Not dictated by metrics: Function words in the speech introductions of South-Slavic oral epic

We relate improvisation in epic singing to cognitive linguistics, postulating that oral formulas are acquired analogous to phrasal patterns in language. Singers' use of reporting phrases in six performances of a South-Slavic epic reveals (1) a “prototypical” construction; (2) a difference in its use between audio recording and dictation; (3) a motivation behind its variations lying not in metrical conditions alone, but also in meaning and function. When sung, introductions containing monosyllabic function words prevail, which remains stable across different singers, the same singer through time, and variations in the narrative. When dictated, few monosyllabic items are used. Analysis of the poems' plot suggests that these function words do not just fill in metrical slots, but rather affect narrative structure.