Folklore studies, also known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom,[1] is the formal academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms,[note 1] gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the academic study of traditional culture from the folklore artifacts themselves. It became established as a field across both Europe and North America, coordinating with Volkskunde (German), folkeminner (Norwegian), and folkminnen (Swedish), among others.[2]