The impact of orthographic connectivity on visual word recognition in Arabic: A cross-sectional study

This study aimed at assessing the effects of letters’ connectivity in Arabic on visual word recognition. For this purpose, reaction times (RTs) and accuracy scores were collected from ninety-third, sixth and ninth grade native Arabic speakers during a lexical decision task, using fully connected (Cw), partially connected (PCw) and nonconnected (NCw) Arabic words and pseudowords. Effects of grade on word recognition (in RTs and accuracy) and word superiority were predicted to occur. Also, in the third grade, recognition of NCw was predicted to be faster and more accurate than recognition of Cw, because in previous studies NCw were assumed to be visually less complex. In sixth and ninth grades, due to the frequent exposure to connected forms, the recognition of Cw was predicted to be as fast as or faster and more accurate than NCw. The findings largely supported the first and the second hypotheses. As for the third graders, a mixed pattern was obtained, suggesting that the participants were probably in a transitional phase. The results from sixth graders clearly showed that NCw yielded the slowest response times and the lowest accuracy scores across connectivity conditions. Finally, for ninth graders, the absence of connectivity effects on the speed of processing was attributed to the use of very frequent and highly automatized words.     

Morphological processing during visual word recognition in Hebrew as a first and a second language

The present study examined whether sublexical morphological processing takes place during visual word-recognition in Hebrew, and whether morphological decomposition of written words depends on lexical activation of the complete word. Furthermore, it examined whether morphological processing is similar when reading Hebrew as a first language (L1) or as a second language (L2), and whether L1’s morphological background, Semitic or Indo-European, modulates morphological processing in L2 Hebrew (a Semitic language), among proficient readers. To reveal the sublexical processing of the Hebrew morphemes, the Root (R) and the Pattern (P), a lexical-decision task was conducted, in which all critical stimuli were non-word letter-strings manipulated to include or exclude real Hebrew morphemes. Different combinations of real (+) and pseudo (?) morphemes yielded four types of non-words (+R+P; +R?P; ?R+P, ?R?P). Three groups of proficient Hebrew readers were tested: L1 Hebrew, L1 English-L2 Hebrew, and L1 Arabic-L2 Hebrew. Results demonstrated significant differences in latency and accuracy of responses to the four morphological conditions, indicating that sublexical morphological processing occurs during visual word-recognition of morphologically structured letter-strings in Hebrew. Importantly, the activation of real Hebrew morphemes occurred in non-word stimuli, indicating that morphological processing in Hebrew is separable from lexical activation. Moreover, the same pattern of results was observed in all three L1 groups, indicating that proficient L2 readers exhibit morphological processing strategies that are tuned to the L2 morphology, regardless of their L1 background.     

Adult word recognition and visual sequential memory

Two experiments were conducted investigating the role of visual sequential memory skill in the word recognition efficiency of undergraduate university students. Word recognition was assessed in a lexical decision task using regularly and strangely spelt words, and nonwords that were either standard orthographically legal strings or items made from words with internal transposed letters. Symbol memory was evaluated in a recognition procedure in which sequences of three to five unfamiliar complex symbols were presented, each followed by a subsequent array containing the symbols either in the same order or with an order transposition. In Experiment 1, there was no independent contribution of symbol memory to either word or nonword processing independently of the ability to discriminate the symbols from one another. In Experiment 2, although symbol memory made a significant contribution to word recognition independently of symbol discrimination and letter identification for two conditions??long strangely spelt words and short transposed-letter items, the effects were extremely small. It was concluded that non-verbal visual sequential memory skill does not play a central role in underpinning efficiency of word recognition in experienced adult readers.     

