Is it required to cite the original author, when the original author is unknown and in a foreign language and adapted by an oral narrator?

Here's the scenario. Person A may read a story in a non-English language. As time passes, he still remembers the story and passes it onto his offspring. His children ask him about the author, but the author is forgotten. So, let's say one of the children decides to put the story into written words. Does this person have to indicate the origin(s) of this story, or take full credit of the work?

Similarly, what happens if a grandmother retells the biblical narrative of creation to her grandchildren? Do the children cite the grandmother or a specific copy of the Bible? Are the biblical verses copyrighted or in the public domain?

is a duplicate

This question has been asked before and has already been answered. It should be marked as a duplicate.

Please enter the URL of the proposed duplicate in the details field below.

not constructive

This question cannot be answered in a way that is helpful to anyone. It's not possible to learn something from possible answers, except for the solution for the specific problem of the asker.

Communities

Is it required to cite the original author, when the original author is unknown and in a foreign language and adapted by an oral narrator?

0 comment threads

0 answers