English Dialects and Folklore:A Neglected Heritage

Abstract

IT IS a privilege, and indeed a pleasure, to speak on this annual occasion commemorating the life and work of Dr. Katharine Briggs who was a staunch champion of folklore studies and a tireless ambassador of the Folklore Society both in the British Isles and overseas. She did much to maintain the standards of British folklore scholarship, not least in the uneasy years of transition during which both the discipline and the Folklore Society itself faced the challenge of new approaches and of changing attitudes which characterise the second century of their existence. The years following the end of the Second World War, coinciding almost exactly with the centenary of the establishment of the term folklore, offer very different though equally exciting prospects, not only for scholars today but also for the future. At times of rapid change such as that in which we now live, the study of our contemporary language and traditions and of their development over many centuries, though worthwhile and rewarding in itself, can also serve much more practical functions. By searching into the traditions practised today, and recognising their firm anchorage in history, folklorists can provide reassurance by identifying the structures and patterns which impart a sense of stability and permanence to our culture. It is to these established frameworks that we instinctively turn when the bewildering variety and speed of change threaten to overwhelm the institutions which lie at the heart of our traditional way of life. A fuller and deeper knowledge of our traditions, and a recognition of their importance in our everyday lives, can be instrumental in countering the destructive forces of anomie, while at the same time helping us to come to terms with the present, and suggesting practical steps for the maintenance of our cultural identity in the future. Such an approach to the study of our cultural traditions is essentially dynamic and forward-looking. Rather than looking back with nostalgia and sentiment to a vanished past which so often seems to be presented by writers on folklore as a perpetual golden age, our approach should focus attention on the present and the future, but without losing sight of the historical depth of tradition on which our culture is so firmly based. At the present time there is unprecedented public interest in all aspects of the English heritage as people from all walks of life cast around for whatever elements of that heritage may offer them a sense of belonging-a means of identifying themselves as individuals within a framework of tradition established over many centuries. Consciously or otherwise we continue to seek for whichever manifestations of 'the English way of life' offer us at least a temporary sense of security amidst the flux of change. Paradoxically it is often the case that this sense of the long history and apparent permanence of our cherished institutions is so deeply ingrained in our consciousness that we tend to take them for granted. Indeed the study of our language and folklore, those twin pillars on which the whole fabric of our cultural traditions rests, suffers from a quite extraordinary neglect. This is all the more remarkable at a time when there is such a high level of public interest in both.