Communication interculturelle et literature

Bibliografie

Caragiale, I. L., Momente, Bucureşti, Editura pentru Literatură, 1969.

Muthu, Mircea, Liviu Rebreanu sau paradoxul organicului, Cluj-Napoca, editura Dacia, 1993.

Preda, Marin, Delirul, Bucureşti, editura Cartea Românească, 1975.

Rebreanu, Liviu, Romane, vol. III, Bucureşti, editura Cartea Românească, 1986.

Rebreanu, Liviu, Jurnal, vol. I-II, Bucureşti, editura Minerva, 1981.

Ungheanu, Mihai, Marin Preda. Vocaţie şi aspiraţie, Bucureşti, editura Eminescu, 1973.

LA RÉFLEXION DE LA COMMUNAUTÉ MUSULMANE DE ROUMANIE DANS LES MÉDIAS EN LIGNE

Conf. dr. Daniel GĂLĂȚANU

Universitatea „Dunărea de Jos”, Galați

Membru al laboratorului de cercetare „Groupe de Recherche Identités et Cultures” (le GRIC) al Universității din Le Havre, Franța.
Résumé: Cette étude a pour but d’offrir une perspective sur la communauté musulmane de Roumanie et de ses relations avec la population majoritaire roumaine, à travers les divers médias roumains et internationaux, qui sont pour la plupart, aujourd’hui, des médias virtuels. On constate que les médias sont intéressés de toute activité des musulmans en Roumanie et, comme la presse vit dans un milieu concurrentiel, on peut facilement déduire que c’est le public payant, en fait, qui s’y intéresse de très près. Les médias présentent donc tout ce qui tient aux musulmans de Roumanie, depuis leur vielle histoire et respectable histoire, au fait banal, qu’il soit une prière commune en plein air, ou bien, la création d’une association des femmes musulmanes, depuis les percepts religieux du Coran et l’exemple du Prophète, à l’actualité parfois trouble des malentendus des différentes factions de cette communauté. L’étude conclut non seulement que la Roumanie pourrait offrir à l’Occident l’exemple d’une véritable harmonie à travers les siècles, avec la communauté musulmane, mais qu’en plus, à présent, les médias roumains offrent une perspective ample, informée et équilibrée, sur l’histoire et le devenir de cette communauté.
Mots clés: communauté musulmane, Roumanie, médias, histoire, actualité.
On assiste aujourd’hui à une différenciation nette de la part des sociologues, des politologues et des spécialistes de l’histoire contemporaine du monde actuel d’avant et d’après le 9/11. Le grand Naom Chomsky en a, d’ailleurs, longuement parlé. Ce jour fatidique de septembre à complètement changé la manière où les pays occidentaux, ainsi dits « civilisés », se rapportent au monde arabe et à toute la religion musulmane. L’intérêt pour l’histoire, le devenir et surtout pour les activités des communautés musulmanes est immense dans les pays où ces communautés existent. Certes, c’est le rôle des médias de refléter ces activités, de propager leur écho et d’assouvir la soif d’informations concernant ces sujets dans les sociétés des pays d’accueil de ces communautés. Et, comme on est aujourd’hui contemporains du coma mondial de la presse „classiqueˮ sur du papier, qui s’est presque entièrement refugiée dans le milieu virtuel, c’est surtout sur Internet qu’on peut au mieux suivre l’abondent flux d’informations et les débats concernant les communautés musulmanes. C’est ainsi dans les médias virtuels de partout et les médias roumains n’y font pas exception, ceux-ci s’empressant à présenter tout ce qui tient aux musulmans de Roumanie, depuis leur vielle histoire (qui pourrait constituer à elle seule le sujet d’une étude séparée) à l’actualité parfois trouble des malentendus des différentes factions de cette communauté.

Voici comment présente presque toute la presse roumaine un événement, c’est vrai en première pour la Roumanie, mais en fait, assez normal, pour ne pas dire banal. Sur le site În linie dreaptă (En ligne droite), sous le titre d’„Evénement en premièreˮ: des milers de musulmans prient en plein air, Costin Andries fait une sorte de revue de la presse et constate que le quotidien de sport ProSport annonce que l’association l’Islam Aujourd’hui a organisé sur le stade Dinamo de Bucarest, à l’occasion de la fin du Ramadan, une prière en plein air à laquelle ont participé „plus de 20 000 musulmansˮ. Le même journal continue: „La semaine passée, l’Association l’Islam Aujourd’hui a demandé à la direction du club Dinamo la permission d’organiser ce matin (le 30 août 2011) une prière commune […] l’unique condition imposée par le club étant que le gazon du terrain de football reste intactˮ. On apprend de Ziua Veche que la prière, un événement en première dans notre pays, avait été organisé par le Centre Culturel Islamique „l’Islam Aujourd’huiˮ et par la Ligue Islamique et Culturelle de Roumanie. La chaîne de télévision B1TV a fait paraître sur son site une séquence de cet événement, alors qu’une autre chaîne, Antena 3, en a fait pareil. Le journal Gândul nous présente le même événement sur un ton attendri - „Les enfants ont prêté moins d’attention aux prières et plus aux clowns, aux princesses et aux personnages des bandes dessinées qui leur offraient des ballons de différentes formes et couleursˮ - événement auquel ont participé des musulmans de différentes nationalités: des „Arabes, Turcs, Tatares, Pakistanais et Soudanais.ˮ

