Written Language & Literacy - Volume 22, Issue 1, 2019

Abstract

This study examines the interplay between phonological awareness and orthography in Konso, a Cushitic language in Southwest Ethiopia. Thirty-two adults reading the Konso abugida but with minimal exposure to alphabetic literacy completed an orally administered phoneme deletion task. The responses were then examined using the minimal edit distance hypothesis (Wali, Sproat, Padakannaya & Bhuvaneshwari, 2009) as a framework for the analysis. The results suggest that the difficulty of a deletion was related to the way the phoneme was represented in the Konso abugida. Content-based error analysis of the incorrect responses gave indications of how Konso abugida readers’ processing of sounds is linked to Konso abugida sound-symbol relationships.

The Konso language community is undergoing a change in their writing system from abugida to alphabetic writing. As abugida symbols primarily denote consonant-vowel sequences, the change requires learning new sound-symbol mappings. By examining Konso abugida readers’ phonemic awareness the study contributes to developing transfer literacy teaching methods from abugida to alphabetic writing in Konso and elsewhere.

Abstract

Orthographic depth, the degree of spelling-to-sound consistency in a language, has been hypothesized to affect the ease with which children learn to read words. However, the relationship between orthographic depth and reading comprehension is less well understood. In this study, focusing on countries in which two international assessments (PISA and PIRLS) were given in two or more languages, we examine data from elementary and high-school readers of Finnish, Swedish, Italian, German, Dutch, French and English). Findings suggest that that there may be some trade-offs between shallow and deep orthographies in terms of the specific ways that they map onto the phonological and deep meaning representations required for cognitive processing during an activity such as comprehension. These trade-offs serve to differentially support or inhibit readers depending on where they are situated on the achievement continuum.

Abstract

Proficient writing in English is a challenge for the linguistically diverse community college population. Writing research at the community college level is warranted in order to guide instruction and assist students in achieving higher levels of proficient writing. The current study examined the writing of three community college groups: native English Language students (L1, n = 146), English as a Second Language students primarily educated abroad (L2, n = 31), and English as a Second Language students who graduated from high school and lived in the United States for more than four years (Generation 1.5, n = 72). The writing samples were analyzed using Coh-Metrix to examine group differences in lexical, syntactic, and cohesion characteristics. Results indicated significant differences in syntactic and lexical measures among all groups, with small to large effect sizes. The majority of differences related to proficient writing characteristics were found between L1 and Generation 1.5 groups.

Abstract

Mistakes involving medicine brand names may lead to serious medication errors and even patients’ death. We tested the effect of medicine brand names shape – native vs. non-native spelling – in two groups of Portuguese speaking subjects: (i) pharmacy clients (older and less educated); (ii) graduate students (younger and more educated). We run a recognition task and an immediate recall task, testing three groups of names with: (1) non-native graphemes, (2) non-native grapho-/phonotactics, (3) native patterns. Results showed that names with non-native properties, especially non-native graphemes, were recalled significantly worse. Non-native patterns had a null effect in the recognition task, possibly due to a facilitating effect of the odd, non-native feature, compensating for the extra demand imposed by non-native patterns on processing. Less educated, older participants consistently performed significantly worse than more educated, younger subjects across experiments. The results suggest the pertinence of adapting medicine names to the language of target users.

Abstract

Interclausal subordination, serving various functions in written discourse, has been studied mostly from a quantitative perspective in later language development. The current study applied a discourse-functional approach to a quantitative and qualitative examination of subordinate Adverbial Clauses (ACs) in Hebrew writing development.

Analysis targeted narrative and expository texts, written by Hebrew speaker-writers in grades 4, 7, 11, and university students. Adverbial clauses were counted, and classified according to function. In narratives, they delineated either plotline events, surrounding descriptions, or subjective interpretations. Expository ACs served to enlarge on the current argument, anchor new arguments in previous discourse, or move on, initiating a new topic.

Narrative ACs had similar prevalence across development, but shifted functionally, favoring interpretive roles in older writers. Expository ACs retained their enlarging-on and anchoring functions, while decreasing in quantity, parallel to an increase in alternative, clause-internal devices. The study underscores the usefulness of a functionally-oriented perspective in revealing developmental changes in the syntax-discourse interface.

This article reviews Observing Writing. Insights from Keystroke Logging and Handwriting