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Phonological abilities of Brazilian street poets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Antonio Roazzi ,
Ann Dowker  and
Peter Bryant
Antonio Roazzi
Affiliation:
Oxford University
Ann Dowker
Affiliation:
Oxford University
Peter Bryant*
Affiliation:
Oxford University
*
Peter Bryant, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford 0X1 3UD, England
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Abstract

This study deals with repentistas: oral poets in the northeast of Brazil, most of whom have had limited schooling. Twenty-four repentistas, 27 non-repentistas from a similar background, and 38 university students were given a rhyme production task. The repentistas produced about three times as many rhymes as the SES-matched non-repentistas and over one-and-a-half times as many as the students. They did not, however, differ significantly from the nonrepentistas or students in regard to auditory memory or phonological segmentation; they were similar to non-repentistas and considerably worse than students on tests of IQ and reading speed. Thus, the rhyming ability of the repentistas appears to be both highly developed and dissociated from certain other language skills.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , October 1993 , pp. 535 - 551
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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