Print exposure as a predictor of word reading and reading comprehension in disabled and nondisabled readers.

The relation of print exposure, measured by a revised version of A. E. Cunningham and K. E. Stanovich's (1990) Title Recognition Test (TRT), to word reading and reading comprehension was examined in disabled and nondisabled readers, Grades 5–9. In disabled readers, the TRT was a significant predictor of word reading when phonological skill was accounted for but not when orthographic ability was added to the regression equation, suggesting that the TRT overlaps considerably with orthographic skill. The TRT significantly predicted nondisabled readers' word reading after both phonological and orthographic skills were accounted for. The TRT contributed significantly to reading comprehension once variance was partialed from higher order reading processes for disabled readers only. The TRT's power to predict comprehension may be ascribed to the effects of print exposure on automaticity of word recognition, knowledge, or familiarization with text structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading skills in hyperlexia: A developmental perspective.

Hyperlexia is characterized by advanced word-recognition skills in individuals who otherwise have pronounced cognitive, social, and linguistic handicaps. Language, word recognition, and reading-comprehension skills are reviewed to clarify the nature and core deficits associated with the disorder. It is concluded that hyperlexia should be viewed as part of the normal variation in reading skills, which are themselves associated with individual differences in phonological, orthographic, and semantic processing, short-term memory, and print exposure. A compulsive preoccupation with reading may also be crucial to the development of a hyperlexic reading profile. A theoretical framework, based on recent connectionist models of reading development, is described. This perspective provides a satisfactory account for how individual differences in a number of different skills can lead to a variety of manifestations of reading behavior, including hyperlexia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental models of learning to read Chinese words.

What is the nature of learning to read Chinese across grade levels? This study tested 199 kindergartners, 172 second graders, and 165 fifth graders on 12 different tasks purportedly tapping constructs representing phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic processing, and subcharacter processing. Confirmatory factor analyses comparing alternative models of these 4 constituents of Chinese word reading revealed different patterns of metalinguistic underpinnings of children's word recognition across grade levels: The best-fitting model for kindergartners represented a print–nonprint dichotomy of constructs. In contrast, 2nd graders showed a fine-grained sensitivity to all 4 hypothesized constructs. Finally, the best-fitting model for 5th graders consisted of a phonological sensitivity construct and a broad lexical morphological–orthographic processing construct. Findings suggest that Hong Kong Chinese children progress from a basic understanding of print versus nonprint to a diversified sensitivity to varied word-reading skills, to a focus on meaning-based word recognition, to the relative exclusion of phonological sensitivity in more advanced readers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a strong phonological theory of visual word recognition: true issues and false trails

A strong phonological theory of reading is proposed and discussed. The first claim of this article is that current debates on word recognition are often based on different axioms regarding the cognitive structures of the mental lexicon rather than conflicting empirical evidence. These axioms lead to different interpretations of the same data. It is argued that once the implicit axioms of competing theories in visual word recognition are explicated, a strong phonological model presents a viable and coherent approach. The assumptions underlying a strong phonological theory of reading are outlined, and 4 theoretical questions are examined: Is phonological recoding a mandatory phase of print processing? Is phonology necessary for lexical access? Is phonology necessary for accessing meaning? How can phonology be derived from orthographic structure? These issues are integrated into a general theory that is constrained by all of the findings.     

Examining the Interactivity of Lexical Orthographic and Phonological Processing.

