МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

Российский государственный социальный университет

Факультет иностранных языков

Кафедра английской филологии

КУРСОВАЯ РАБОТА

«Influence on the American folklore»

по дисциплине «История и культура стран изучаемых языков»

Специальность: лингвистика

Выполнила:

студентка 2 курса группы ЛИН-Б-1-Д- 2011

Маркина Любовь Валерьевна

Научный руководитель:

к. культурологии доцент

Левашкина Ольга Юрьевна

Москва 2012

Contents

INTRODUCTIION……………………………………………………………..3

CHAPTER I…………………………………………………………………….5

1.1 Folklore………………………………………………………………5

1.2 The study of folklore…………………………………………………7

1.3 Classifying Folklore………………………………………………….9

CHAPTER II…………………………………………………………………..14

2.1 American folklore……………………………………………………14

2.2 The study of American folklore……………………………………...16

2.3 Immigrant Folklore…………………………………………………..19

2.4 Influence on the American folklore………………………………….23

2.5 Сontemporary Folklore………………………………………………28

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………32

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………34

Introduction

The relevance of the research.

The question of the folklore of the indigenous population of North America - the American Indians has always been actual.

American folklore has a long history. At first it developed independently, but in Age of Exploration a huge influence on it was rendered by Europeans who settled on the continent. They made a part of their culture to the culture of the Indian nations, influenced by religion and language.

Folklore is a soul of the people. The history of every nation is original and unique. It is fixed not only in chronology of events, but also in folklore. As scientists note: " The folklore of all people traces the roots back to fight for release." A person must know well the past, history and cultural heritage to go confidently into the future. A genuine culture can not be created in isolation from the folk art.

The object of the research is the American folklore.

The subject of the research is the variety of American folklore and its development from the very beginning up to our days.

The aim of the research is to find influence of Europeans on the American folklore.

The tasks of the research are:

- to consider the concept of folklore and the history of its origin;

- to determine what methods conduct the folklore studying, what science is engaged in the folklore and as the folklore is connected with other sciences;

- to create a classification of folklore and to consider its genres;

- to consider such genres as «legend» and «myth»;

- to consider the American folklore and its origin;

- to identify the influence of Europeans and their perception of American culture;

- to define the role of folklore in contemporary life;

- to identify characteristic features of the American folklore and its uniqueness.

The novelty of the research. The research stands out against a background of other researches, devoted to this theme, because in this current work we touch upon the problem of the influence on the unique culture. In spite of the fact that the American folklore had been subject to significant influence, it kept the original features. The American folklore is a complicated system, which was formed not only during centuries, but also by different nations. It consists of Indian, Nigger and European cultures, so it is the largest base of knowledge about the Past.

In our work.we also create the classification of all types of the American folklore.

The hypothesis of the research. Some scientists consider that such concept as "The American folklore" doesn't exist, because of the great mixture of nations, which have affected the development of this culture. But the folklore initially has a huge impact on the way of life, mentality and cultural values of the people. The contemporary world is also based on folklore. The American folklore includes culture of many nations, but it only increases its uniqueness. No interventions could root out the main features of folklore of the people.

The research material includes information about American folklore, history of Indian people and dictionaries.

The structure of the research. The paper consists of introduction, 2 chapters, conclusion, bibliography.