Difference Between Folklore and Folktale

关键区别 - 民间传说与民间故事

In every culture, folklore and folktales play a significant role. Both are passed down from one generation to the other through word of mouth. The民间传说和民间故事之间的关键区别在于，民间传说是指传统的beliefsand stories of a community。This usually encompasses a large variety of components ranging from one’s cultural practices tomaterial culture。Folktales, on the other hand, refer to the stories that have been passed down from the ancestors一群人到年轻一代。This highlights thatfolktales are a part of folklore。They include the stories that belong to a group of people that are passed down orally. This is the main difference between the two words. Through this article let us elaborate this difference more.

What is Folklore?

Folklore refers to the traditional beliefs and stories of a community. Thisincludes folktales,myths,legends, beliefs, practices,迷信,etc. This highlights that folklore captures a wide span. It can even be stated that folklore of a particular group of people is built in accordance with their culture. People make sense of their surrounding world through the usage of folklore. The various superstitions, stories, beliefs all add up to the creation of this culturalheritage。

民间传说是去年从一代一代传下去ther through word of mouth. It was William J. Thoms who coined the word folklore in 1846. Now folklore has even become a study of knowledge and culture of different groups of people. There are many genres of folklore as well. They are music,narratives，信仰，宗教，实践，物质文化等。folkloristsfocus on these aspects of various cultures in order to comprehend their folklore.

What is a Folktale?

Unlike folklore that encompasses a large variety of cultural heritage, folktales refer to stories that have been passed down from ancestors of a particular group of people to the younger generations. These stories can be quite different from one another and do not belong to the same genre. For instance, folktales caninclude adventure stories,fairy tales, historical tales, and even ghost tales。This emphasizes that folktales include a blend of stories. These stories are passed down from one generation to another through the word of mouth.

就像在文化产生巨大影响的民间传说中一样，在民间故事中，这种影响也可以很好地看待。这就是为什么不同群体的人们根据文化具有不同的民间故事的原因。但是，民间故事的主要要素大多是普遍的。在每个故事中，我们都可以找到human beings as main characters。这些角色中的一些甚至可以具有特殊的力量。民间故事通常包括超自然的元素，行动，正义甚至幸福的结局。大多数民间故事为听众提供了moralas well.

这凸显了民间传说和民间故事是彼此不同的，不应互换使用。

What is the difference between Folklore and Folktale?

Definitions of Folklore and Folktale:

民俗学：Folklore refers to traditional beliefs, practices, and stories of a community that have passed down from one generation to the other through word of mouth.

Folktale:Folktales refer to stories that have been passed down from ancestors of a particular group of people to the younger generations through word of mouth.

Characteristics of Folklore and Folktale:

Connection:

Folktales can be viewed as a part of folklore.

Range:

民俗学：Folklore captures a wide range of elements ranging from beliefs to superstitions.

Folktale:Folktales include only stories.

Passing Down:

Both folklore and folktales are passed down from one generation to another through word of mouth.

Images Courtesy:Trolls from Danish folkloreandVasilisa the Beautiful at the Hut of Baba Yaga通过Wikicommons（公共领域）