scholarly journals The universality of symbolic representation for reading in Asian and alphabetic languages

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELLEN BIALYSTOK ◽  
GIGI LUK
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Symbolic Representation ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Symbolic Function ◽  
Skilled Reading ◽  
Word Task ◽  
Asian Languages

Neuroimaging studies of reading have identified unique patterns of activation for individuals reading in alphabetic and Asian languages, suggesting the involvement of different processes in each. The present study investigates the extent to which a cognitive prerequisite for reading, the understanding of the symbolic function of print, is common to children learning to read in these two different systems. Four-year-old children in Hong Kong learning to read in Cantonese and children in Canada learning to read in English are compared for their understanding of this concept by means of the moving word task. Children in both settings performed the same on the task, indicating similar levels of progress in spite of experience with very different writing systems. In addition, the children in Hong Kong benefited from the structural similarity between certain iconic characters and their referents, making these items easier than arbitrary characters. These results point to an important cognitive universal in the development of literacy for all children that is the foundation for skilled reading that later becomes diverse and specialized.

Searching Legal Information in Multiple Asian Languages

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Chung ◽  
Andrew Mowbray ◽  
Graham Greenleaf
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Legal Information ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Search Facility ◽  
Asian Languages

AbstractIn this article Philip Chung, Andrew Mowbray, and Graham Greenleaf, the Co-Directors of the Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII), explain the need for an open source search engine which can search simultaneously over legal materials in European languages and also in Asian languages, particularly those that require a ‘double byte’ representation, and the difficulties this task presents. A solution is proposed; the ‘u16a’ modifications to AustLII's open source search engine (Sino) which is used by many legal information institutes. Two implementations of the Sino u16A approach, on the Hong Kong Legal Information Institute (HKLII), for English and Chinese, and on the Asian Legal Information Institute (AsianLII), for multiple Asian languages, are described. The implementations have been successful, though many challenges (discussed briefly) remain before this approach will provide a full multi-lingual search facility.

scholarly journals Distinct Neural Specializations for Learning to Read Words and Name Objects

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2128-2154 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. H. Taylor ◽  
Kathleen Rastle ◽  
Matthew H. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Educational Practice ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Early Reading Development ◽  
Skilled Reading ◽  
Correct Reading ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Written Word ◽  
Letter Sound ◽  
Parietal Cortices

Understanding the neural systems that underpin reading acquisition is key if neuroscientific findings are to inform educational practice. We provide a unique window into these systems by teaching 19 adults to read 24 novel words written in unfamiliar letters and to name 24 novel objects while in an MRI scanner. Behavioral performance on trained items was equivalent for the two stimulus types. However, componential letter-sound associations were extracted when learning to read, as shown by correct reading of untrained words, whereas object–name associations were holistic and arbitrary. Activity in bilateral anterior fusiform gyri was greater during object name learning than learning to read, and ROI analyses indicated that left mid-fusiform activity was predictive of success in object name learning but not in learning to read. In contrast, activity in bilateral parietal cortices was predictive of success for both stimulus types but was greater during learning and recall of written word pronunciations relative to object names. We argue that mid-to-anterior fusiform gyri preferentially process whole items and contribute to learning their spoken form associations, processes that are required for skilled reading. In contrast, parietal cortices preferentially process componential visual–verbal mappings, a process that is crucial for early reading development.

Learning to Read and Spell Words in Different Writing Systems

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Pollatsek ◽  
Rebecca Treiman ◽  
Markéta Caravolas ◽  
Anna Samara
Keyword(s):  
Writing Systems ◽  
Learning To Read

How do writing systems shape reading and reading acquisition?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Rastle
Keyword(s):  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Reading Acquisition ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Writing System ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Skilled Reading ◽  
Statistical Regularities ◽  
Reading System ◽  
The Relationship

Writing is a relatively recent cultural invention, and reading is a skill that requires years of instruction, dedication, and practice. My talk will consider how the nature of a writing system influences reading acquisition and skilled reading. I consider the nature of statistical regularities that characterize English orthography and show across several experiments that knowledge encoded in the skilled reading system mirrors these regularities. This analysis reveals that weaknesses in the relationship between spelling and sound give rise to powerful regularities between spelling and meaning that are critical for text comprehension. I conclude by thinking about how written language differs from spoken language and argue that these differences may be at the heart of human capacity for rapid, skilled reading.

Children's understanding of the formal and functional characteristics of written Chinese

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily Chan ◽  
Terezinha Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Chinese Script ◽  
Functional Constraints ◽  
Fixed Position ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
Positional Rule ◽  
Semantic Radical

AbstractChinese script is often viewed as an exception to the processes of language learning in that it is presumed to be learned by rote. However, recent psycholinguistic investigations describing the formal and functional constraints of Chinese script have offered a new direction for a cognitive analysis of its acquisition. We investigated children's understanding of the formal and functional aspects of written Chinese in a task of judgment of orthographic acceptability and a creative spelling task. The formal constraint we examined was the fixed position of stroke patterns and their function as either a semantic radical (giving a clue to meaning) or a phonological component (giving a clue to pronunciation). The children (aged 4 to 9) attended either kindergarten or primary school in Hong Kong. Our results indicated that 6-year-olds could already use the positional rule to reject nonwords (which violate the formal constraint of position) as unacceptable, whereas pseudowords (which do not violate this constraint) were judged as acceptable. Significant effects of age and orthographic acceptability were observed. The task of creative writing replicated this trend and showed that, from age 6, the children were able to use semantic radicals to represent meaning. However, a more systematic use of phonological components as a clue to pronunciation was observed only among 9-year-olds. We conclude that learning to read and write in Chinese is not simply accomplished by the rote memorization of individual characters: rather, as children progress in learning, they develop an understanding of the underlying rules of written Chinese.

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