Folurës

Folurës is a term used in Albanian-language scholarly literature to denote the study of spoken language and oral expression within communities where Albanian is spoken. Etymologically, it derives from the verb fol "to speak," with nominalizing suffixes that render folurës as "the field of speaking" or "the study of speech."

In practice, folurës encompasses analysis of oral narratives, storytelling, proverbs, songs, and everyday discourse, with attention to voice, performance, pragmatics, and sociolinguistic variation across dialects and social groups. Researchers employ fieldwork, recording and transcription of natural speech, and qualitative and quantitative analyses to document speech events, speech styles, and rhetorical formulas.

Cultural significance: as a repository of intangible heritage, folurës helps describe how communities construct identity, tradition, and memory through spoken forms. It informs language preservation efforts, education, and media that rely on oral traditions.

History and status: the term appears primarily in Albanian ethnolinguistic and folklore studies. It is not uniformly standardized in international linguistics, and some writers prefer related terms such as oral tradition, sociolinguistics of orality, or folklore studies. Critics caution that the scope and definition of folurës vary, which can hinder cross-cultural comparison.

See also: related topics include oral tradition; sociolinguistics; ethnolinguistics; folklore studies; discourse analysis.