Final answer:
Oral tradition stories differ from written authorial texts in that they encompass a broad, community-based method of transmission, adaptability, and a mixture of history, culture, and belief. Written texts are fixed expressions of a single person's creativity or interpretation. Both forms contribute uniquely to our understanding of culture and history.
Step-by-step explanation:
Stories originating from oral tradition are inherently different from written stories by specific authors. Oral traditions, such as those from Indigenous cultures or ancient oral cultures like the Germanic peoples, involve a community-based method of storytelling where tales and myths are passed down through generations, often holding a mix of historical events, religious beliefs, and cultural practices. In contrast, written stories from a particular author present an 'original text' that reflects an individual's perspective or creativity, sometimes based on oral traditions but set in a fixed form.
While oral traditions can effectively preserve information accurately, as noted in the case of ancient Hawai'i, they are subject to debates on authenticity. Scholars like Claude Levi-Strauss questioned the existence of an 'original text' in oral cultures, while others, such as Dell Hymes, valued direct ethnographic translations.
However, the historical and cultural importance of oral histories, as demonstrated in the work of researchers and conveyed through various epics passed down orally before being written, like The Iliad, reveals the depth and complexity of these traditions.
The reliance on oral histories and storytelling is also seen in the foundation of major world religions, which, despite being text-based (e.g., Christianity's Bible, Islam's Qur'an, Judaism's Torah), have roots in oral storytelling and continue to utilize oral performance in worship. Ultimately, both oral traditions and written works enrich our understanding of human cultures, histories, and belief systems, each providing unique insights and value to the fields they pertain to.