Concept

Oral literature

Overview

Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used varying descriptions for oral literature or folk literature. A broad conceptualization refers to it as literature characterized by oral transmission and the absence of any fixed form. It includes the stories, legends, and history passed through generations in a spoken form.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Philosophers who discussed Oral literature

• Nachman of Breslov

Related ideas

• Folklore
• Literature
• Culture
• Performance
• Uganda
• Writing
• Anthropologist
• YouTube
• The Times
• Fairy tale
• Genre
• Epic poetry
• Encyclopædia Britannica
• Urban legend

Opposing perspectives

• Humanities

Place in the tradition

Part of Ubuntu philosophy.

Explore Oral literature in the interactive graph →