Statistical learning (SL) approaches to reading maintain that proficient reading requires assimilation of the rich statistical regularities in the writing system. Reading skills in developing first- ...and second-language readers in English have been shown to be predicted by individual differences in sensitivity to regularities in mappings from orthography to phonology (O-P) and semantics (O-S), with good readers relying more on O-P consistency, and less on O-S associations. However, SL and its relation to reading has been primarily studied in English readers in high-income Western countries.
We examine individual differences in sensitivity to regularities in emergent French readers in rural agricultural communities in Côte d'Ivoire (N = 134).
We show that, in contrast to previous studies, in this cohort better readers are leveraging semantic associations more strongly, while individual differences in sensitivity to orthographic consistency did not predict reading skill. Relatively little variance in reading skill was explained by sensitivity to regularities, and we discuss these findings in terms of literacy acquisition in low-literacy and low-exposure contexts. This showcases the importance of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural research to back up universal theories of literacy, and suggests that current SL accounts of reading must be updated to account for this variance in reading skills.
Handwriting is a vital skill for everyday human activities. It has a wealth of information about writers’ characteristics and can hint toward underlying neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's ...disease, autism, dyslexia, and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many previous studies have reported a link between personality and individual differences in handwriting, but the evidence for the relationship tends to be anecdotal in nature. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined whether the association between personality traits and handwriting was instantiated at the neural level. Results showed that the personality trait of conscientiousness modulated brain activation in the left premotor cortex and right inferior/middle frontal gyrus, which may reflect the impact of personality on orthography‐to‐grapheme transformation and executive control involved in handwriting. Such correlations were not observed in symbol‐drawing or word‐reading tasks, suggesting the specificity of the link between conscientiousness and handwriting in these regions. Moreover, using a connectome‐based predictive modeling approach, we found that individuals’ conscientiousness scores could be predicted based on handwriting‐related functional brain networks, suggesting that the influence of personality on handwriting may occur within a broader network. Our findings provide neural evidence for the link between personality and handwriting processing, extending our understanding of the nature of individual differences in handwriting.
Handwriting has a wealth of information about writers’ characteristics and can hint towards underlying neurological conditions. Many previous studies have reported a link between personality and individual differences in handwriting, but the evidence for the relationship tends to be anecdotal in nature. Using functional MRI, we examined whether the association between personality traits and handwriting was instantiated at the neural level.
The distinct meanings and shared phonology of pairs of homophones (e.g. night, knight) are useful tools for investigating lexical retrieval. However, there is inconsistency in previous research as to ...whether an advantage is found for homophones relative to non-homophones in spoken production. We investigated the effect of three potential confounding factors in the previous literature by asking participants to name and translate homophones and matched non-homophone control words: (i) speaker type (monolingual/bilingual participants); (ii) homophone spelling (heterographic/homographic) and (iii) task (picture naming/translation). Previous inconsistences were not due to speaker type or homophone spelling. We found a slight advantage for homophones; however, this was modulated by task. It remains unclear whether this effect differs with homophone spelling. In combination with previous research, we suggest that an Interactive activation model with competition between lexical nodes is the most plausible model of spoken word production.
University students reported two words, C1 and C2, and an intervening filler word in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). The deficit in reporting the second target C2 (repetition blindness, RB) ...was examined when C1 and C2 were phonologically or orthographically similar. When C1 and C2 were homophones, there was a deficit in the report of both C1 and C2 and confusion between C1 and C2, suggesting a working memory involvement in phonological RB. The deficit was restricted to C2 when C1 and C2 were orthographically similar (Experiments 2 and 3). In Experiment 4, C1 and C2 shared the first three or the last three letters. Participants chose from two 3-letter fragments the one that came from C2. There was a deficit for similar C2s which was exacerbated for beginning matches with beginning probes. We propose that interference by C1 in the orthography-to-phonology conversion for C2 causes orthographic RB.
This essay examines the Latinxua Sin Wenz movement, which was launched in China in 1933 by CCP-affiliated activists as a means of promoting topolect writing in a variety of Latin-based alphabets. ...Seeing the imposition of a national language across polyphonic societies as an integral part of the violence of capitalist developmentalism, the Sin Wenz movement opted instead to promote local linguistic empowerment in Latin-based alphabets. Seen in relation to China's various attempts at script reform in the early 20
th
century, the Sin Wenz movement is notable for its pluralist attitude towards the prospect of China's regional languages gaining discrete orthographies. After 1949, however, the PRC government abandoned topolect writing in favour of the promotion of a standardised Mandarin, which was one element of the regime's multinational approach to state-building. Sin Wenz sought to produce orthographic empowerment in the interests of linguistic diversity within Han communities, but post-1949 discussions of language reform emphasised linguistic standardisation for the entirety of the Han people. Sin Wenz is thus a spectral presence in the modern Chinese cultural landscape, a discourse that struck out at linguistic centralisation only to see a new discourse of Han linguistic unity assert itself forcefully in the early years of the new regime.
