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Oral transmission

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Circulation through performance and hearing, potentially involving change.

Distinct claims: population contact alone does not prove reading or narrative transfer
Distinct claims: population contact alone does not prove reading or narrative transferIL Archive · original diagram · CC BYImage source

Text

A narrative can circulate through hearing and retelling before reaching a written witness. Relationships between stories therefore need not involve direct reading of a source copy. [1]

Possible oral transmission does not establish a particular intermediary or automatically solve every gap. Examine setting, circulation and material form while preserving uncertainty about the route.

References and notes

  1. Emily West, “The Transformation of Cyavana: A Case Study in Narrative Evolution”, Oral Tradition 31/1 (2017), pp. 77–122 pp. 77–81, especially p. 78: comparison criteria and their limits. Tigay 1993 is reported through West, not directly read. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 11 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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Cite this record

IL Archive, «Oral transmission», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/oral-transmission