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Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The transmission is through speech or song and may include folktales , ballads , chants , prose or poetry .
Storytelling and oral tradition are forms of word of mouth that play important roles in folklore and mythology. Another example of oral communication is oral history—the recording, preservation and interpretation of historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the speaker.
The development of communication in its oral form can be based on certain historical periods. The complexity of oral communication has always been reflective based on the circumstance of the time period. Verbal communication was never bound to one specific area, instead, it had and continues to be a globally shared tradition of communication. [5]
Ong notes that human communication has been dominated by oral culture, and the first signs of literacy date only 6 000 years ago. [3] Tom Pettitt agrees with Ong, by considering literate learning more the anomaly than the rule. He considers this to be a post-Gutenberg era where knowledge is formed through digital media, delivered over the internet.
Storytelling falls under the umbrella of broader oral traditions and can take either the form of oral history or oral tradition. [9] The difference between the two is that oral history tells the stories that occurred in the teller's own life while oral traditions are passed down through generations and reflect histories beyond the living memory of the tribal members. [9]
Gradually, the flexible oral tradition gave rise to other kinds of poetry. Innis notes that these new kinds of literature "reflected the efficiency of the oral tradition in expressing the needs of social change." [59] Hesiod wrote about agricultural themes, becoming the first spokesman for common people. [60]
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Assesses the current and historical dynamics between oral traditions and folklore, illustrating how the nature of oral transmission of cultural heritage and folklore is simultaneously vital to the livelihood of tradition while also at the heart of the issues that surround their diminished role in an increasingly globalized society.