Rhyme Generation by Deaf Adults

Congenitally deaf college students were asked to generate rhymes to 50 target words. Results of the investigation indicated that it is possible for deaf individuals to develop the sensitivity to the phonologic structure of words necessary for rhyming: Approximately half of the responses generated were correct rhymes. Of these correct rhymes, the majority were orthographically similar to their target (e.g., BLUE-glue and TIE-lie), although 30% were orthographically dissimilar to their targets (e.g., BLUE-through and TIE-sky), indicating an ability to generate rhymes independent of orthographic structure. Errors were analyzed in an attempt to determine the basis on which the subjects generated rhymes. Evidence of both orthographic and speech-related strategies were obtained.