Effects of Orthographic Consistency on Bilingual Reading: Human and Computer Simulation Data

English serves as today’s lingua franca, a role not eased by the inconsistency of its orthography. Indeed, monolingual readers of more consistent orthographies such as Italian or German learn to read more quickly than monolingual English readers. Here, we assessed whether long-lasting bilingualism would mitigate orthography-specific differences in reading speed and whether the order in which orthographies with a different regularity are learned matters. We studied high-proficiency Italian-English and English-Italian bilinguals, with at least 20 years of intensive daily exposure to the second language and its orthography and we simulated sequential learning of the two orthographies with the CDP++ connectionist model of reading. We found that group differences in reading speed were comparatively bigger with Italian stimuli than with English stimuli. Furthermore, only Italian bilinguals took advantage of a blocked presentation of Italian stimuli compared to when stimuli from both languages were presented in mixed order, suggesting a greater ability to keep language-specific orthographic representations segregated. These findings demonstrate orthographic constraints on bilingual reading, whereby the level of consistency of the first learned orthography affects later learning and performance on a second orthography. The computer simulations were consistent with these conclusions.

Cross-linguistic transfer in bilingual reading is item specific

The grain size of orthographic representations prompted by a consistent orthography (like Spanish or Basque) increases if reading is simultaneously learned in another language with an inconsistent orthography (like French). Here, we aimed to identify item properties that trigger this grain-size accommodation in bilingual reading. Twenty-five French–Basque and 25 Spanish–Basque bilingual children attending Grade 3 read Basque words and pseudowords containing “complex” letter clusters mapping to one sound in French but several sounds in Basque or Spanish, and “simple” letter clusters mapping to the same sound structure in all three languages. Only French speaking children read “complex” Basque words faster than “simple” ones, suggesting that they accessed multi-letter “French” units to boost lexical processing. A negative complexity effect was found for pseudowords across groups. We discuss the existence of flexible cross-linguistic transfer in bilingual reading, proposing that the grain size of orthographic representations adjusts to item-specific characteristics during reading.

Language attitudes and identity building in the linguistic landscape of Montreal

Few studies to date have considered the agency of readers in reinterpreting the cultural, historical, political, and social background of the linguistic landscape (LL; visible language in public space) and the ways in which individual and collective identities are discursively conceptualised through the LL. In this article, we present results from a study involving participants from three self-described sociolinguistic identities (Francophone, Anglophone, and Bilingual), reading signs found in the LL of Montreal. Using photographic prompts, we questioned participants about the probable location of signs, their languages, and the languages’ placement on monolingual (French or English) and bilingual (French–English) signs emanating from both governmental and private entities. Further discussions about their emotive responses to the signs presented and the possible responses of “others” reveal the relative degrees of importance attached to these linguistic elements in constructing, negotiating, and communicating various and (more) fluid sociolinguistic identities.