The influence of semantic neighbours on visual word recognition

Although it is assumed that semantics is a critical component of visual word recognition, there is still much that we do not understand. One recent way of studying semantic processing has been in terms of semantic neighbourhood (SN) density, and this research has shown that semantic neighbours facilitate lexical decisions. However, it is not clear if this facilitation reflects actual word recognition processes or is instead due to participant strategies used during the lexical decision task. To address this, the current research used college students as participants and tested the effect of SN density using the semantic categorisation and progressive demasking tasks. Both of these tasks require word identification and are not susceptible to the participant strategies that are seen when using the lexical decision task. The results show that SN facilitates responding in both tasks, indicating that SN effects are not due to task‐specific strategies.     

Developmental changes in the allocation of semantic feedback during visual word recognition

The present study used a mediated priming paradigm to examine whether developmental differences exist in the integration of semantic information with orthographic and phonological information during visual word recognition. In Experiment 1, we found that the integration of semantics with phonology and orthography differed among third‐grade, sixth‐grade and college students: orthographically based mediated inhibition effects were found in third‐grade children, whereas phonologically based mediated inhibition effects were found in sixth‐grade children and college students. A second experiment was performed with adults to test the hypothesis that the orthographically based mediated inhibition effect observed with young children was due to deficits in orthographic processing. When stimulus quality was manipulated within the mediated priming paradigm, orthographically based mediated inhibition effects were found when targets were dim, whereas phonologically based mediated inhibition effects were found when targets were bright. Taken together, these results suggest that the allocation of activation during reading may depend on the processing demands of the word recognition system.     

Towards a sight word list in Arabic

While the English language boasts a century of research into its most frequently-used words, no such attempt has ever formally been made in the Arab world. This pioneering study presents a list of 500 commonly-used words in the Arabic language based on compilations of words gathered from a number of popular reading series in Lebanon, spanning grades K to 3. This list can serve as a powerful tool for language teachers—who face several challenges posed by the inherent nature of Arabic in terms of diglossia, orthography and morphology—and provide them with a handy list of words for their pupils. The study has its limitations in terms of scope, breadth and the nature of the technology used for counting words. Nonetheless, it makes a number of recommendations for the future, including the development of a readability formula based on this list, the expansion of the scope of this word list and improvement to increase its technical accuracy.     

Morphological awareness and early and advanced word recognition and spelling in Dutch

This study investigated the relations of three aspects of morphological awareness to word recognition and spelling skills of Dutch speaking children. Tasks of inflectional and derivational morphology and lexical compounding, as well as measures of phonological awareness, vocabulary and mathematics were administered to 104 first graders (mean age 6 years, 11 months) and 112 sixth graders (mean age 12 years, 1 month). For the first grade children, awareness of noun morphology uniquely contributed to word reading, and none of the morphological tasks were uniquely associated with spelling. In grade 6, derivational morphology contributed both to reading and spelling achievement, whereas awareness of verb inflection uniquely explained spelling only. Lexical compounding did not uniquely contribute to literacy skills in either grade. These findings suggest that awareness of both inflectional and derivational morphology may be independently useful for learning to read and spell Dutch.     

The word shape hypothesis re‐examined: evidence for an external feature advantage in visual word recognition

This study investigates the relative roles of internal and external letter features in word recognition. In Experiment 1 the efficacy of outer word fragments (words with all their horizontal internal features removed) was compared with inner word fragments (words with their outer features removed) as primes in a forward masking paradigm. These forward masked primes were followed by a word to be read aloud. Outer word primes presented for longer durations produced significantly faster naming responses than inner primes. Outer parts of words appear to provide more relevant information for lexical access at an earlier stage than inner fragments. In Experiment 2 words with only external features were named correctly on 96% of occasions compared with 52% of words with only their inner features presented. This indicates much greater information content in the periphery of a word (despite having a reduced area of print available: 45% compared to 55%). Multiple regression analyses controlling for ‘guessability’ (from data in Experiment 2) still produced significantly faster reaction times in the outer relative to the inner priming condition for longer prime durations. These experiments demonstrate that first, the most informative letter features are concentrated in the peripheral region of words; and second, even controlling for this effect, readers appear to have a bias towards analysing outer features of a word before inner features.     

