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Abstract

Word reading partly depends on the activation of sublexical letter clusters. Previous research has studied which types of letters clusters have psychological saliency, but less is known about cognitive mechanisms of letter string parsing. Here, we take advantage of the high degree of context-dependency of the Russian orthography to examine whether CV clusters are treated as units in two stages of sublexical processing. In two experiments using a nonword reading task, we use two orthogonal manipulations: (1) insertion of a visual disruptor (#) to assess whether CV clusters are kept intact during the early visual parsing stage, and (2) presence of context-dependent GPCs (e.g., л[а] → /l/; л[я] → /lj/), to assess whether CV clusters remain intact or are split during the print-to-speech conversion stage. The results suggest that although CV clusters are initially processed as perceptual units in the early visual parsing stage, letters and not CV clusters drive print-to-speech conversion.

Evidence for two distinct parsing stages in nonword reading
aloud: A study in Russian
 !"#
$%&&'$%&()(&&*)&"
&(
++&' +)&&$!,"&(
(("&
&&)!)&$%&&&&(
-)' ()"
#$%&&'+)&!,"&((("&
+%)"&. /.0).%/123425.
)'5

Abstract
6)%&(%&&&'"7&&"&.
"&"8&(%'&&"&%()
(7"&987"&)&'&&&)%).-
8&9&)'&))'&&:%('&"
&)%(&8&+;"&&&"&&8&)'
"7%).&8%&")8)&98"&8
&)%"&/<=&'""%&<>=&8&+;
"&9%&&&")&("%)&)<=%'
&&:%&+<.).?@ABCCD?@EBCFC=&8&+;"&
&&%&")&%&:&:%&).G"&
"))&&&&")+;"&&(%%%&""&&
("%)&)&&&+;"&%&:&:%
.
Keywords:)8"7%)8&&.
)'5

Evidence for two distinct parsing stages in nonword reading aloud: A
study in Russian
F%&')&%"&&'%)('
&)%(.G,"""%)&%.H&&
&&&&&(&'&&.&&7
"&"8(&&&(%&)'")&/'%&
8I&"J&7"&&&&&)"%t, ou,ch7"&
%&(&%.'&&"&)"&&)%
)&7&&&%),"&7"&8
8%"&&)".
G"&%%8&&)&%"()
%)&&&)&"7"&.&")%)7
&")"&&&<.).K8(223D!"L)3D(
3D&G2M4D(L7&:6)N)
22MD(N)L7333=%,"&7"&&&
&&"&%)%".G,"&'&&"'&
"&8%&&'&"7(&&'&&&
<.).OG'&$33#D(3D&.3#=.&"
8&%&')%8)%'&&&
&&"&&&%&)%<!"L)3D(&
.22MD(&.333=.G&"&7")%%&%
&"%&&)"&8P%"&/88&&I&"J
%7&(&&988&&')%7"
'"&8"&&%"&"C&QR9C.
)'5

&9(&&&&"&&&&%&&%"&&
&)%"&%()&(.G%(%&&'
%((78&&)&"7')"&(%"7"&
&&8. %8&&%((78%&
&)%:(7"&<.).&&.2M4DG'&22=.!&
"))&&&&+;:&"&"'&&&)%&&'&
''&)8&%<+&K&G+&&35D+&
+&&3D+&$7+&&3#=.H%+&+&&
<3#=8&&&%()&'7'(%&8"&&
'&"8/&"8&8"&8'7&8(7
7"(<.).oasis8&oa"&%&%&(7=.&
&)%&"&"&")&"78)&%''8
"&&%&&(%&%&&&&8&9)
%&&&88&,"&"&'&)%
%)"&<.).opera=.&7'%&&"&"&
%&&')"))&&&'&7"&&:"'&8
8))%&%"&%&("&).
+;:7%)%&&+&&$"
<+$=1C11<(N)N33SD(N)N
33=.-%:&)%&&&&88&&%
&&&&&%&'&<&&'(7=8
<'&'(7=.G%&'""%)
7(7&"&","&&&"(&&'&&
&8&(%)&).G"&%)
)#'5

