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Of all possible aspects of ordering and classifying oral and folk literature, I have chosen to discuss here the relations between indexing and the investigation of context(s) . In recent decades, in folkloric parlance, "context" has been narrowed down to "performance," i.e., to the most immediate and simple social and tiieatrical aspects that are most readily and easily observable and describable (Dundes 1964; Fine 1984). However, there are other kinds of context diat are much more important for the shaping of works of oral and folk literature, for their significance in society, and for their significance for individuals. The investigation of these other contexts can substantially benefit from putting the texts into some kind of order, and many questions can be answered only on die basis of a body of well-ordered texts. By analyzing works in terms of motifs, episodes, types, and genres and their texture in terms of formulae and figures of speech and by ordering these into meaningful groups and semantic fields, die investigator prepares die material for many and variegated questions. A series of contexts for works of oral and folk literature will be briefly sketched and their relations to ordering on various levels outlined.
1) Language. The dialect(s) used by a performer/ autiior (or group of performers) to perform/compose the works forms its linguistic context. The investigation of the language and of its dialects is the domain of linguistics proper and not of folkloristics, but the results of linguistic investigation have to be considered as a basis from which the folklorist's investigation begins. The semantic aspect of the vocabulary and die ordering of the vocabulary into semantic fields are of paramount importance when cultural and social significance, meanings, and functions are investigated.
2) Sound. Any vocal performance carries some musical component, even if not sung. (We are not concerned here with instrumental music but with the musical component of a performed text.) The aspect of sound also relates to the wording of a recited work (i.e., a work not sung, be it couched in prose or verse) insofar as intonation may determine meanings in the text Sentence structure and melody are closely connected and shape the prosody of a work (see below, section 4.1).
While the musical component of sung texts...