scholarly journals Adult Bilinguals’ Orthographic Representations: Cognates vs. Non-Cognates in Complex English Word Spelling

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Maria Rigobon
Keyword(s):  
Reading Ability ◽  
English Word ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Orthographic Representations ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Interdisciplinary Framework ◽  
Word Spelling ◽  
Complex Words ◽  
Encoding Strategies

Spelling complex English words is more difficult than reading them, suggesting that spelling requires higher quality orthographic representations and a greater degree of word knowledge compared to reading. Without high-quality orthographic representations, spellers often rely on other information (e.g., phonological to orthographic encoding) to aid spelling. However, the quasi-regular nature of English orthography-to-phonology relations often render encoding strategies ineffective. This study examined whether alternative orthographic representations might facilitate the spelling of complex English words. Specifically, would English-Spanish bilingual university students benefit from orthographic similarities of English-Spanish cognates compared with non-cognates when spelling complex words? Cognates are words that share similar spellings and meanings across languages; given the Spanish orthography’s transparent nature, cognates might help inform English spelling. Bilingual students (n = 77) were asked to spell complex English words, half of which were Spanish cognates, with item-level spelling accuracy modeled using word-level (e.g., cognate status) and person-level (e.g., general reading ability) predictors. Results indicate that participants had a higher probability of spelling complex cognate words correctly compared to non-cognate words matched on other word features (e.g., frequency and word length). Findings from this study expand an interdisciplinary framework of understanding bilinguals’ lexical access and strength of orthographic representations across languages.

scholarly journals A Phonetic Complexity-Based Approach for Intelligibility and Articulatory Precision Testing: A Preliminary Study on Talkers With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 2205-2214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mili Kuruvilla-Dugdale ◽  
Claire Custer ◽  
Lindsey Heidrick ◽  
Richard Barohn ◽  
Raghav Govindarajan
Keyword(s):  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Speech Impairments ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Perceived Impact ◽  
Complex Words ◽  
Level Analysis ◽  
Precision Testing ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Purpose This study describes a phonetic complexity-based approach for speech intelligibility and articulatory precision testing using preliminary data from talkers with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Method Eight talkers with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 8 healthy controls produced a list of 16 low and high complexity words. Sixty-four listeners judged the samples for intelligibility, and 2 trained listeners completed phoneme-level analysis to determine articulatory precision. To estimate percent intelligibility, listeners orthographically transcribed each word, and the transcriptions were scored as being either accurate or inaccurate. Percent articulatory precision was calculated based on the experienced listeners' judgments of phoneme distortions, deletions, additions, and/or substitutions for each word. Articulation errors were weighted based on the perceived impact on intelligibility to determine word-level precision. Results Between-groups differences in word intelligibility and articulatory precision were significant at lower levels of phonetic complexity as dysarthria severity increased. Specifically, more severely impaired talkers showed significant reductions in word intelligibility and precision at both complexity levels, whereas those with milder speech impairments displayed intelligibility reductions only for more complex words. Articulatory precision was less sensitive to mild dysarthria compared to speech intelligibility for the proposed complexity-based approach. Conclusions Considering phonetic complexity for dysarthria tests could result in more sensitive assessments for detecting and monitoring dysarthria progression.

scholarly journals Miscue Analysis of Oral Reading Among Non-Proficient Malaysian ESL Learners

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-185
Author(s):  
Adeena Deepa Ramakrishna Pillai ◽  
Shamala Paramasivam
Keyword(s):  
Oral Reading ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Direct Method ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Miscue Analysis ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
Reading Material ◽  
Complex Words ◽  
Esl Learners

Reading is a vital skill. Research has shown that proficient learners usually have a greater comprehension of the reading material. This study focuses on non-proficient learners’ oral reading as a direct method of assessing their reading ability. Miscue analysis is used as a tool to gather information and measure strategies used in reading and comprehending a given material. The study investigates the types and frequencies of miscues made by learners when they orally read texts and assesses learners’ comprehension based on the oral reading through the use of multiple-choice questions. The number of miscues made and the scores for the multiple choice questions are patterned using Microsoft Excel program and are converted into percentages. This study found that when the number of miscues made by the learners reduced during the oral reading process, the scores on the comprehension section did not necessarily improve. The types of miscues made by learners were omission of words namely plural and past-tense endings of verbs, substitution of words such as the pronoun ‘she’ with ‘he’, and hesitation especially with complex words. The findings imply that learners have language problems in grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and the use of reading strategies.

