[obol] Re: OBOL -- years from now
- From: "Tom Crabtree" <tc@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>, "'Oregon Birders OnLine'" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 2 Aug 2013 14:19:48 -0800
I'm not sure the claim is that "illiterate people raised this complaint." I do
know, however, that among peoples with great oral storytelling traditions, such
as native americans, there was for a long time, well into the 20th century, a
great reluctance to turn their oral histories into a written one. I believe
that reluctance is dying down now given the fear that the traditions will be
lost otherwise.
Tom Crabtree, Bend
-----Original Message-----
From: obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Joel Geier
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2013 10:31 AM
To: Oregon Birders OnLine
Subject: [obol] Re: OBOL -- years from now
P.S. This is pretty far off-topic, but regarding Rich's comment about the
development of the written word and its impact on oral traditions ...
This is the first time I've ever heard the claim that illiterate people raised
this complaint at the time that various societies developed written languages,
centuries ago, even though I once took a class in Old English poetry (which
dealt with precisely that period in the development of the English language).
You can certainly find modern scholars of oral traditions who are willing to
point out what we've lost.
When you look at the lasting cultural influence of oral-formulaic compositions
such as The Iliad, The Odyssey, Beowulf, or even of the West African griot who
informed Alex Haley about his ancestors' roots -- compared with say, any of the
thousands of actuarial lists of X shekels of wheat that were recorded on clay
tablets in ancient Mesopotamia -- you can see that they have a point.
Good birding,
Joel
OBOL archives: www.freelists.org/archive/obol Manage your account or
unsubscribe: //www.freelists.org/list/obol
Contact moderators: obol-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
OBOL archives: www.freelists.org/archive/obol
Manage your account or unsubscribe: //www.freelists.org/list/obol
Contact moderators: obol-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Other related posts:
