Research and Inferences from Folk Literature and the Development of Vernaculars in India

Abstract

India is a huge, multifaceted nation with an abundance of folktales and folk literature. Any society can have folk literature as an integral component of its language and culture. Folk literature, sometimes referred to as oral tradition or folklore, is the customary knowledge and beliefs of civilizations without written language. It is transmitted orally and includes stories in prose and poetry, poems, songs, dramas, ceremonies, proverbs, riddles, and other such things, just like written literature. It has been produced by almost every recognised persons, both historically and currently. First and foremost, translations from this era are mostly credited with enabling vernaculars to advance towards literary languages. Furthermore, it is said that translations made it possible for the common languages to successfully challenge Sanskrit's dominance. Second, the scholars associated with the "Bhakti" movement assert that translations were made into other languages of the "high texts," which were previously only accessible in Sanskrit. This allowed women and other marginalised groups in society, who had previously been excluded from these texts, to directly access divine teachings in their native tongues. Since folktales have a strong hold on the public imagination and because folk heroes are frequently worshipped in villages, the majority of folk tales are produced, disseminated, and preserved in vernacular languages. This essay discusses several facets of Indian folk literature and how they relate to the growth of regional vernacular writing in India.