Complexe Woorden In Het Mentale Lexicon Van Kinderen

2006 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 53-65
Author(s):  
Maria Mos
Keyword(s):  
Family Size ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Large Family ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Large Family Size ◽  
Small Family Size ◽  
Good Reading ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Complex Words

Do children's representations of complex words in their mental lexicon have an internal structure, with the stem as a separate unit? De Jong et al (2000) found that adults recognize words with a large Family Size, i.e. words occurring in many derivations and compounds, faster than equally frequent words with a small Family Size. This result is an indication that the occurrence of a stem in complex words facilitates the recognition of this stem. This article investigates whether the Family-Size-effect extends to children's reaction times as well. Using a lexical decision task, the effect was observed in 9-10 year old children (N=69) in Dutch. A large vocabulary and good reading ability shortened general reaction times, but had no influence on the difference between items with a small or large Family Size. Monolingual and bilingual children performed similarly on this task.

scholarly journals Assessing children’s incremental word knowledge in the upper primary grades

2020 ◽  
pp. 026553222096154
Author(s):  
Iris Monster ◽  
Agnes Tellings ◽  
William J. Burk ◽  
Jos Keuning ◽  
Eliane Segers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Significant Interaction ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Lexical Status ◽  
Decision Context ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Grade 5 ◽  
Task Differences ◽  
Incremental Process

Word knowledge acquisition is an incremental process that relies on exposure. As a result, word knowledge can broadly range from recognizing the word’s lexical status, to knowing its meaning in context, and to knowing its meaning independent of context. The present study aimed to model incremental word knowledge in 1454 upper primary school children from grades 3 to 5 by investigating their abilities on three word knowledge tasks originating from the same set of 300 words: lexical decision, context decision, and definitional decision. A mixed-effects model showed significant differences in performance between tasks and between grades, and a significant interaction indicating that task differences were different for children in grade 5 compared to children in grades 3 and 4. In order to examine further the different task relation patterns at the word level, a cluster analysis was performed using the observed item means, which were corrected for the guessing chance. The analysis showed that for most words, recognition of its lexical status was easier than knowing its meaning in context, which in turn was easier than knowing its meaning independent of context. It is concluded that task relation patterns differ based on mean log frequency as a proxy of word exposure.

Development of sensitivity to phonological context in learning to spell in English

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadya Dich
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Word ◽  
Context Sensitivity ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Russian Speakers ◽  
Word Spelling ◽  
L1 And L2

The study attempts to investigate factors underlying the development of spellers’ sensitivity to phonological context in English. Native English speakers and Russian speakers of English as a second language (ESL) were tested on their ability to use information about the coda to predict the spelling of vowels in English monosyllabic nonwords. In addition, the study assessed the participants’ spelling proficiency as their ability to correctly spell commonly misspelled words (Russian participants were assessed in both Russian and English). Both native and non-native English speakers were found to rely on the information about the coda when spelling vowels in nonwords. In both native and non-native speakers, context sensitivity was predicted by English word spelling; in Russian ESL speakers this relationship was mediated by English proficiency. L1 spelling proficiency did not facilitate L2 context sensitivity in Russian speakers. The results speak against a common factor underlying different aspects of spelling proficiency in L1 and L2 and in favor of the idea that spelling competence comprises different skills in different languages.

