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A Dictionary of English Folklore Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. [xi], 411 pp. + 8 pp. of plates. ISBN 0-19-210019-X. £20.00/$32.95
To write a reference book about Einglish folklore for the twenty-first century presents a great challenge. After all, what exactly is 'folklore' and especially 'English' folklore? 'Folklore' according to Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud is
... something voluntary and informally communicated, created or done by members of a group (which can be of any size, age, or social and educational level); it can circulate through whatever media (oral, written or visual) are available to this group; it has roots in the past, but also present relevance; it usually recurs in many places, in similar but not quite identical form; it has both stable and variable features, and evolves through dynamic adaptation to new circumstances. The essential criterion is the presence of a group whose joint sense of what is right and appropriate shapes the story, performance or custom ... (pp. 130-31)
Given this general definition of folklore, what is specifically 'English' that needs to be listed in the dictionary? The folklore of England or in England? Instead of offering - between 'English Folk Dance and Song Society' and 'Espérance Morris Guild' (pp. 110-11) - an entry for 'English folklore', Simpson and Roud discuss the problem...