%&"&'%"&"&&'"&&+;&"&""&%
8&&"())"&&"&".
G&,"&8&("%))%%)
%&&8&&%"&''&&)'
&)%.&+$1C11&&&)%%&
)%&%&7&)%&"&""&&"&:&&
)%<.).th, sh=%&)"&.G"&%)'&&
&)&)%%&%%)'&&&&)&+;:&%&
<(&.33=.)'&)8&&8&
%&"%)&"&&&)')%%)<T"%9
$3=/&7'(%&%"%&&&8:&&
)%<.).th=&&8:&&&"&<.).tr=.G8
'''"&'&%"&&9"))&)
&&("&)&&)"8&&8&%&
%&8.
H&&&"88&&&&&/&
%)"")(%)&).G(%&%%
&7''&7(&&%&:&:%&)<!"L)33MD
!&!$F9&33=7"&7(&+;&"&"'&&&&)
<+&+&&3#=.U&&8%&"7
"&8'&&&&'%)8'<(&.333D
&.3#DG'&22DG!"KFF:K7:
6&(225=.K('&&%%&&&)&"&&&%&
%"D8&&&'"")&(&)
'"8)&<T"%9&.3=.
)5'5

&'"&&)&&%"()%)8"&
"&)%(8))'&&:%()
&&&)P%"&<+&&"(35=.U'
&&&&"&%%&%"&'&&&&"
7&:%&<.).CC=%&'&<CFC=.K(
'"&&'&"&'&%&&
&8AVWXY'&"&'%&'8.&&
)7(&")8/&'87(&8е, ё, и, ю,я
'&<'&/'&.).неCFC=.+&(&"&
%"&'&&. I'&)J8&&:'&)
"&%&<AZEDYZ[DWZ\&.=D&%"&'&8%8&
&&&'+;"&%<.).&(7нэ,CC
не,CFC=.
6"&&:%&"&&"&&F&('"
)%:&:%%&(&%&&&&&(
8(%%(/&'8%&<&8=8&7
%"&(7&')%:%"<&.
35=.G7)"&&%"&'"&'&7"&
&"7,"&&&&8(.&8+;"&"
)(%&'&&%"&8&&&.
G'&&'%&:&:%+;,")"&(
%&&&)%"&.
G%'&&&:%&"&)%(
8"&&8:&&&&&"(&%()
'+;"&.G&&&&%7&&)%8
)4'5

7"&,"&.H%!&&.<33=&"
&''&'")&&%&:&:"%%))%
$"&.$"&&,"&'8"&:&&%<.).oeC"/C=7"&
&&:&%<c[o]C9CDc[i]CC=%&&)&
&&&7""%&."&&''"&&8&)
"7&"&'&&"(""&&'&&
8&&&&'&.
6"&8&&&%()'"+;"&
&''&%)&).H&8"""%&%)&&"(&
(&)'%)<!"L)33MD!&&.33D(
3DG'&33=.-""%&"%)<>=&
7&8&&&&%%&'"&&&.&
&'"&&&)""%&88
)"&.%&&(&'&"%&''&%&
%&'&"%&.&"&&)%)&"8&
"%&79&&)%"&.G"&'&"%&''&
%&'"7"&&&)%"&8%()
&(.&9(&&&%"&"%&(%:&)'&
%)%8(7%&'&%&:&:%%
<!"L)33MD!&&.33D(3=.
&""%&%"&8&&8&"
"%&8&+;"&<+>;=8"''&)&&)&
&&&""%&&&7&8F&&)%
(7<+;>+;=.G8""%%&8%((788"
7%&)%&%&7&(7&"&".+;"&
)S'5