Les médias roumains recouvrent pratiquement tous les aspects de la vie de la communauté musulmane, y compris ceux „domestiquesˮ, familiers, concernant, par exemple le statut et le devenir de la féminité islamique et du rôle de la femme musulmane. On a même créée des sites dédiés à cette thématique, comme c’est le cas de celui de l’association „Surori Musulmaneˮ („Sœurs Musulmanes„). Alina Isac Alak y décrit cette organisation comme une association indépendante, apparue en 2006 à l’initiative des femmes musulmanes qui vivent en Roumanie et qui milite pour les droits de ces femmes dans la société roumaine et mondiale. Les activités de l’association sont donc concentrées sur la femme musulmane, sur sa culture, ses traditions, sa religion et sa vie au quotidien, souhaitant initier un dialogue permanent interculturel et interreligieux dans la société roumaine. Les „Sœurs Musulmanesˮ déclarent vouloir lutter contre les discriminations de toute sorte, l’islamophobie, l’antisémitisme et souhaiter encourager, en même temps, une convivialité model de la communauté musulmane de Roumanie dans la société où elle vit.

On publie dans les média roumains de véritables tentatives de popularisations du monde et des croyances musulmanes et de leur perception au sein de la population majoritaire roumaine, comme c’est le cas de l’article Top 10 idées fausses sur l’Islam d’Elena David dans le quotidien România Libera du 21 avril 2010, qui, dans la tentative évidente de lutter contre les préjugés, nous dit que l’idée standard d’un musulman serait celle d’un Arabe brun, à longue barbe et turban. En fait, les Arabes ne représentent que 15% de la population musulmane du monde et le Moyen Orient vient en troisième position après l’Afrique, avec 27% de la population ayant embrassé l’Islam, et l’Asie de l’Est, en top, avec 69%. Une autre idée fausse serait que tous les Arabes étaient des musulmans, mais en fait, ce n’est que 75% parmi eux qui le sont, les autres appartenant aux autres confessions, soit le christianisme, soit le culte mosaïque.

Sous le sous-titre Les musulmans haïssent Jésus, le même article nous assure qu’il y a beaucoup de ressemblances entre les références historiques du Christianisme et celles de l’Islam, car Jésus est considéré par les musulmans comme l’un des prophètes de Dieu. Les musulmans croient à la naissance miraculeuse d’une vierge et aux miracles de Jésus Christ, qui est, d’ailleurs, souvent mentionné dans les versets du Coran comme un exemple de caractère et de vertu. La grande différence entre le Christianisme et l’Islam reste pourtant le fait que les musulmans n’acceptent pas l’idée que Jésus Christ est Dieu.

Le même article de România Libera insiste à contredire une autre idée erronée comme quoi „Les musulmans sont sauvages et barbares pendant les guerresˮ et précise qu’un musulman doit absolument respecter dix règles sacrées en cas de guerre:

„1) Ne pas trahir;

2) Ne pas s’abattre de la voie juste;

3) Ne pas mutiler les cadavres;

4) Ne pas tuer les enfants;

5) Ne pas tuer les femmes;

6) Ne pas tuer les vieux;

7) Ne pas abattre, ni incendier les arbres;

8) Ne pas détruire les édifices publiques;

9) Ne pas tuer le troupeau de moutons de l’ennemi, sauf le cas où il le fait pour manger;

10) Ne pas toucher les gens ayant embrassé une vie monacale.ˮ

Si l’on veut parler de violence et de guerre au sein de l’Islam, il faut pourtant laisser la parole aux vrais spécialistes. C’est avec plaisir que je cite mon ami et ancien collègue à l’Université du Havre, Stéphane Valter, réputé spécialiste arabisant, qui essaie d’expliquer dans l’édition française de Huffington Post (en collaboration avec le prestigieux journal Le Monde) le comportement des musulmans en fonction des gestes du Prophète et des percepts du Coran: „Il faut aussi rappeler que le Coran, comme d'autres textes religieux, contient parfois beaucoup de violence, comme dans les nombreux versets appelant à batailler contre ceux professant des croyances différentes (non seulement les polythéistes mais même les Scripturaires): « Combattez ceux qui ne croient point en Allah [...] parmi ceux ayant reçu l'Écriture [...] alors qu'ils sont humiliésˮ (IX, 29). Que dit de plus la révélation d'elle-même? Qu'elle est inimitable (XII, 13 ; X, 38 ; II, 23), inscrite dans l'Archétype céleste (XLIII, 4), d'origine divine (plusieurs versets), englobante (idem), etc.