The number and type of connections involving different levels of orthographic and phonological representations differentiate between several models of spoken and visual word recognition. At the sublexical level of processing, Borowsky, Owen, and Fonos (1999) demonstrated evidence for direct processing connections from grapheme representations to phoneme representations (i.e., a sensitivity effect) over and above any bias effects, but not in the reverse direction. Neural network models of visual word recognition implement an orthography to phonology processing route that involves the same connections for processing sublexical and lexical information, and thus a similar pattern of cross-modal effects for lexical stimuli are expected by models that implement this single type of connection (i.e., orthographic lexical processing should directly affect phonological lexical processing, but not in the reverse direction). Furthermore, several models of spoken word perception predict that there should be no direct connections between orthographic representations and phonological representations, regardless of whether the connections are sublexical or lexical... (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phonological and orthographic processing of Hebrew words: electrophysiological aspects

Brain activity among 15 male, college-level, normal readers in Israel was examined during phonological and orthographic word-recognition tasks. Both electrophysiological (event-related potentials, or ERPs) and behavioral measures were obtained. Data indicated that (a) behavioral accuracy was almost perfect for all the experimental tasks, and (b) although P200 and N400 ERP components were elicited in the experimental tasks, the latencies of those components were significantly longer and their amplitudes significantly higher in the phonological task. Variations in vowel information had no effect on word recognition in either type of task. The results suggest that among skilled readers of Hebrew, phonological processing during word recognition may be more effortful and may demand greater cognitive resources than orthographic processing. Furthermore, the additional phonological information represented in vowels appears to contribute little to word recognition in this population. These findings support earlier research on skilled reading in Hebrew as well as current theoretical models of reading.     

Multiple lexical codes in reading: Evidence from eye movements, naming time, and oral reading.

The role of semantic, orthographic, and phonological codes in word recognition and text integration in reading was investigated in 4 experiments. Participants read sentences containing words that had multiple semantic codes (e.g., calf), multiple semantic and orthographic codes (e.g., brake-break), or multiple semantic and phonological codes (e.g., tear). Converging evidence from fixation time, naming time, and oral reading indicated that phonological, semantic, and orthographic information about words are sources of early constraint in word processing. Evidence was also found that indicated that phonological codes play an important role in text integration in reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of young children's phonological and orthographic knowledge as revealed by their spellings.

Investigated the development of young children's phonological and orthographic knowledge by obtaining nonword spellings from a total of 187 children (45 each from kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade, and 52 from 3rd grade). Results indicated that young children's nonword spellings reflect the joint influences of linguistic knowledge (orthographic and phonological) and psychological processes (working memory limitations) and that these influences vary developmentally. Limited working memory constrains the spelling performance of younger children but not that of older children. For younger children, individual differences in phonological awareness and in working memory account for nearly all of the shared variance between spelling and word decoding; for older children, additional factors are also implicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phonological and associative inhibition in the early stages of English word identification: Evidence from backward masking.

The role of phonological information in English word identification and the activation pattern of phonological and associative dimensions were investigated with a backward-masking paradigm. Mask type (graphemic, homophonic, associative, unrelated word control, and nonletter #-baseline) and target exposure duration were manipulated. Graphemic and homophonic but not associative masks influenced target recognition at 28 ms, and homophonic masks inhibited recognition relative to graphemic masks. At 42 ms, homophonic masks facilitated recognition, and associates inhibited, rather than enhanced, recognition relative to word controls. These results suggest that phonological computation occurs before associative computation and that phonological inhibition arises from lexical competition. The phonological and associative inhibitory effects are interpreted in terms of the center-surround perceptual principle. In this interpretation, backward-masking conditions cause observers to seek orthographic rather than phonological codes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neighborhood effects in reading aloud: New findings and new challenges for computational models.

A word from a dense neighborhood is often read aloud faster than a word from a sparse neighborhood. This advantage is usually attributed to orthography, but orthographic and phonological neighbors are typically confounded. Two experiments investigated the effect of neighborhood density on reading aloud when phonological density was varied while orthographic density was held constant, and vice versa. A phonological neighborhood effect was observed, but not an orthographic one. These results are inconsistent with the predominant role ascribed to orthographic neighbors in accounts of visual word recognition and reading aloud. Consistent with this interpretation, 6 different computational models of reading aloud failed to simulate this pattern of results. The results of the present experiments thus provide a new understanding of some of the processes underlying reading aloud, and new challenges for computational models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of word decoding and reading fluency across languages varying in orthographic consistency.

