Friendly Folk Groups

Folk groups are groups of people that have a special language, behavior and rules, and each member has knowledge of these things. An example of a folk group would be a family but also just being a student at a university or being a club can also be a folk group. Many clubs have secret languages and code words that only members of the club know about. This is one of the characterisitics of a folk group, so therefore, any one in a club, is also in another folk group. It is possible to be in many different folk groups at one time. Many people feel most closely related to their family folk group because it is the one they are automatically in from the beginning. Eventually we move away from our family folk group and begin our own groups with friends.

One folk group that I feel especially close to are the friends I’ve made at the camp I went to for most of my childhood. We all still keep in touch and still use the languages and behaviors we’ve had since we were children. When we are not with our camp friends, we revert back to being normal adults, but for a moment in time, we become children again.

Folk groups can form out of nowhere and also disintegrate just as fast. Hopefully my folk group that I’ve created here at IU will not disintegrate once I graduate in May. It is up to all of the members of any folk group to make sure it stays alive for many years to come.

This is in response to question number 2.