Open Linguistics 2019; 5: 496–510 Paolo Bravi, Teresa Proto* Intra-line and inter-individual variation in Sardinian arrepentina https://doi.org/10.1515/opli-2019-0027 Received September 15, 2018; accepted June 18, 2019 Abstract: S’arrepentina is a genre of extemporary poetry performed by semi-professional poets, both at informal gatherings and in public contests in south-central Sardinia. The name arrepentina refers both to the genre/performance in its entirety, and to the set of metrical forms and rhyme schemes used during the performance. Lines occur in non-strophic (stichic) form, and are made up of halflines linked by a complex system of rhymes. Unlike similar metrical forms, s’arrepentina is not performed in a “free rhythm” singing style. Typically, poets improvise their verses accompanied by an accordion, which provides a steady pulse. In this study, we investigate variation in nine arrepentinas and we aim to determine the degree of rhythmical variability in each halfline by measuring it against the underlying meter provided by the musical accompaniment. From the analysis, it emerges that the rhythmical variants are concentrated at specific positions, and their distribution suggests an asymmetry between the two halflines. Some inter-individual variation among the poets also appears in their preference for one type of variant over others. Keywords: arrepentina, extemporary poetry, musical halfline, verbal halfline, asymmetric setting, microvariation 1 Introduction S’arrepentina is a genre of extemporary poetry performed by semi-professional poets, both at informal gatherings and in public contests. These performances are found in south-central Sardinia (see Fig. 1), and the language employed by the poets is the variety of Campidanese in use in the central part of the island (Murgia 2012). Typically, poets improvise their verses accompanied by an accordion, which provides a steady pulse throughout the whole performance. The name arrepentina1 can be used to refer to three (related) entities: a) the poetic genre/contest as a whole; b) the set of metrical forms and rhyme schemes used for the main parts of the performance (namely a sa dereta [‘in a direct way’], riepilogada [‘repeated lines’] and arretrogada [‘line repetition with changed word order’] with its various subtypes);2 and c) each of the turns in which poets improvise using those metrical/rhyme schemes, followed by a “coda” section in the metrical scheme known as currentina (see 1 The denomination makes reference to the dimension of improvisation (the Latin adjective rĕpentīnus means “improvised, unexpected, with a short-time effect”). Similarly, in Cuba, the term repentismo generally refers to the phenomenon of poetic improvisation (see Diaz-Pimienta 1998), which points to historically documented links between Sardinian and Spanish poetry (see Garzia 1916, Porcu 2008). Some basic notes on the early development of the poetic genre of improvised poetry currently known as repentina or arrepentina can be found in Ghiani 1994a and 1994b. The etymology of the word within the context of Sardinian poetry, however, remains to be thoroughly investigated. 2 For an introductory but not exhaustive account of these rhyme schemes: see Lutzu 2007, Lutzu & Murru 2012. Research Article *Corresponding author: Teresa Proto, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, E-mail: teresa.proto@gmail.com Paolo Bravi, Martin Behaim Gymnasium, Nuremberg, Germany Open Access. © 2019 Paolo Bravi, Teresa Proto, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.