8"'&"&7"&'&)%(78;+
"&8&89(&7%%&''&&'&&
&)%(77"(.&&(&%7&&%)'&
&'"&(%)%.'&&&"%&)+;
"&"7%())8&8)&&P
%"&<.)."%&)&+;"&]>ACC"7&&&
"%&)&"&]>ECFC=7"&""%&8"(&&&
'&&%"&''&&.
%"&&&&&('+;"&&&%&:
&:%&)8%"&&")&&'&/
(8&&"7(8&&'&&%"&7(
888&&&&'"&%"&<..а, о, у, ы, э=.
G7&")&')"&8 )<&+&&
22M=.G$""&+<$+=')"<+&&&
(T)N)33="&&&"7)
%&&&:7(:&&'."%)&"
&&&'"&%"&.'&"7,"&8'&&&
&(&&&%"&'"'&'&%"&
&8&&.G%%&"&'&"8)8
%"&&%&&8&&&&
%"&<&+&&22M=.&$+&%7&%&
&&:&"<'&%&'"'&$+
&.35=.&&&&&:&"%&&
)$+.H%&)%ch%"C&^C<I"J=7(
'"&7"&&%"&)&C9C8&"7(&
)M'5

<IJ=.+&&:&"&&7)%:%
%"&(7&%"&'))%<&
7%&)%ch=.
G$+%&&&8"'8(''&"8
88&'&&&"&88&
&&&'"&%"&.G8"%(&&%&&
)"&:&&&('+;"&""7)
&&&:7(:&&%.G8"&"))&&&)"&
&%&&/898'"&)%&&"&)
&&&''&)"%<.).&&.2M4D(&.
333D&.3#DG'&"225=.&&&,"&&
&&&&"+;"&")&&)'"7%&:&:%
)&.6&$+8"%&&&8(''&8"""&
&'&&&(&%'"7)&+$1C118"
%&&&&&%%&&)%&%&7'%&:&:%
&&&&&%"&&'&&"&
<(&.33S=.&&&88"'8(''&7"+;
"&"на<CC=не<F=8"7%%&(&&
%)&&8&"&&&&&)'&&:7(:&&%).
"(8%(&8%"&/""%&&&%(
"%)%&8(%"&&&%&&&:7(:&&
)%")8)%)%.$"&&
)"&('+;"&8%&7&(''&)"
&'&+;"&"%&<+>;=%&8&"%&
&&<;>+=.'%)(&(%)%&
)2'5

""%&''&"7&)8&"8&+;"&
8&8)&&P%"&<+>;]>[%&
+>;]>A=.H&%"&8%&&'8(''&
8%&8&8&'&&
%&8&&&'"&%"&.G8"8
&&"%&&%&'+;"&%&)%"&
&&&&&("7%).H)8(
''&8""))&&&&%7&&)%,"&"'&&
)&8(&"7).
Experiment 1
Methods
Items
6&:&&88&&(7.-'
+;+;+;&"&"&&';+;+;+&"&".U"&'&54
+;+;+;:8;+;+;+:8'&8&&'
&&P%"&<+;+;+;D;+;+;+=&&'(
8&&8&&&&&'"&%"&<+;+;+;D
;+;+;+=.&'&&&%&&
&"&&&&9&8&%8&
C'&&.G&"(&''&'""%&8&&8
&<K=. &&&&7"&''&'"
&""%&)<>=7&8&&'&&&<+;+>;+;
;+;>+;+=.
)3'5

G"&%&&'%&%&%&)"%&:)"&
&&)&&&%&&&&&"3'
887&'&))8.G'"'
8:&&8&"&8&&&7("
8.G8&()"&&"&'()88&
%9'"&%&%&&%&"&&&&
&&&8&&"&8%"
<&%%99334'%%&
&(=.G&8%%D%&8&&&
&&78/&&%/CC'.C'95C.
Participants
6&&S%&%&88"&%9
")"&&"&'().H"&"&7&&K
%&&89%&.&%&%&
(T&&S(T&KD&&&7(&'3
)'T&)'T&K.&&&7&T! K(H&
(8&")7(")%&%&&
''&.G%&%&%'&&(
%&'.
Procedure
G&8%&$!$<H&H&33=8
&'.5"&&&'%.G'
&888&8&"&)%%
79.G%&%&8&"&&"8,"9(
"&(%78))&).
)'5

