<P> No two performances are identical . The performer attempts to keep the performance within expectations, but this happens despite a multitude of changing variables . He has given this performance one time more or less, the audience is different, the social and political environment has changed . In the context of material culture, no two hand - crafted items are identical . Sometimes these deviations in the performance and the production are unintentional, just part of the process . But sometimes these deviations are intentional; the performer or artisan want to play with the boundaries of expectation and add their own creative touch . They perform within the tension of conserving the recognized form and adding innovation . </P> <P> The folklorist Barre Toelken identifies this tension as "...a combination of both changing (" dynamic ") and static (" conservative ") elements that evolve and change through sharing, communication and performance ." Over time, the cultural context shifts and morphs: new leaders, new technologies, new values, new awareness . As the context changes, so must the artifact, for without modifications to map existing artifacts into the evolving cultural landscape, they lose their meaning . Joking as an active form of verbal lore makes this tension visible as joke cycles come and go to reflect new issues of concern . Once an artifact is no longer applicable to the context, transmission becomes a nonstarter; it loses relevancy for a contemporary audience . If it is not transmitted, then it is no longer folklore and becomes instead an historic relic . </P> <P> It is too soon to identify how the advent of electronic communications will modify and change the performance and transmission of folklore artifacts . Just by looking at the development of one type of verbal lore, electronic joking, it is clear that the internet is modifying folkloric process, not killing it . Jokes and joking are as plentiful as ever both in traditional face - to - face interactions and through electronic transmission . New communication modes are also transforming traditional stories into many different configurations . The fairy tale Snow White is now offered in multiple media forms for both children and adults, including a television show, a video game, and a programming language . </P> <P> A more generalized analysis of folklore in the electronic age will have to wait for further studies to be published in the field . </P>

How and why are folk speeches passed down from generation to generation