ABSTRACT
The term oral, which is commonly used to distinguish spoken from written communication, rests on a dichotomy that only exists in literate societies. Prior to the development of written languages, the basic dichotomy was between vernacular speech (discourse) and poetic speech (orality). A host of oral technologies were developed long before written languages were invented. Each of these oral technologies merged metered evocative symbols with referential ones to produce poetic speech. Rhythmic vocalizations that contain no referential symbols, such as nonsense lullabies, offer only patterned evocative symbols; they do not constitute an oral technology. Oral technologies combine patterned evocative symbols with referential symbols to facilitate the preservation and transmission of information.