On sait que le Prophète, le modèle par excellence (XXXIII, 21), s'il se laissait aller à quelques cruautés dans l'action (décollation de centaines d'hommes de la tribu juive médinoise de Banû Qurayza, torture puis meurtre du chef juif Kinâna lors de la prise de l'oasis de Khaybar, etc.), savait de sang-froid montrer de la clémence (amnistie quasi générale lors de la prise de La Mecque). Humanité et sens politique (selon les critères de l'époque). Hormis la félonie, la seule chose qu'il ne pouvait pardonner était que l'on badinât avec son statut de messager. Pour contrer les satires de ses ennemis, il avait ainsi „engagéˮ trois poètes médinois (Hassân b. Thâbit, Ka'b b. Mâlik et 'Abd Allâh b. Rawâha) qui attaquaient souvent l'honneur de ses adversaires. Puis, revigoré par la victoire de Badr (mars 624), le Prophète fit tuer la poétesse juive 'Asmâ' bint Marwân, qui avait déclamé des vers injurieux contre son statut. Le cheikh centenaire polythéiste Abû 'Afak fut lui aussi assassiné pour des strophes composées contre la nouvelle religion.ˮ

Comme je viens de le dire, toute information concernant la communauté musulmane constitue presque aussitôt matière d’information ou de reportage pour les médias roumains, à commencer par son vénérable histoire, comme le prouve le cycle d’articles-interviews de Sînziana Ionescu dans le quotidien Adevărul qui note consciencieusement les assertions de Iusuf Murat, le muphti du Culte Musulman Roumain. Celui-ci parle de l’harmonie ethnique et religieuse de la Dobroudja et ponctue le fait que les musulmans se sont installés à Babadag, sur la terre située entre le Danube et la Mer Noire, vers l’an 1262. Il dit que ces musulmans étaient des Turcs emmenés par Sari Saltuk Dede, un derviche qui avait pour mission la dissémination de l’Islam, 37 ans avant la naissance du tout-puissant Empire Ottoman qui allait résister plus de six siècles. Mais si l’on veut connaître l’histoire de la communauté musulmane de Roumanie, il faut s’informer auprès des historiens. Voici ce que dit Alexandre Popovic dans son excellent article La situation des musulmans dans les Balkansdepuis la chute du mur de Berlin, paru sur le site du prestigieux Institut pour la Mémoire Européenne:„La communauté musulmane de Roumanie devrait compter actuellement environ 50 000 personnes (0,2% de la population totale), Turcs et Tatars, vivant pour l'essentiel dans la Dobroudja. On en trouve également une poignée à Bucarest et quelques autres disséminés à travers le pays. Depuis l'instauration du régime communiste, c'est-à-dire depuis la fin de la Seconde guerre mondiale, cette petite communauté se trouvait dans une situation délicate: fermeture des écoles turques et tatares en 1957; fermeture, en 1967, du séminaire musulman de Medgidia, seul établissement de ce genre dans le pays, préparant le renouvellement des cadres religieux; inexistence de publications religieuses musulmanes; impossibilité de prendre part au pèlerinage à la Mecque. Après 1972, la situation internationale et les difficultés économiques du pays avaient cependant fini par pousser les autorités roumaines à accorder quelques concessions (au demeurant fort limitées) à la communauté musulmane, mais ces concessions ne visaient naturellement qu'à améliorer l'image de marque du régime auprès de certains pays arabes et musulmans.ˮ

L’histoire de la communauté musulmane de Roumanie mériterait une étude séparée, comme je l’ai déjà affirmé, d’autant plus qu’aujourd’hui elle n’est plus toute aussi nette que par le passé, et commence à gagner des accents troubles, comme nous prévient Feri Predescu dans son article La communauté musulmane demande une loi dure: le contrôle strict des fondations religieuses, dans le quotidien Evenimentul Zilei. L’article nous fait savoir que le nombre des fondations religieuses de Roumanie aurait grandi d’une manière alarmante dans les dernières années. Le muphti du Culte Musulman de Roumanie, Iusuf Murat, accuse le fait que la situation aurait échappé à toute forme de control après la dissolution de la Commission qui avisait les lieux de culte, subordonnée au Secrétariat d’Etat pour les Cultes Religieux (SECR). Il affirme: „Il y a de nombreuses fondations religieuses musulmanes. Elles sont apparues, après 1990, comme les champignons après la pluie. Elles obtiennent facilement des autorisations de la part de l’administration publique locale. A Constanta, il y en a une qui vient de mettre en place un lieu de culte à côté de la gare. Le second se trouve déjà à côte du Delphinarium. Il y en a beaucoup d’autres dans tout le pays sans autorisation. Par exemple, à Bucarest, fonctionne une seule mosquée reconnue officiellement. Dans la Capitale, il y a, en revanche, plus de 17 lieux de culte sans autorisation de la part de l’Autorité du Muphti ou de SECR.ˮ

Le même article nous informe que la direction de la communauté musulmane de Roumanie a pourtant obtenu de la part des députés de Constanta, la promesse d’apporter un amendement à la loi des Cultes par lequel les fondations religieuses seraient obligées de fonctionner avec l’autorisation obligatoire de la part du Secrétariat d’Etat pour les Cultes Religieux et de l’Autorité du Muphti. Cet amendement semble être obligatoire, car il y a la crainte qu’en Roumanie existeraient, conformément aux liders de la communauté musulmane de Roumanie, des fondations islamiques qui, en l’absence de tout control de l’Etat, pourraient disséminer une dangereuse propagande religieuse extrémiste ou fondamentaliste.