Sensitivity to orthotactic rules in visual word recognition by below average readers

The study reports 2 lexical decision experiments on below average readers' sensitivity to Basic Orthographic Syllabic Structure (BOSS) of Taft in visual word recognition. In Experiment 1, 20 words and 20 pseudo words with BOSS and non-BOSS conditions (e.g., tractOR, tracTOR; BLUNDin, BLUNdin) were presented on a microcomputer screen to 75 grades 4, 5, and 6 poor readers divided into poor reading/spelling subgroups. ANOVA of the correct reaction time scores shows significant main effects for grade, reading/spelling subgroup and lexicality with both word and pseudo word BOSS condition being the most discriminating. Experiment 2 provides a stronger test for the BOSS parsing principle with 48 items of correctly affixed real words (e.g., reTURN), pseudo-affixed words (e.g., ENTer), and incorrectly affixed pseudo words (e.g., AVOIDer) presented on the microcomputer screen for lexical decision. The target subjects were 20 grade 6 and 22 grade 7 below average readers compared with 23 above average chronological age control readers in each of the same grades 6 and 7. ANOVA results of the correct RT scores show significant main effects for reding level and affixation condition with the correctly affixed BOSS condition being the most discriminating. Taken together, the 2 experiments suggest that children are sensitive to the BOSS parsing principle and this could be used in promoting word knowledge.     

Prefixes as access units in visual word recognition: A comparison of Italian and Dutch data

Two experiments were conducted to compare morphological processing of skilled and less skilled Dutch readers. Prefixes and suffixes provide morphological information concerning meaning and/or function of the word stem. There is some empirical support for the hypothesis that these sublexical access units are functionally involved in the process of word recognition. The present study focuses on the role of prefixes as access units in visual word recognition. Adult skilled Dutch readers and elementary school children were presented a lexical decision task using polysyllabic word and nonword items. Prefix Frequency (high/low) and Prefix Quality (true/pseudo prefix ratio) were manipulated. Evidence for differential use of prefix information in adults and elementary school children was found. Characteristic difference patterns between skilled and less skilled readers are discussed. It is concluded that the information accessed by prefixes is semantically combined with the subsequent word stem (root). Characteristics of the prefix plus stem combination largely determine speed of access to the complex word item processed.     

Dissociations between serial position and number of letters effects in lateralised visual word recognition

Some previous studies of visual word recognition have reported an interaction between visual field and word length (measured by number of letters), such that recognition is affected more by word length for words presented in the left than for words presented in the right visual field. However, when manipulating serial position of letters in words to measure length effects, there are also reports of symmetrical word length effects in the two visual fields. Here we report two experiments, presenting four‐ and seven‐letter words, suggesting that the serial position and length effects in the hemispheres are separable and task dependent. For tasks that rely more heavily on letter‐level processing such as letter search (Experiment 1), performance in both hemifields showed similar effects of serial position; however, when comparing four‐ and seven‐letter words, an effect of word length was evident only in the left visual field, in line with the well‐established interaction between word length and hemifield. An interaction between word length and hemifield was confirmed for the same stimuli when they were employed in a lexical decision task, which forced whole‐word processing (Experiment 2). We conclude that the effects of serial position and number of letters in the two visual fields are separable, and are selectively affected by task type.     

The role of segmental and tonal information in visual word recognition with learners of Chinese

The present study investigated the representation and processing of segmental and tonal information in visual Chinese word recognition in native and non‐native Chinese readers. Two experiments using homophone judgement paradigm were conducted. When judging two Chinese characters (Experiment 1), both groups showed difficulties when the segmental but not tonal information was shared (i.e., S+T? condition), with stronger interference for non‐native readers. When judging a Pinyin and a Chinese character (Experiment 2), non‐native readers' S+T? disadvantage was significantly reduced. Finally, when their L1s share the Latin alphabets with Pinyin, the participants showed stronger segmental reliance compared with the native readers. These findings suggest that while both native and non‐native readers rely more on segmental information in Chinese visual word recognition, this reliance is stronger among non‐native readers. Furthermore, the alphabetic nature of the Pinyin orthography may help non‐native readers' phonological representation and processing in a nonalphabetic writing system.     