Das graphematische Wort (im Deutschen): Eine erste Annäherung

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanna Fuhrhop
Keyword(s):  
Final Section ◽  
Segment Sequence ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Concept Of Word ◽  
Complex Words

AbstractIn the field of phonology, the concept of ‘word’ has been well-defined in contemporary linguistics. In morphology and syntax, the different existing theories provide a basis for establishing a ‘word’ as well. In graphematics, too, establishing a concept for ‘word’ might appear simple: A graphematic word is the segment sequence between two spaces. But what does this segment-sequence look like? The essay addresses this question in three steps. It begins by discussing the graphematic syllable. It then explains the principle of writing complex words. In German, this may be the prototypical part of graphematic words. For the non-prototypical part, acronyms, abbreviations, punctuation (hyphen, apostrophe, word-level period) and numbers are discussed. The final section is devoted to the interaction between the different concepts of words (phonological, morphological, syntactic and graphematical), and shows that the graphematic word in German is especially determined by morphological and syntactic features.

Does strength of phonological representations predict phonological awareness in preschool children?

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUDITH G. FOY ◽  
VIRGINIA MANN
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Phoneme Awareness ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Letter Knowledge ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Rhyme Awareness

Previous research has shown a clear relationship between phonological awareness and early reading ability. This article concerns some aspects of spoken language skill that may contribute to the development of phonological awareness, as manifested in rhyme awareness and phoneme awareness. It addresses the hypothesis that phonological awareness abilities are associated with measures that purportedly tap into the strength of phonological representations. We examined rhyme awareness, phoneme awareness, articulatory skill, speech perception, vocabulary, and letter and word knowledge in 40 children, aged 4 to 6, who were just beginning to be exposed to formal reading experiences in private preschools. The children also received cognitive tests and tests of reading ability. The results did not validate strength of phonological representation as a unitary construct underlying phonological awareness more generally, but instead revealed a selective pattern of associations between spoken language tasks and aspects of phonological awareness. Speech perception was closely associated with rhyme awareness measures when age, vocabulary, and letter knowledge were controlled. Children with a less developed sense of rhyme had a less mature pattern of articulation, independent of age, vocabulary, and letter knowledge. Phoneme awareness was associated with phonological perception and production. Children with low phoneme awareness skills showed a different pattern of speech perception and articulation errors than children with strong abilities. However, these differences appeared to be largely a function of age, letter knowledge, and especially vocabulary knowledge.

scholarly journals Development of English Spelling Acquisition Stages of Saudi Intermediate School Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hussein Hamdan ◽  
Muteb Ahmad S. Al-Zahrani
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Spelling Error ◽  
Intermediate School ◽  
School Students ◽  
Spelling Acquisition ◽  
9Th Grade ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Spelling Ability ◽  
Word Spelling

Spelling words accurately is not an easy process. Instead, it is a complex developmental skill. Due to this fact, several studies have recently investigated learners’ spelling ability and how this skill develops in different stages. The main purpose of this study is to examine the developmental nature of Saudi intermediate school students' acquisition of spelling knowledge as measured by the Schlagal's Qualitative Spelling Inventory (designed to assess spelling error patterns). Further, it aims at determining whether Saudi intermediate school students' spelling performance improves as their grade level increases or decreases based on word-level complexity or difficulty. In fact, this study is significant since it reflects the progress of Saudi intermediate school students not only in spelling, but in other literacy areas such as reading, and listening. A strong parallel has been found between spelling, reading and listening. The sample of the study was 300 participants, all of whom were 7th and 9th male graders who study at intermediate public schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Spelling features and word spelling scoring scales were used to score the given data. The findings showed that the 7th-grade students were listed at the phonetic stage, while the 9th-grade students were listed at the patterns within words stage and syllable juncture stage. Besides, the findings revealed that students' spelling performances improved as their grade level increased. Moreover, students' spelling performances were decreased with the increase of word-level difficulty or complexity.

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