Il faut pourtant garder un ton optimiste et conclure, comme le fait le quotidien România Libera, que la Roumanie a une très vielle communauté musulmane en Dobroudja, communauté qui y vit depuis des siècles en parfaite entente et harmonie avec les Roumains. Le multiculturalisme roumain pourrait, à tout moment, offrir un exemple à l’Occident dans son ensemble, confronté dernièrement, de plus en plus, aux graves problèmes soulevés par sa minorité musulmane croissante.

Pour avoir vécu sept ans en France et avoir eu l’occasion de me lier d’amitié avec de nombreux Maghrébins, des musulmans pour la plupart, je ne peux être qu’extrêmement content que mon pays, la Roumanie, offre l’exemple d’une convivialité et d’une véritable harmonie à travers les siècles, avec la communauté musulmane, et qu’aujourd’hui, les médias roumains offrent une perspective ample, informée, objective et équilibrée, sur l’histoire et le devenir de cette communauté.
Bibliographie

Chomsky, Noam, Autopsie des terrorismes - Les attentats du 11-Septembre et l’ordre mondial, Agone, 2001.

Chomsky, Noam, Pouvoir et Terreur: Entretiens après le 11

septembre, Le Serpent à plumes, 2003.

Gido, Attila, Cronologia minorităţilor naţionale din România:Vol. II. Macedoneni, polonezi, ruşi lipoveni, ruteni, sârbi, tătari şi turci, Editura ISPMN, 2012.

Eliade, Mircea, Histoire des croyances et des idées religieuses, Payot, 1989.

Valter, Stéphane, La construction nationale syrienne. Légitimation de la nature communautaire du pouvoir par le discours historique, Paris, CNRS éditions, 2002.

Site-ographie

http://adevarul.ro/locale/constanta/iusuf-murat-muftiul-cultului

musulman-romania-fiu-cioban-poarta-alba-primesc-acasa-n-scrisori-amenintari 1_54c261e1448e03c0fde31dff/index.html.

http://www.antena3.ro/romania/stadionul-dinamo-loc-de

rugaciune-pentru-4-000-de-musulmani-la-sfarsitul-ramadanului-135181.html.

http://www.b1.ro/bucure-ti-2000-de-musulmani-au-sarbatorit-sfar-itul-ramadanului-prin-rugaciuni-pe-stadionul-dinamo-10396.html.

http://www.evz.ro/prevenirea-extremismului-religios-in-romania

proiect-al-comunitatii-musulmane-sustinut-de-parlamentari.html.

http://european.memory.free.fr/Textes/balkans.html.

http://femeiamusulmana.blogspot.ro/p/femeia-musulmana-inromania.html

http://www.gandul.info/stiri/fotoreportaj-musulmanii-din-romania

in-imagini-adeptii-religiei-islamice-au-sarbatorit-incheierea-ramadanului-pe-stadionul-dinamo-8673770.

http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/stephane-valter/lislam-et-la

derision_b_6454136.html.

http://inliniedreapta.net/musulmanii-de-pe-stadionul-dinamo-si-multiulturalismul-european.

http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-intern/liga-1/foto-cum-a-strans

dinamo-azi-mai-multi-oameni-la-stadion-decat-la-meciul-cu-otelul-8670966.

http://www.romanialibera.ro/opinii/interviuri/libertatea-de-a-te

manifesta--conditionata-105554.

http://www.romanialibera.ro/special/documentare/top-10-idei

gresite-despre-islam-184062.

http://www.ziuaveche.ro/cultura-religie/religie-cultura-religie/1500HYPERLINK "http://www.ziuaveche.ro/cultura-religie/religie-cultura-religie/1500de"de

musulmani-se-vor-ruga-pe-stadionul-dinamo-49001.html.

THE CONSUMPTION OF DIGITAL FOLKLORE.

FORWARDABLE EMAILS

Drd. Valentina GHERUNDA,

Universitatea din Bucureşti

Abstract: The folklore, transmitted by oral and written means, was an important area of research, especially in terms of accomplished psychological functions. The new social and technological changes have led to the elimination of the traditional forms of folklore and the emergence of new forms such as the Internet mediated folklore (online folklore). The digital folklore has a number of linguistic „forms” such as: hoaxing email, online petitions, chain letters, written prayers, etc. Based on these forms, our analysis shall be focused on it. The purpose of this study is to analyze the manner by which the new forms of the digital folklore are formed and how the social functions work.
Keywords: folklore, digital folklore, email, chain letters
The context
Folklore, the oral and written one, represented an important research domain, especially regarding the psychological functions that it has. The new social and technological developments lead to the abolishment of traditional forms of folklore and replaced them with new ones, such as internet folklore. Some theoreticians sustain that the new digital folklore is linked to the pre-digital phenomenon of urban folklore because it borrows two essential characteristics: „the multiple existence and variation of texts that it consists”[http://www.ncess.ac.uk/events/conference/2007/dc-papers/Heyd_paper.pdf]. Therefore, we can discuss about the classification of the types of folklore, in which digital folklore is an „over-typedfunctional” [http://www.ncess.ac.uk/events/conference/2007/dcpapers/Heyd_paper.pdf] one, which derives from urban folklore. Like the former types of folklore, the digital one has a series of linguistically forms, such as: hoaxing emails, online petitions, chain letters, request letters etc. This research will concentrate its analysis on these forms. The goal of the study is to analyze the way in which the new folklore forms consist and the social functions that they have.
Theme and research question
The consumption of some forms of digital folklore can be studied from the perspective of the way in which they are sent, their content and the psychological functions that they have. In this context, the questions answered through this research are: How and why are these chain letters used? Are there any similarities between the types of letters that circle?