Very few studies have directly compared reading acquisition across different orthographies. The authors examined the concurrent and longitudinal predictors of word decoding and reading fluency in children learning to read in an orthographically inconsistent language (English) and in an orthographically consistent language (Greek). One hundred ten English-speaking children and 70 Greek-speaking children attending Grade 1 were examined in measures of phonological awareness, phonological memory, rapid naming speed, orthographic processing, word decoding, and reading fluency. The same children were reassessed on word decoding and reading fluency measures when they were in Grade 2. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that both phonological and orthographic processing contributed uniquely to reading ability in Grades 1 and 2. However, the importance of these predictors was different in the two languages, particularly with respect to their effect on word decoding. The authors argue that the orthography that children are learning to read is an important factor that needs to be taken into account when models of reading development are being generalized across languages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Word recognition in developmental dyslexia: a connectionist interpretation

We present a study of the accuracy, consistency, and speed of word naming in a dyslexic boy, JM, who has severe impairments in the ability to use sub-lexical, phonological reading strategies. For words that he can recognise, JM's naming latencies do not differ from those of control subjects matched for reading age, and he is generally consistent from one occasion to the next. He can also match printed homophones with their definitions--a skill that requires access to well-specified orthographic representations. The data are interpreted as evidence for the creation of efficient recognition devices for words within JM's sight vocabulary. However, he shows a continuing inability to use phonological decoding strategies to deal with words that he cannot recognize by sight. Overall we argue our results pose problems for stage models of reading development, and that they may best be interpreted within a connectionist framework of the development of word recognition skills.     

Development of young readers' phonological processing abilities.

In a cross-sectional study of 184 kindergarten and 2nd grade students, confirmatory factor analysis of a battery of phonological and control tasks were used to compare alternative models of young readers' phonological processing abilities. The authors found evidence for 5 distinct but correlated phonological processing abilities. Latent phonological processing abilities were more highly correlated with general cognitive ability than previous reports would suggest, although they accounted for variance in word recognition independent of general cognitive ability. The results of this study, coupled with those of a previous study of prereaders, suggest that phonological abilities are best conceptualized as relatively stable and coherent individual difference attributes, as opposed to relatively unstable measures of reading-related knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Korean-English biliteracy acquisition: Cross-language phonological and orthographic transfer.

Cross-language phonological and orthographic relationship in the biliteracy acquisition of children learning to read Korean and English was investigated in this study. Forty-five Korean-English bilingual children were tested in first-language (L1; Korean) and 2nd-language (L2; English) reading skills focusing on 2 reading processes--phonological and orthographic processing. The authors found that phonological skills in L1 and L2 were strongly correlated, and Korean phonological skills explained a unique amount of variance in English pseudoword reading beyond English phonological and orthographic skills. However, there was limited orthographic skill transfer between the 2 systems. Results are discussed within the framework of universal phonological processes in learning to read. The authors conclude that bilingual reading acquisition may be a joint function of general phonological processes and orthographic-specific skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Basic processes in reading: Can functional phonological recoding be blocked?

A widely held view is that phonological processing is always involved in lexical access from print, and is automatic in that it cannot be prevented. This claim was assessed in the context of a priming paradigm. In Experiment 1, repetition priming was observed for both pseudohomophone-word pairs (e.g., brane-brain) and morphologically related word pairs (e.g., marked-mark) in the context of lexical decision. In Experiment 2, subjects searched the prime for the presence of a target letter and then made a lexical decision to a subsequent letter string. Phonological priming from a pseudohomophone was eliminated following letter search of the prime, whereas morphological priming persisted. These results are inconsistent with the claim that a) lexical access from print requires preliminary phonological processing, and b) functional phonological processing cannot be blocked. They are, however, consistent with the conclusion that, for intact skilled readers, lexical access can be accomplished on the basis of orthographic processing alone. These results join a growing body of evidence supporting the claim that there exist numerous points in visual word recognition at which processing can be stopped. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changing relations between phonological processing abilities and word-level reading as children develop from beginning to skilled readers: A 5-year longitudinal study.

