "rough translation" of a proverb that is said in Spanish. Even though it's a rough translation, it still seems understandable, so wasn't it accurately translated? We got the intended meaning? Even if we thought this rough translation does not count as an accurate translation, we have no grounds for assuming that most proverbs are also like this.
0% picked this

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