The aims of the research:

- identifying the psychological functions which are at the base of the transmission mechanism of the forwardable emails;

- finding out the common features in the content and structure of the forward messages;

Theoretical frame
„But...what is folklore? [Candrea, 2001:3]

The sum of interpretations provided by the people on natural phenomenon and, generally, to all the things seen, heard, felt by him and which agitates its rich imagination, which seeks into his simple soul and which his trusty brain records and twists, revealing them through voice and song, customs, these all are an sui generis encyclopedia- the encyclopedia of the soul of people – the folklore”.

In order to understand the way in which the new type of folklore forms, it is necessary to start from the analysis of the classical definition of folklore. According to Roger D. Abrahams, the notion of refers to those “traditional” stories shared, which has two qualities: they are repeated by the community individuals and have suffered variations in time. These folklore elements can be found in: myths, legends, fables, roomers, jokes, anecdotes etc.[http://nms.sagepub.com/content/7/6/770.full.pdf+html]

In order to study the components of folklore, three perspectives have formed. The first one is the literary one which analyses folklore regarding the take’s content and structure. The second one, anthropology, concentrates on the social, economical, historical factors or the social context in which the story appears. The last one, psychology, focuses on the goal for which folklore is created and spread.[,http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=trueHYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"&HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"_HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"&HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"&HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=noHYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"&HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"accno=EJ458406]

From a functional perspective, the social functions of folklore are:

the educational function, folklore carrying a moral significance andwarnings regarding the consequences of some types of actions; it maintains the group identity, reflecting and confirming the selfperception of a community; it can have an entertaining function: it can be funny, amusing and itcreates diversion from the day to day life; it often plays the critical role, stultification and disruption of attitudes, institutions, practices and society rules. [Kibby, 774]

As the socio-economical context changed and with the outburst of technology, folklore traveled from village to city, giving birth to a new type: urban folklore. This is a „cultural factory in which people can obtain collective explanations to ambiguous situations which causes them anxiety”[Jeffrey, 51]. In such an interaction, people exchange significations, which, in most of the times, are forward transmitted.

Here I have sketched the features of digital and popular folklore, according to the character, content form and nature of information:

	DIGITAL FOLKLORE	POPULAR FOLKLORE
CHARACTER	Anonymous (unknown author) Collective (it addresses to a no. of infinite receptors) Syncretism (it uses texts and images= multimedia messages) Traditional (many messages are built on well-known epical schemes, specific to oral narrations)		SIMILITUDES
CONTENT	The messages have a no. of theoretical senders; they do not transmit a personal content to a single receiver, but collective
COMMUNICATION CHANEL	Technological transmitted – it implies many contextual transformations	Direct (people together speaking and listening)	DIFFERENCES
FORM	Written	Direct, oral
NATURE OF INFORMATION	Selective (according to the sender, he has the right to select his information) Global(the information defies the boundaries of space and time, international folklore) The information’s high level of fidelity (it is transmitted without the senders interpretation)	Collective(the same information for all the receivers) Limited( information with local/regional content) The alteration of information from sender to receiver

„Those who had predicted for decades the imminence of disappearance of folklore are experiencing a surprise: folklore did not die, it continues to accompany or lives from every point of view [...] Contemporary societies, like traditional ones, are creators and carriers of folklore. The legends have survived. Only the tales have changed their shape: fabulous characters disappeared and the conflicts that motivated the actions of heroes do not have the same complexity or magnitude like in fairytales. Moreover, new stories appear all the time.” [Eretescu, 2013:15]

Digital folklore appeared like a predecessor of urban folklore, borrowing its main features and the oral character. The main way of transmission is through email, the most used component of the internet. The email has become a life component and, because of its specific functions, it is the best way of sharing the new folklore. The internet and email represent the greatest means of sharing myths and legends because they are very consistent, interactive and in continuous changing. Email transmitted through forward has replaced folklore in the electronic environment and because they are a form of communication of some compact groups, they appeal to persuasion and contain the possibility of being credible.

If digital folklore has the social functions and characteristics of folklore, we must take into consideration up to what extent we can talk about oral transmission. In his book „Orality and writing: technological world”, Walter Ong describes a new type of orality which he calls secondary orality. According to his, secondary orality can be defined „essentially as a more deliberately and with a self consciousness, permanently based on using writing and printing” [Ong, 1982:136]. Secondary orality sustains the meaning of community, concentrates on the present and uses well-known formulas, but it remains bound in the writing form. If the oral societies focused on socialization, the redundancy and participation, the societies based on secondary orality are mediated by technology. Secondary orality is for post-writing societies, based on the written culture, but borrowing a series of characteristics from the oral societies. It allows immediate feed-back, facilitates the development of a sense of community and encourages common property on information.

