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oral tradition

/ˈɔrəl trəˈdɪʃən/
IPA guide

Other forms: oral traditions

The stories that get passed from one generation to the next are known as an oral tradition. Folklore, ancient Greek epic poetry, and even those tall tales your grandpa tells are all part of an oral tradition.

People communicate in many different ways, including by passing along knowledge, ideas, and literature using speech. When your dad sings you the bedtime song his mother sang to him, that's also part of an oral tradition. Many famous stories, like Homer's Odyssey, were shared by poets through oral tradition before they were ever written or printed on paper. Oral's root means "mouth," and tradition derives from the Latin traditionem, "a handing down," or "a teaching."

Definitions of oral tradition
  1. noun
    passing down stories and knowledge through spoken words as a way of preserving a cultural heritage
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