It can fittingly be called 'literature of the third domain', for while it differs in character from literature produced in writing by well educated people, the fact that it exists in writing distinguishes it from oral communication, even though it may closely resemble oral art forms in its stylized patterning. Literature of this kind is an oral/literary hybrid. All the same, a large amount of the world's recorded literature appears to be closely related to oral art forms, deriving directly from them in some instances.

Correspondingly, the transmutation of oral art forms into writing-that is, the production of what can be called oral literature-is a relatively rare and special phenomenon compared with the ease with which people cultivate those art forms themselves. Although orality is as innate to the human condition as is breathing or walking, competence in literacy requires training, and it has traditionally been the accomplishment of an educated elite. It is likewise true that only human beings enjoy the benefits of literacy that is, only our species has developed technologies that enable the sounds of speech to be made visible and construed through one or another type of graphemic representation. This fact has momentous implications for the complexity of the oral communications that humans can produce, not just in conversation but also in a wide array of artistic genres. Moreover, only humans have the ability to tell stories, with their contrary-to-fact capabilities. While other animals produce meaningful sounds, most linguists agree that only human beings are possessed of true language, with its complex grammar. The human capacity for oral communication is superbly well developed.

Peig sayers storie annotations