In the next table the differences between the three forms: orality, secondary orality and the written form (print): [http://www.innovateonline.info/extra/definition980.htm]

Oral	Secondary orality	Print
Emphatetic/subjective	Potential for both subjective and objective	Objective, disengaged
Grounded in observable/everyday	Transcending barriers of time and place, but also grounded in everyday concerns	Transcending barriers of time and place
Communal/shared knowledge	Communal/collaborative but preserved knowledge	Preserved/authoritative knowledge
Aggregative or linked/integrated	Text "chunked" into stand alone but also allowing for aggregation and linked material	Printed material as  "stand alone"
Situational	Allows for both situational and abstract/analytical	Abstract and analytical

In the email case, the orality is sustained through tacit faith in a shared present. The immediate and informal character of writing leads to ignoring the codes of written communication (orthography and grammatical rules), but also to some moral codes. Those who send emails are less restrained regarding the themes chosen, than when they use the phone or post. „Forwardable emails occupy an important place in creating a distance between the sender and its content (...) The information is pure and simple, transmitted without being altered by human intervention”[Kibby, 770]. There are some pre-conditions which lead to an impressive chain of information, among which we can tell: seeing the email as a seasonably means of communication and sharing information, a confused property on messages, the existence of address books and mailing list. Because the email facilitates communication, the receiver continues the chain of emails and through this the story becomes folklore. Often, this type of folklore is seen as being real, even if the receiver is skeptic. He will transmit the information considering that someone else might be interested. Forwardable emails can be described as contemporary folklore as long as they are credible, present and represent commentaries on human nature and social conditions.[Kibby, 774] They contain virus alerts, chain letters, petitions, warnings, help requests, often accompanied by the request „forward”.

Assumptions
In order to analyze these types of emails I regarded that the following are important:

If the users are frequently exposed to digital folklore, the possibility of transmitting is higher;

If the users consider forwardable emails as a form of gettingin touch with others, then the degree of using is higher.
Methodology
In order to present the research, I am taking into consideration the forwardable emails received in two weeks. I am conducting a quality research, based on a quality analysis of the content and five semi-structural interviews with people who send such emails. The selection method was made from the emails received with such letters.

The interview contained the following questions:

How often do you receive such emails?

How often do you read such emails?

What determines you to send them to other people?

What are the subjects of interest from these emails?

Do you use such email to get in contact with other people?

How did these people react?

Results
A category of digital folklore is represented by chain letters. These are letters which indicate the sender to deliver them to other people so than their traffic can raise. They include many types of folklore: jokes of promises that your wishes will be granted, misfortune warnings or information about tragedies. In order to increase their traffic, senders are promised rewards, financial or moral. When they are sent through email, the initial sender cannot be identified and, therefore, the authenticity of the letter cannot be proven. Every chain letter includes three parts: the attractive phrase, the threat and request. Such a letter is:

FW: READ BEFORE LOOKING AT THE PICTURE!!!!!

The boy from the photo left with his friends at SUNDARBANS on holiday and requested a photo! The blitz put him in a coma! Two days latter he died of heart failure!When the friend saw the photo they freaked out! Every one of them had gone mad! Because they all swear they were there! Unfortunately the picture went to everyone. Many had seen it and sent it. Others did not sent it and bad things have happened!!! A navy marine send the photo to 13 scientists and they all advanced. A director laughed and erased the photo and his company bankrupted. Don’t be stupid, send the photo to other 13 people and wait to see what happens ! But don’t erase it under no circumstances! Because your future is doomed ...


In this letter, the attractive phrase is: „Two days later he died of heart failure”. The boy’s death after the photo was taken catches attention. The second component, the threat, is formed of the last part in which the reader is threatened that if he does not sent the letter bad things will happen. The request is that you should sent the letter and picture to other 13 people. In this case, the chain letter fulfils its goal through the visual factor, the picture. The whole letter appeals to threats and irrational beliefs.

Another motive used in chain letters is friendship, a test to see how many friends does the receiver has. The receiver sends the messages to his friends and waits to receive it back from them, as a sign of friendship confirmation. Such emails have important psychological roles, because they enforce or depart social relationships.

Another type of chain letters used are false virus threats. Such letters create a real paranoia among users. Real virus threats are received by users so they have doubts, even if it is a prank. Bell associated panic created by viruses with a metaphor on vulnerability, disease and contagiousness.[http://nms.sagepub.com/content/5/1/29.abstract] The computer, like the body, is susceptible to viruses which makes its activity weak. If it is vulnerable, the user is vulnerable.

Here is an example of such a letter:

Do not accept the id dj_bitit because it erases everything from your computer, it is a VIRUS! Send forward! Got it...? Immediately announce everyone from your list to not accept this id because it erases everything from your computer and the computers you are linked to! make a copy and send it to other people!!!!

