Reading Comprehension

PT134 · S4 · P2 · Q8 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.

8.

The author provides a translation of a proverb in the second-to-last sentence of the second paragraph primarily in order to

  1. Correct

    illustrate the relation between proverb

    Why this is right

    This matches up super well with the framing idea at the beginning of this sentence: [Regulating peer group relationships] is a particularly frequent focus of proverb use within Mexican American communities: for example, [this translated proverb]

    Skill tested: Local Purpose · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    77% picked this

  2. provide an example of the

    Wrong Purpose: the tone

    The author wasn't making any points about the tone of proverbs in that 2nd paragraph. It was all about the function of proverbs: to instruct the young, in areas such as table manners or peer-group relationships.

    6% picked this

  3. illustrate how a proverb can

    Not the Primary Purpose

    This answer is pretty tempting since the paragraph does go on to speculate that the use of proverbs to talk to children about peer-group relations might be some subconscious way of "pulling rank" ... the parents know that the surrounding society that's socializing their kids has a lot of sway, but busting out a proverb seems to give parents the weight of traditional wisdom. However, there's no denying the for example that comes right before the translated proverb. In any piece of writing, if an author says, "Claim 1. For example, Claim 2." Then we know that rhetorically the purpose of claim 2 was to illustrate claim 1. Claim 2 might relate to Claims 3 and 4 to follow, but the "for example" clearly indicate the primary function of claim 2. So we know that the translated proverb was an example of "the Mexican American community's frequent focus of proverb use on regulating peer-group relationships".

    12% picked this

  4. provide an example of how

    Wrong Purpose: easy to translate

    At no point in the 2nd paragraph is the author trying to convince the reader that some Spanish proverbs can be clearly translated into English. And we're told explicitly that this translated proverb is an example of how the Mexican American community frequently focuses proverb use on regulating peer-group relationships.

    1% picked this

  5. illustrate the effectiveness of proverbs

    Wrong Purpose: effectiveness

    While the 2nd paragraph is overall building the case that Mexican American communities frequently use proverbs as educational tools, at no point do we talk about whether this is effective. The translated proverb certainly isn't demonstrating effectiveness. We just know parents say it. We have no idea whether kids listen to it or heed its advice.

    3% picked this

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