Among the many significant developments in oral tradition studies in recent years has been a growing awareness that the terms "oral" and "traditional" do not exclude influences of writing. Approaches viewing purely oral and purely literate modes of composition and reception as only the extreme ends of a continuum open up a wider range of works to us that are influenced to varying degrees by oral traditions (see, for example, Bradbury 1998). This broadening of scope allows for meaningful comparisons that transcend conventional boundaries of genre, language, and academic discipline