Other letters are also linked to internet programs like emails :

I am the president Jay Russell: I am sorry to announce you that yahoo has reached the maximum number of people. If you want to keep your account send this message to all the people in your list. This way we will know which accounts are used. Send this message 8 days and your account will remain free. I am truly sorry but I have to do it. Please start sending! Who doesn’t send this message will have its account erased. IT IS NOT A PRANK, I REALLY AM ERASING ACCOUNTS!!!!

Or:

Yahoo is closing on 17 November 2006! They want to get rid of free Messenger. A lot of people have already been erased. Right click on your group of friends and click Send Instant Message to all group and send this message to everyone. Every person who will receive this message will gain a signature and will not be deleted!

Other chain letter appeal to humanitarian factors or charity:

If you know someone suffering of cancer, I am offering free Cancer meds from Canada. Tel: 0724********...

Or:

Hi, my name is Dumitru, I am married to a girl, Maria and we have a newly born child, Ivanescu Alexandru. He is everything for us , and recently doctors discovered he has brain cancer. Unfortunately we do not have money even for monthly taxes, but we have made a deal with YAHOO and AOL and agreed that for every person who receives this message we will receive 5 cents. So please send this message to everyone and help us! Please send it, LET”S HELP, IT TAKES LESS THAN 60 SECONDS. Everyone disserves a chance! He is just a child.

In its online form, folklore has a primary clear and direct message and a secondary one which is a critique to human behavior and social conditions. An important category of folklore sent through forward option is linked to the “alarmed rationality”[Kibby, 781]. Many email which are now on the internet are tied to food or environment contamination.

This IS NOT A JOKE: A second nuclear reactor exploded in a plant in Cecenia after the first one last week. The news is hidden by authorities ( see Cernobâl which was announced after 2 weeks). According to wind direction, it must be avoided as more as possible the wind spreading , all rains, do not eat vegetables or sink water. Send forward to all acquaintances, especially children and pregnant women . We had been announced at the company from a 99,9999 % sure source. I repeat, this is not a joke.

A similar letter circled about the atomic power plant from Cernavodă, the news being adopted by the written media. If in this case the factor does not express an absolute belief, it sustains a certain cause and tries to convince. In general, the credibility of such a letter is given by its content, some external aspects of the text or the source of the email. The mechanism which determines if a message is credible or not is the conformity with the believes and experiences of the receiver.

Another type of message is linked to consumption and alimentation . A part of the message is correlated with the negative influence of some products (deodorants cause breast cancer etc.) or the activity of multinational companies. The most attacked are Coca-Cola, McDonals’s, KFC and other fast-foods. Many such companies had to launch campaigns to combat the roomers. For example, the most common email is the one related to Coca-Cola:

1. Coca-Cola has become ammonia through an accident;

2. It was considered racist because it did not want to do

business with Israel in the ’80;

3. Santa Clause’s red coat was imposed by Coca-Cola;

4. In it’s first years of production it contained cocaine;

5. It’s an effective spermicidal;

6. A tooth left over nigh in a glass of Coca-Cola dissolves;

7. Coca-Cola with aspirin gives you illusions;

8. Only two employees know the secret formula and they each

Knowhalf of it’;

9. It was initially green;

10. If you drink |Coca-Cola light you are cool.[

http://www.artline.ro/Folclorul-s-a-nascut-la-sat-si-traieste-la-oras-1256-1-n.html.]

Another email concerns KFC products:

According to a recent study from New Hampshire University on KFC food, several interesting aspect were found. KFC does not use real chicken. They use genetically manipulated organisms. The so called chickens are kept alive through some tubes inserted in their bodies and which pomp blood and nutrients. They do not have beaks , feathers or legs. Their bone structure is diminished in order to have more flesh. If you look carefully you will see it is true. Look in the menu, I guarantee the word chicken does not appear.

Beyond the critical attitude towards cooked meals and fast food, this new version of folklore shows examples of a higher number of fears regarding uncontrolled development of technology, the extension of consumption and new diseases. Besides the models shown above, on email you can find a series of petitions. Often, they are nor handed to authorities in order to have a finality. These petitions are used to collect data from individuals. The reason for which people sign online petitions is related to character of the digital environment. The internet belongs to informational objects, not physical ones, and this determines an infinite number of copies. [Smith, 1999:223] This way, every user has equal chances to use it. Public goods from internet are represented by the exchange of information. Actually, on the internet the costs of producing collective goods are lower and have high benefits, fact which determine a greater wish of the members to share information.[Kibby, 772]

The folklore transmitted through forward reflect culture and history of people because they contain stories that „people tell about themselves”.[Ben-Amos, 1992:114] These new forms of folklore can have the function of answering to social chaos through creating a sense of community. They appeal to identity feelings and are based on emotional responses using persuasion instruments and complementary feelings: intimidation and adulation, threat and promise. The email sent with forward concentrate three persuasive factors according to the Aristotle: ethos, logos and pathos. Ethos refers to the persuasive appeal of the sender, logos to an appeal based on rationality and believes in the information and pathos at an appeal based on an emotional response[Kibby, 774]. Forwardable emails have social functions; they offer the feeling that the individual can change something in society. On the other hand, they represent a psychological mechanism through which the members of the community share fears and release anxiety. Last but not least, the analyses of the new forms of folklore help to a better understanding from an anthropological point of view of the socio-economical context in which they were born and, therefore, complete the signification.

