orality

Orality refers to the use and study of spoken language as the primary means of communication and knowledge transmission in societies that rely on oral rather than written records. In anthropology and linguistics, orality describes how communities store, shape, and share information through speech, performance, and memory. The concept contrasts with literacy and print cultures, where writing and reading become central to knowledge, authority, and social organization. The term is closely associated with scholars such as Walter J. Ong, who argued that different cognitive styles and social worlds accompany oral versus literate cultures, and with the study of oral-formulaic composition in epic poetry.

Core characteristics of orality include reliance on spoken expression, mnemonic devices, and formulaic language that aid memory and improvisation. Speech is often collective and performative, with feedback from listeners shaping the discourse. Stories, histories, laws, and rituals are transmitted through performance, song, and dialogue, rather than written texts. Social context is essential: authority, memory, and legitimacy frequently hinge on the orator’s skill, status, and relationship to the community. Redundancy, repetition, and conversational structures help ensure understanding in environments with variable attention and limited external memory aids.

Orality serves multiple social functions, including preserving communal memory, transmitting norms and laws, legitimizing leadership, educating younger generations, and fostering social cohesion. It is adaptive and dynamic, capable of incorporating new information through performance and memory practice. Even in literate and digital societies, orality persists in oral histories, storytelling traditions, radio and podcast culture, public speaking, and everyday conversation. The study of orality thus remains central to understanding language, culture, and knowledge across human societies.