What is oral literature?
Literature refers to written works, and oral, in this case, refers to utterances or spoken words. I have seen the expression "collection of oral literature" but don't understand how this can be correct.
Merriam-Webster gives several definitions for literature:
- written works (such as poems, plays, and novels) that are considered to be very good and to have lasting importance
- books, articles, etc., about a particular subject
- printed materials (such as booklets, leaflets, and brochures) that provide information about something
In contrast, Merriam-Webster defines oral as:
spoken rather than written
From these definitions, it's obvious that oral doesn't seem to fit with literature.
Best Answer
Indeed, "oral literature" is an oxymoron, as the Wikipedia article indicates:
Alternatively, consider the possibility that the term literature may be experiencing semantic broadening.
Semantic broadening would help to explain why media is considered to be a form of literature.