ABSTRACT. This paper examines the forms of relations that people establish with their schooling processes. The question about the possibility of developing a literate standard in the orality of illiterate adults will be discussed from two angles: a) first, we will argue the extent to which engaging in everyday activities, without completing the formal cycles of schooling, allowed the study’s illiterate participants to develop a standard that we assume as literate in its orality; b) then, we will analyze how the level of abstraction in the concepts with scientific structure formulated by illiterate participants differ from that presented by literate participants. pp. 164–195

Keywords: word meaning structure; literacy; border zone; cognitive development