Cracking the Code: The Impact of Orthographic Transparency and Morphological-Syllabic Complexity on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia
Reading is an essential skill in modern societies, yet not all learners necessarily become proficient readers. Theoretical concepts (e.g., the orthographic depth hypothesis; the grain size theory) as well as empirical evidence suggest that certain orthographies are easier to learn than others. The p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02534/full |
| _version_ | 1818300706231156736 |
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| author | Elisabeth Borleffs Ben A. M. Maassen Heikki Lyytinen Heikki Lyytinen Frans Zwarts |
| author_facet | Elisabeth Borleffs Ben A. M. Maassen Heikki Lyytinen Heikki Lyytinen Frans Zwarts |
| author_sort | Elisabeth Borleffs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reading is an essential skill in modern societies, yet not all learners necessarily become proficient readers. Theoretical concepts (e.g., the orthographic depth hypothesis; the grain size theory) as well as empirical evidence suggest that certain orthographies are easier to learn than others. The present paper reviews the literature on orthographic transparency, morphological complexity, and syllabic complexity of alphabetic languages. These notions are elaborated to show that differences in reading acquisition reflect fundamental differences in the nature of the phonological recoding and reading strategies developing in response to the specific orthography to be learned. The present paper provides a narrative, cross-linguistic and integrated literature review, thereby contributing to the development of universal reading models and at the same time pointing out the important differences between orthographies at the more detailed level. Our review also yields suggestions to devise language-specific instruction and interventions for the development of the specific reading strategies required by the characteristics of the orthography being acquired. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:11:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb8600c2043a47d9939613baab1008da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:11:23Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb8600c2043a47d9939613baab1008da2022-12-21T23:58:32ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782019-01-01910.3389/fpsyg.2018.02534334571Cracking the Code: The Impact of Orthographic Transparency and Morphological-Syllabic Complexity on Reading and Developmental DyslexiaElisabeth Borleffs0Ben A. M. Maassen1Heikki Lyytinen2Heikki Lyytinen3Frans Zwarts4Center for Language and Cognition Groningen, School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, NetherlandsCenter for Language and Cognition Groningen, School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology, Agora Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, FinlandNiilo Mäki Institute, Jyväskylä, FinlandCenter for Language and Cognition Groningen, School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, NetherlandsReading is an essential skill in modern societies, yet not all learners necessarily become proficient readers. Theoretical concepts (e.g., the orthographic depth hypothesis; the grain size theory) as well as empirical evidence suggest that certain orthographies are easier to learn than others. The present paper reviews the literature on orthographic transparency, morphological complexity, and syllabic complexity of alphabetic languages. These notions are elaborated to show that differences in reading acquisition reflect fundamental differences in the nature of the phonological recoding and reading strategies developing in response to the specific orthography to be learned. The present paper provides a narrative, cross-linguistic and integrated literature review, thereby contributing to the development of universal reading models and at the same time pointing out the important differences between orthographies at the more detailed level. Our review also yields suggestions to devise language-specific instruction and interventions for the development of the specific reading strategies required by the characteristics of the orthography being acquired.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02534/fullorthographic transparencysyllabic complexitymorphological complexitydyslexiareading models |
| spellingShingle | Elisabeth Borleffs Ben A. M. Maassen Heikki Lyytinen Heikki Lyytinen Frans Zwarts Cracking the Code: The Impact of Orthographic Transparency and Morphological-Syllabic Complexity on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia Frontiers in Psychology orthographic transparency syllabic complexity morphological complexity dyslexia reading models |
| title | Cracking the Code: The Impact of Orthographic Transparency and Morphological-Syllabic Complexity on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia |
| title_full | Cracking the Code: The Impact of Orthographic Transparency and Morphological-Syllabic Complexity on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia |
| title_fullStr | Cracking the Code: The Impact of Orthographic Transparency and Morphological-Syllabic Complexity on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cracking the Code: The Impact of Orthographic Transparency and Morphological-Syllabic Complexity on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia |
| title_short | Cracking the Code: The Impact of Orthographic Transparency and Morphological-Syllabic Complexity on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia |
| title_sort | cracking the code the impact of orthographic transparency and morphological syllabic complexity on reading and developmental dyslexia |
| topic | orthographic transparency syllabic complexity morphological complexity dyslexia reading models |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02534/full |
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