learned by the individual in face-to-face contact with the other members. What continues to be of social relevance is stored in the memory while the rest is usually forgotten … 14 Having an awareness of the characteristics of a primary-oral society opens the door to exploration of the kinds of oral compositions which are produced by that society. Characteristics of Oral Compositions In a primary-oral society the ‘rules of grammar’ are deductive. Oral poets learn the formulaic technique through apprenticeship