Folklore vs. Folklife

The difference between folklore and folklife lies in the application of the term. Folklore refers to stories, myths, legends, and narratives relating to someone’s life, or why something is the way it is. Folklore usually relates to something that is happening or has happened. Folklife, on the other hand, is the way of life of someone. It deals with their living space (how furniture or the frame of the house is arranged) or a folk art/craft that they’re involved in.
Folk architecture differs from other forms of architecture because of its traditional form. A major example used in the chapter was log cabins. Cabins are considered folk architecture because of their basic traditional forms and how those forms evolved over time. Cabins (and barns, for that matter), were normally built in a traditional way. Modern buildings would not be considered “folk” because most of them have no tradition, and are not built in a folk or traditional way.