Lexical-semantic processing and reading: relations between semantic priming,visual word recognition and reading comprehension

The aim of this study was to investigate relations between lexical-semantic processing and two components of reading: visual word recognition and reading comprehension. Sixty-eight children from private schools in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 7 to 12 years, were evaluated. Reading was assessed with a word/nonword reading task and a reading comprehension task. Lexical-semantic processing was evaluated with a semantic priming experiment. Correlations were conducted in order to examine the relations between semantic priming effects (SPEs) and performance in reading tasks. Regression analyses were performed to test the hypothesis that word reading mediates the relation between semantic priming and reading comprehension. The results showed that SPEs correlated with both word reading and reading comprehension measures. Additionally, partial mediation by word reading was found for the prediction of reading comprehension by SPEs. The results are discussed in the context of reading models and other studies relating semantic priming and reading measures.     

The time course of the syllable frequency effect in visual word recognition: evidence for both facilitatory and inhibitory effects in French

The present study tracked the time course of the syllable frequency effect in French visual word recognition, by varying the strength of spreading activation between letters and phonological syllables. The frequency of phonological first syllables and the frequency of orthographic first syllables were conjointly manipulated in two lexical decision tasks. In Experiment 1, word parsing into syllable units was supported by orthographic redundancy. No interaction between orthographic and phonological syllable frequency was found. In Experiment 2, word parsing into syllables was not marked by orthographic redundancy. Results showed an interaction between orthographic and phonological syllable frequency: the syllable frequency effect was inhibitory when orthographic syllable frequency was high, whereas it was facilitatory when orthographic syllable frequency was low. Decreasing the strength of syllable activation (i.e., with orthographic syllables of low frequency and ambiguous syllable boundaries) prevented the activation of lexical competitors before target word recognition, leading to a facilitatory effect of syllable frequency. The present study provides evidence that the net effect of syllable frequency is strongly related to its time course, and that the strength of syllable activation, which depends on orthographic properties, determines the direction of the net effect.     

Automatic activation of phonological code during visual word recognition in children: a masked priming study in grades 3 and 5

The present study aimed to investigate the development of automatic phonological processes involved in visual word recognition during reading acquisition in French. A visual masked priming lexical decision experiment was carried out with third, fifth graders and adult skilled readers. Three different types of partial overlap between the prime and the target were contrasted: orthographic and phonological overlap (O+P+; ren-RENDRE [give] pronounced /?ɑ?/-/?ɑ?d?/ respectively), orthographic overlap (O+P?; re-RENDRE pronounced /??/-/?ɑ?d?/ respectively), or without orthographic and phonological overlap with the beginning of the target, namely unrelated (UR; pi-RENDRE pronounced /pi/-/?ɑ?d?/, respectively). The number of letters was controlled throughout the priming conditions. The results showed an interaction between grade and priming condition in children. In third graders, the results displayed a masked phonological priming effect (the O+P+ condition was compared to the O+P? condition) but not a masked orthographic priming effect (the O+P? condition was compared to the UR condition). On the contrary, in fifth graders, the results showed a masked orthographic priming effect but not a masked phonological priming effect. Adult skilled readers displayed the same pattern as fifth graders. These results are interpreted in the multiple-route model of reading development.     

Explaining Individual Differences in Reading: on the orthographic component of word recognition

This article first presents a conception of word recognition involving both phonological and orthographic processes. Three different explanations about the origin of orthographic processes in word recognition are then discussed. These explanations are: (1) differences in orthographic memory, (2) differences in phonological processes and (3) differences in leisure time reading. In accord with the third explanation, it is argued that automatic orthographic word recognition is directly dependent on children's amount of reading practice in an out‐of‐school setting. Educational implications of this emphasis on leisure time reading effects are also discussed.