Relations between phonological processing abilities and word-level reading skills were examined in a longitudinal correlational study of 216 children. Phonological processing abilities, word-level reading skills, and vocabulary were assessed annually from kindergarten through 4th grade, as the children developed from beginning to skilled readers. Individual differences in phonological awareness were related to subsequent individual differences in word-level reading for every time period examined. Individual differences in serial naming and vocabulary were related to subsequent individual differences in word-level reading initially, but these relations faded with development. Individual differences in letter-name knowledge were related to subsequent individual differences in phonological awareness and serial naming, but there were no relations between individual differences in word level reading and any subsequent phonological processing ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orthographic analogies and early reading: Evidence from a multiple clue word paradigm.

Two experiments using a variation of the clue word analogy task (Goswami, 1986) explored whether children can make orthographic analogies when given multiple clue words, beyond the known effects of purely phonological activation. In Experiment 1, 42 children (mean age 6 years and 8 months) were first taught 3 “clue” words (e.g., fail, mail, jail) and then shown target words sharing orthographic and phonological rimes (e.g., hail), phonological rimes (e.g., veil), orthographic and phonological vowel digraphs (e.g., wait), phonological vowel digraphs (e.g., vein), or unrelated controls (e.g., bard). All word types were advantaged at posttest over unrelated controls. A small additional advantage for orthographic and phonological rimes over phonological rimes was evident in by-participant analysis. Finally, regression analysis showed a specific relationship between onset-rime phonological awareness and orthographic rime clue word task transfer. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 with 30 children (M age = 7 years, 0 months) and added a distinct group of children taught multiple clue words sharing vowel digraphs (e.g., gait, maim, maid). Results showed advantages for all words over unrelated controls and a small additional advantage for orthographic and phonological vowel digraphs over phonological vowel digraphs in the by-participant analysis. Overall, results suggest that some young children do have the ability to make orthographic analogies when given multiple exemplars but that most improvement in target word reading reflects purely phonological activation. Practical steps for identifying genuine analogy use in a subset of children are thus described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Syllables and bigrams: Orthographic redundancy and syllabic units affect visual word recognition at different processing levels.

Over the last decade, there has been increasing evidence for syllabic processing during visual word recognition. If syllabic effects prove to be independent from orthographic redundancy, this would seriously challenge the ability of current computational models to account for the processing of polysyllabic words. Three experiments are presented to disentangle effects of the frequency of syllabic units and orthographic segments in lexical decision. In Experiment 1 the authors obtained an inhibitory syllable frequency effect that was unaffected by the presence or absence of a bigram trough at the syllable boundary. In Experiments 2 and 3 an inhibitory effect of initial syllable frequency but a facilitative effect of initial bigram frequency emerged when manipulating 1 of the 2 measures and controlling for the other in Spanish words starting with consonant-vowel syllables. The authors conclude that effects of syllable frequency and letter-cluster frequency are independent and arise at different processing levels of visual word recognition. Results are discussed within the framework of an interactive activation model of visual word recognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of orthographic and phonological codes in the word and the pseudoword superiority effect: An analysis by means of multinomial processing tree models.

Central to the current accounts of the word and the pseudoword superiority effect (WSE and PWSE, respectively) is the concept of a unitized code that is less susceptible to masking than single-letter codes. Current explanations of the WSE and PWSE assume that this unitized code is orthographic, explaining these phenomena by the assumption of dual read-out from unitized and single-letter codes. In this article, orthographic dual read-out models are compared with a phonological dual read-out model (which is based on the assumption that the 1st unitized code is phonological). From this phonological code, an orthographic code is derived, through either lexical access or assembly. Comparison of the orthographic and phonological dual read-out models was performed by formulating both models as multinomial processing tree models. From an application of these models to the data of 2 letter identification experiments, it was clear that the orthographic dual read-out models are insufficient as an explanation of the PWSE, whereas the phonological dual read-out model is sufficient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)