The data from the quality content research were also confirmed through interviews. The profile of people who often consume such emails is: young, with a high level of internet utilization, who transmit such emails daily. Among them, four considered forwardable emails a form of socialization and a means of transmitting information and legends in the digital environment. Most of them appealed to this form in order to gain attention and interact with the receivers. Especially in the case of friendship chain emails, an important role is played by group solidarity and facilitating new interactions. Therefore, the interest in such emails is seen as a natural effect of the chain users who had set this interaction. On the other hand, two people answered that when they receive such emails, they feel restrained to follow the same action and send it to other people, especially if negative feelings are involved: fear, death etc. This is why these types of emails can be considered a form of control. Also, it is interesting the fact that these people are consumers of such emails, not initiators, preferring the anonymous.

Conclusions
Forwardable emails are a part of the digital folklore which plays a significant role in psychological functions. Despite the fact that they are used to increase solidarity in groups or to confirm social relationships, they are transmitted with a high intensity. Forwardable emails can be described as contemporary folklore as long as they are credible, present and are commentaries upon human behavior and social conditions.

NOTES:

[1] Theresa Heyd, Formal and functional characteristics of email hoaxes: a genre study. Electronic document, http://www.ncess.ac.uk/events/conference/2007/dc-papers/Heyd_paper.pdf, accesed October 24, 2011.

[2] Theresa Heyd, Formal and functional characteristics of email hoaxes: a genre study. Electronic document, http://www.ncess.ac.uk/events/conference/2007/dc-papers/Heyd_paper.pdf, accesed October 24, 2011.

[3] Ion-AureliuCandrea, Iarba fiarelor: studii de folclor din datinile şi credinţele poporului român, Bucureşti, Fundaţia Naţională pentru Ştiinţă şi Artă; Academia Română; Institutul de Istorie şi Teorie Literară „G. Călinescu”, 2001, p. 3.

[4] Roger D.Abrahams, Apud:, Marjorie DKibby., Email forwardables: folklore in the age of internet, (in): New Media Society, vol. 7(6), 2005, p. 773. Electronic document, http://nms.sagepub.com/content/7/6/770.full.pdf+html, accesed November 2, 2011.

[5] Gerald ADanzer., Newman, Mark, Excerpt from „Tuning In”, a Curriculum Development Project. The Camera’s Eye; Imagery and Technology, in: Social Studies, vol. 83, nr. 3, 1992, p. 183, Electronic document,http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=trueHYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"&HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"_HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"&HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"&HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=noHYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"&HYPERLINK "http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458406&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458406"accno=EJ458406 accesed November 4, 2011.

[6] Marjorie D. Kibby, op. cit., p. 774.

[7] Victor Jeffrey, Satanic cult rumors as contemporary legend, in: Western Folklore, vol. 49, nr. 1, p. 51.

[8] ConstantinEretescu,Vrăjitoarea familiei şi alte legende ale oraşelor lumii de azi, Bucureşti, Compania, 2003, p. 15.

[9] Walter J.Ong, Orality and literacy: the technologizing of the word, London, Routledge, 1982, p. 136.

[10] Tabel preluat de pe site-ul http://www.innovateonline.info/extra/definition980.htm, accesat la data de 4 nov. 2011.

[11] Marjorie D. Kibby, op. cit., p. 770.

[12] Ibidem, p. 774.

[13] JanFernback, Legends on the net: an examination of computer-mediated communication as a locus of oral culture. in: New Media Society, 2003, 5, p. 42, Electronic document,http://nms.sagepub.com/content/5/1/29.abstract, accesed November 15, 2011.

[14] Marjorie D. Kibby, op. cit., p. 781.

[15] http://www.artline.ro/Folclorul-s-a-nascut-la-sat-si-traieste-la-oras-1256-1-n.html.

[16] Marc A.Smith; PeterKollock (ed.), Communities in cyberspace, London, Routledge, 1999, p. 223, Electronic document, http://bcub.etailer.dpsl.net/home/html/moreinfo.asp?isbn=0203194950HYPERLINK "http://bcub.etailer.dpsl.net/home/html/moreinfo.asp?isbn=0203194950&whichpage=1&pagename=category.asp"&HYPERLINK "http://bcub.etailer.dpsl.net/home/html/moreinfo.asp?isbn=0203194950&whichpage=1&pagename=category.asp"whichpage=1HYPERLINK "http://bcub.etailer.dpsl.net/home/html/moreinfo.asp?isbn=0203194950&whichpage=1&pagename=category.asp"&HYPERLINK "http://bcub.etailer.dpsl.net/home/html/moreinfo.asp?isbn=0203194950&whichpage=1&pagename=category.asp"pagename=category.asp, accesed November 16, 2011.

[17] Marjorie D.Kibby,, op. cit., p. 772.

[18] DanBen-Amos, Apud: Bauman, Richard, Folklore, Cultural Performances and Popular Entertainments: a Communications-centered Handbook, New York, Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 114.

[19] Marjorie D. Kibby, op. cit., p. 784.