Oriental Studies (Jun 2018)
The Local Folklore Text in the Light of the Gatherer and Editional Problems
Abstract
The article examines the conditions of mutual influence of a fixed text and a folklore field, i. e. secondary factors which are significant during the recording of a text and its ‘return’ to the informant in the form of media and printed materials. The methods applied are as follows: audio and video recordings and journaling; comparative-typological, structural-functional, and statistical analyses.The Circassian diaspora of Anatolia is a unique folklore field. So far the researchers of the traditional culture of the Circassian diaspora have paid no attention to the factors of the ‘reverse’ influence of the scientific discourse and the fixed text which, thus, happened to be in the field of the tradition.The article aims to identify the factors of such mutual influence of texts of a separate cultural enclave and its informants in conditions of a gradual development of the Cyrillic alphabet and the appearance of publications of oral texts in the form of printed and media products. Observations outlined in the article are based on the author’s collecting and editional experiences accumulated during the in-depth study of Uzun-Yaila (Kayseri Vilayet, Turkey) folklore field during the 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015 expeditions and the preparation of field records of local folklore for subsequent publications. The paper reveals the principles of working on a text important for the diaspora field. In particular, taking into account the ‘horizontal’ communication intensity in the field under study, it is necessary to pay attention to the questions formulating strategy, including those set by folklorists in the media space (social networks), when composing the conceptual and terminological apparatus of the editions of local traditions — to give priority to popular definitions, to adhere to graphic symbols and principles which make the written text as close as possible to the local dialect without complicating the interpretation (i. e. to reserve more accurate transcriptions for special language editions). In general, the interaction of a folklore publishing scientist and representatives of the tradition under study should consciously adhere to the principle of the minimal ‘invasion’ into the vernacular practices.
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