The Study of József Ravasz's Tales in the Mirror of Primary Socialisation (original) (raw)

2018, Language, individual & society

The present study deals with József Ravasz's tales; I studied the tales using the method of content analysis. The analysed corpus is presented in the introduction of the study, and the analysis of the tales is discussed in the subsequent sections. The analysis focused on the following five aspects: types of the functions of primary socialisation; attitudes towards school; ethnic identity; religion; and interactions inside and outside the family as presented in the tales. Socialisation and attitudes towards school, among those listed above, were the main pillars of the analysis. I consider the analysis of the Roma/Gypsy literature, more specifically the analysis of Roma tales, necessary, as tales can draw primary pupils' attention to the differences and similarities between different cultures, as well as to diversity. It is important for infants to develop social skills that enable them to more readily understand the differences between the majority society and minority groups, to improve tolerance of others and to learn to have respect for each other's traditions. Roma literary tales (like Roma folk tales) refer to the Roma people's history, wanderings, ancient homeland, traditions, folk customs, superstitions, and Roma music that is another important element of the Roma culture. Several studies have been carried out on Roma folk tales (Olga Nagy, József Vekerdi, Péter Bálint, Veronika Görög, etc.), however Roma literary tales are less widely known. That is why I decided upon the analysis of literary tales, and secondly because the scarcity of specialised literature on Roma literary tales surprised me. I believe that these tales are valuable literary works, and talereaders can immerse themselves in Roma culture. Roma tales offer an insight into Roma culture; the tales would help the Roma people come to appreciate their own culture and would contribute to the cultural enrichment of non-Roma people.