Folklore can be described as traditional art, literature, knowledge, and practices that are passed on in large part through oral communication and example.^[1] The information thus transmitted expresses the shared ideas and values of a particular group. British antiquarian William Thoms is generally credited with coining the term "folklore" in 1846.^[2] As an academic discipline folklore shares methods, and insights with literature, anthropology, art, music, history, linguistics, philosophy, and mythology.

Characteristics

Folklore expresses the ideas and values of a particular group. It is characteristically passed on orally or by example, anonymous, traditional, and follows prescribed formulae.

In oral tradition information is passed on verbally from one generation to another. This may be transmitted in speech or song and may take the form of folktales, songs, or chants. Because it is conveyed orally, it may change in the retelling and appear in a variety of versions. This is particularly noted in folktales and folksongs. Some American folksongs can be traced back to England or Ireland, brought by immigrants who adapted the lyrics in light of their new surroundings and experiences.^[3]

“All folklore participates in a distinctive, dynamic process. Constant change, variation within a tradition, whether intentional or inadvertent, is viewed here simply as a central fact of existence for folklore, and ...a defining feature that grows out of context, performance, attitude, cultural tastes, and the like.”^[4]

Genres

In the past folklore was generally focused on traditional stories and songs. Academics such as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Francis James Child, and George Lyman Kittredge collected and categorized many traditional stories and songs, both to preserve the texts and to learn about the past. A more contemporary view holds folklore to encompass a variety of creative expression.

Genres of folklore include Material culture such as folk art, Music such as folk songs, Narratives such as legends, Saying such as proverbs, Beliefs as in folk religion, and Food as in traditional cooking.^[5]

Within these there are a number of subgenres. There is a good deal of overlap in classifying a example of folklore into genres.^[3] A ballad is a narrative that may be a poem or sung to a traditional melody. Historical examples date back to the Middle Ages. Particular jokes are often part of the lore of a specific occupation.^[3]

Material culture

• Folk art is "...art made with an awareness of and a connection to tradition and community."^[6] Artists engaged in the creation of folk art may use methods, techniques, materials, and even designs dating back many generations in their own particular interpretations. Over time the functional purpose of an object may shift and what was once crafted primarily for utilitarian purposes is now viewed as an expensive piece of artwork.^[6]

Narrative

• Among the most common types of narrative folklore are folktales. A folktales is a fictional story often se in a non-spectfic time and place, depicting ordinary people in realistic situations, often used to both entertain and enlighten. A folk narrative can have both a moral and psychological aspect, as well as entertainment value, depending upon the nature of the teller, the style of the telling, the ages of the audience members, and the overall context of the performance. A skilled storyteller would adapt the narratives to his particular audience.
  • A fable is a subgenre of folktales that uses anthropomorphic animals to illustrate a moral.
  • Fairy tales involving magical, fantastic or wonderful episodes, characters, events, or symbols. They are often placed in timeless settings, as indicated by the beginning "Once upon a time". The main character is a person who triumphs over difficulties partly through the use magic. Originally spoken stories, fairy tales became a distinct literary genre in late-seventeenth-century France. ^[7]

• Myths feature dieties and often concern creation stories.

Contemporary narratives common in the Western world include the urban legend. Many forms of folklore occur so commonly that most people do not regard them as folklore, such as riddles, children's rhymes and ghost stories, rumors (including conspiracy theories), gossip, ethnic stereotypes, and holiday customs and life-cycle rituals. UFO abduction narratives can be seen, in some sense, to refigure the tales of pre-Christian Europe. Adrienne Mayor, in introducing a bibliography on the topic, noted that most modern folklorists are largely unaware of classical parallels and precedents, in materials that are only partly represented by the familiar designation Aesopica: "Ancient Greek and Roman literature contains rich troves of folklore and popular beliefs, many of which have counterparts in modern contemporary legends" (Such as Mayor, 2000).

Vladimir Propp's classic study Morphology of the Folktale (1928) became the basis of research into the structure of folklore texts. Propp discovered a uniform structure in Russian fairy tales. His book has appeared in translation in English, Italian, Polish and other languages. The English translation was issued^{[by whom?]} in the USA in 1958, some 30 years after the publication of the original. It was met by approving reviews and significantly influenced later research on folklore and, more generally, structural semantics. Though Propp based his analysis on syntagmatic structure, it gave the scope to understand the structure of folktales, of which he discovered thirty one functions.^[8]

Cultural

Folklorist William Bascom states that folklore has many cultural aspects, such as allowing for escape from societal consequences. In addition, folklore can also serve to validate a culture (romantic nationalism), as well as transmit a culture's morals and values. Folklore can also be the root of many cultural types of music. Country, blues, and bluegrass all originate from American folklore. Examples of artists which have used folkloric themes in their music would be: Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jim Croce, and many others. Folklore can also be used to assert social pressures, or relieve them, for example in the case of humor and carnival.

In addition, folklorists study medical, supernatural, religious, and political belief systems as an essential, often unspoken, part of expressive culture.^{[citation needed]}

Rituals

Many rituals can sometimes be considered folklore, whether formalized in a cultural or religious system (e.g., weddings, baptisms, harvest festivals) or practiced within a family or secular context. For example, in certain parts of the United States (as well as other countries) one places a knife, or a pair of scissors, under the mattress to "cut the birth pains" after giving birth. Additionally, children's counting-out games can be defined as behavioral folklore.^[9]

Categories of folklore

Genres

Folk narratives

National or ethnic