The present study is set to explore the way the orthographic distributional properties of novel written words and the number of exposures to these words affect their incidental learning in terms of ...recall and recognition. To that end, two experiments were conducted using videos with captions. These videos included written nonwords (orthographically marked language-specific items) and pseudowords (orthographically unmarked items) as captions paired to the spoken targets, presented either in isolation (Experiment 1) or within sentences (Experiment 2). Our results consistently show that items containing legal letter combinations (i.e., pseudowords) are better recalled and recognized than those with illegal combinations (i.e., nonwords). Further analysis in the recall task indicate that frequency modulates the learning of pseudowords and nonwords in a different way. The learning of pseudowords increases linearly with repetitions, while nonwords are equally learned across frequencies. These differential effects found in the recall task do not show up in the recognition task. Although participants took more time to recognize nonwords in the recognition task, increased exposure to the items similarly modulated reading times and accuracy for nonwords and pseudowords. Additionally, higher accuracy rates were found in Experiment 2, which underscores the beneficial effect of supportive visual information.
Most children across the world learn to read and write in non-alphabetic orthographies such as abjads (e.g., Arabic), abugidas (e.g., Ethiopic Ge’ez), and morphosyllabaries (e.g., Chinese). However, ...most theories of reading, reading development, and dyslexia derive from a relatively narrow empirical base of research in English—an outlier alphabetic orthography—and a handful of mainly Western European Roman alphabets. Consideration of the full spectrum of the world’s writing systems reveals multiple dimensions of writing system complexity, each of which could possibly create obstacles for the developing reader. Daniels and Share (Sci Stud Read 22:101–116, 2018) proposed a multi-dimensional framework for assessing a range of writing system characteristics likely to challenge literacy acquisition: linguistic distance, non-linearity, visual uniformity and complexity, historical orthographic inertia, spelling constancy despite morphophonemic alternation, omission of phonological elements, allography, dual purpose letters, ligaturing, and symbol inventory size. The present study examines the applicability of these ten dimensions to understanding reading and spelling acquisition in Malayalam, a non-European language written in a non-alphabetic script. Malayalam, a south Indian language spoken by some 35 million people, employs a writing system typical of the Brahmi-derived Indic scripts used by almost two billion people throughout South and Southeast Asia. We found that a majority (7/10) of the D&S dimensions are indeed useful for understanding the challenges of learning to read and write in Malayalam. Three dimensions are not applicable, and an additional dimension, word length, needs to be added to the framework. The popular uni-dimensional approach of characterizing orthographies as
shallow/transparent
or
deep/opaque
(mis)classifies Malayalam as a highly
transparent
or
shallow
script simply because the characters almost invariably have a one-to-one correspondence between symbol and sound. Clearly, however, there are many other dimensions of complexity, such as non-sequentiality, visual similarity, allography, ligaturing, and inventory size, that challenge the learner and prolong the task of learning to read and write. We conclude that the popular uni-dimensional characterization of writing system variation along a single continuum of spelling-to-sound consistency fails to do justice to the multi-dimensional complexity of many, perhaps most, of the world’s writing systems and the challenges they pose for literacy learners.
Second languages (L2s) are often learned through spoken and written input, and L2 orthographic forms (spellings) can lead to non-native-like pronunciation. The present study investigated whether ...orthography can lead experienced learners of EnglishL2 to make a phonological contrast in their speech production that does not exist in English. Double consonants represent geminate (long) consonants in Italian but not in English. In Experiment 1, native English speakers and EnglishL2 speakers (Italians) were asked to read aloud English words spelled with a single or double target consonant letter, and consonant duration was compared. The EnglishL2 speakers produced the same consonant as shorter when it was spelled with a single letter, and longer when spelled with a double letter. Spelling did not affect consonant duration in native English speakers. In Experiment 2, effects of orthographic input were investigated by comparing 2 groups of EnglishL2 speakers (Italians) performing a delayed word repetition task with or without orthographic input; the same orthographic effects were found in both groups. These results provide arguably the first evidence that L2 orthographic forms can lead experienced L2 speakers to make a contrast in their L2 production that does not exist in the language. The effect arises because L2 speakers are affected by the interaction between the L2 orthographic form (number of letters), and their native orthography-phonology mappings, whereby double consonant letters represent geminate consonants. These results have important implications for future studies investigating the effects of orthography on native phonology and for L2 phonological development models.
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