Results
G%'&%&&88&&'&8
+9;<&%%33S=.G'"&8&%&8&&
(78/&&%/CC'.C'95C.6:%
&%<.#_=.&"7'8,"(
&7"&&<"(&&))'
24.4_&2M.2_=8((&&<G=.G%&&&&
'8G7.G&)&'&8
7&"%&',,:%&.T)G8%%&(
&7"&"&%.G'"&)G"&
%&7'(.
GKT KUG- 
6"7&T! ''&<T! =<K($
K&33M=K(H&<KHD!("3#D"%9
"!(332=&(&&.p:"%'
%&%"%('""7&K(
(.KH%&&&%%'&(&&
)'&&).-<.).&)&''&&&'
&&=%&&<.).")&''&&&'
&&=.GKH,"&'&)&8&&%&78&
&&.G"&%&"("'"'&%&)"''&Z8
&&87'"'")&''&'&&.KH
")&&3&%&)'&&&
&&%&&&&&&&)&D"7&83
%"7&8C&&&&&7
)'5

"&F"&&&8"'&C%
&)%&()&&&&&&<"&.332=.
H&KH(8"&%9)K(H&&'"&%&.6
%&KH'&&()'"%<&%)%=.
A priori8(88"&&&(
)'","&"&&&"&.H&&'&&8&&
"%&''&)&'+;"&%&&8&
"%&'7&8&8+;"&<(=.G7(
%'&'&"%&''&'+;+;+;&<G+;+>;+;Z
G+;+;+;=%&;+;+;+&<G;+;>+;+ZG;+;+;+D..+;&"&"
7(""%&&&=.
8&&8&""%&''&''&
'+;%&+;"&<(=.-8&%&'
&"%&''&G+;+>;+;ZG+;+;+;'+;+;+;"+;+;+;
&.'&'"'%&:&:%&&("%)
&)8%&&''&8&&&7&8
8&(%""%&.
G8&&8&&8(''&'8
&)'&)8%&8&))8
<(=.G&8"&8&)%
&8&'&)8<+;+;+;;+;+;+=&&8&)
8<+;+;+;;+;+;+=.
Analysis 1: Disrupting CV clusters versus control items
G'&,"&88&&%'&""%&''&
)&&&)&&8&"%&+;"&)'&
)'5

&(%'8%&8&'7&8&8+;"&.G&8
"&(8&+;&"&"<+;+;+;";+;+;+=
%7'""%&''&8&)G&
%&7.&"7,"&(&%'8&(%8
8&(%&%&<KT(%G(3=&
&"%&783.5:3.5.
"&''&'%"G&&'&z:'
"%&%&<K(33M=.
GT! 8)'&''&'""%&t`.Sp`3.333M
'&))&8&""%&8%&''&
'+;&"&"p`3.M5.G&&88)'&t`.#3p`
3.3SS.G&&)"%&''&'+;+>;+;&;+;>+;+
&<G7=.)&&KH&%'&&&8
&&8&9(&&7)&&&")&KH&
&&&'KH`.<a.#S=.
Analysis 2: Visual disruption of CVs compared to CVh clusters
G&,"&&''&'""%&''&
&(%'+;"&.'&&&:%(''&("%)8"
'&&7&8&%'""%&8&(%/&
''&'"%&"7&)'+;+;+;8&+;+;+;
8.'+;"&,"(&"&&(%)&)
)'%&&8"'''&'""%&7"&
&&7&8""%&8&(%.
-8"(88&+;+;+;&"&".T! 
(<8&(%""%&=8&&&''&'"
)#'5

"%&8&(%8)'&t`5.Spb3.333t`#.#Spb
3.333%&(.G'&'&%&''"&:&&
'&8&"&""%&.G&&&7&8&&
)'p`3.55&K(H&(%)&
&&%&&KH`3.3<a.S2_=.
Analysis 3: Whammy effects
G&,"&88&88"'8(''&8G
'8&))8&'&)8.G&8
"&8&"&""%&%':&&(&
&''&'8&(%.
G(8&&&''&'8&(%8)'&t`.2p`
3.334#8&8&'8&)'&)8%&
88&)8.(&K(H&%&)
'''&'8&(%88%")8
&(%%&%&7:8&(&
''&'"7F&&&'''&'%"GKH`#.
<a.M_=.
Discussion
&(' %&8'"&&<="("%&)
&)%(7''&)"&&)&&&&&)
&"%&7&8(7<=""%&&8&"%&
&&:&"<..&8)&&P%"&=
8&"%&"&'&&)%&"&"8&&:
&"%&<=8&%"89&8(''&
)5'5

88&&&:&"&9)&"&8
8&"&&&:&".
-87'8&&)"&
"))&%&' %&.G%&
&"')8&"&.G"&&"
')&%""''&"&8%%&' %&
.
H"&&%&&'"&&&/&%"&'
)"'&)8"(&&(''&&)7)
',"(&7('&&))"&&
&&.&%7&&&''',"(7&8
'&&.6&'"&&)7)',"('
&&&%P',"(.G&/7&
7)',"(&%',"(88'&I'&J
</M3#25%&(=%&&IJ&</
S2#S#355%&(=.G"&%7&&7)',"(C
&%',"(&%%&8(''&%&
%&.6&')8%&88"&%&
&"&' %&8&)'7)',"(&
%',"(&.
6&9&'%)&7)',"(&
',"("&.&&&"&)&',"('8%'
8"'77"&%"&'8%8&
%&%&%&D"&8"".&
)&%&%&&)&%"&'
8.
)4'5

Experiment 2
Methods
Items
G&848. %&&(&
+;+;+;&"&";+;+;+&"&"D''&('&)
8&&'()8.)&8&8&
'8''&''&&&""%&<>=7&8&
&&'"&&&.9 %&8"&"&
&9&IJI'&J&&8")&(
&&&"7'%7&.-8&&8&
&7&&)7)',"(&)&
%',"(.G&8%%KD%&8&&&
&&78/&&%/CC'.C'95C.
Participants
G%&%&83")"&&"&'()8
%&%&)'"&.%&%&7&&/#&&
8&T&4&&8&T&K.K&8&879'&&
(.
Procedure
G%"8&& %&.
Results
G%&%&P%88&&'&8+9;
&&:%<&%%33S=.H'&%8
)S'5

:%<3._'%="'(.%&'
"%&%&P"(&&&&%&%&(8
"(&<##_='&8&""%&.%'(&%&%&
"7&&"&&""%&(78&&&88&%&&
8.G"))&&&&%&%&&"&&&"&.
G'8"&%&%&'"7,"&(.G"(
<&=G'&%G7.
GKT KUG- 
H&)2%&%&&&8.M_.
&&"(8)%%&(,"(&7"&<))
'24.#_&2M.5_=.6&'&("('"&.
H&G(8"&%.' %&
'"&"&'&%"87"%&'
,,:%&.G"&&"''"&%&8&Gb.
&'&'&&G(%%&(
&7"&"&%&7&"7,"&(.&
&&&&)&'&8&9%&()&&
&'&&&"&'&(.
G,"&'&&(8&&& %&.
Analysis 1
)88&&&''&'""%&'88&
+;+;+;&"&"%&;+;+;+&"&".6'"''&'
""%&t`5.Mpb3.3338&'&G'&8&&8&"&
"%&''&'(7&"&"t`.Mp`3.33S8&)
&';+;+;+&&'+;+;+;&.G&&8
)M'5

)'&t`.44p`3.33M5'&)&)"%&''&'+;+;+;
8&;+;+;+8. %&&K(H&%
&'&%'&&&KH`.45<a3.S_=.
Analysis 2
-88&&&%&&(''&''&'"
"%&'+;"+;"&.H+;+;+;:&(8'"
''&'""%&t`4.5p b 3.333'&))G'"%&
&""%&&''&'&%"&<"
'&=t`5.pb3.333'&))G''&&&.G
&&8&)'&t`3.44p`3.5.GK(H&%
)&&&&KH`3.3<a.5=.
Analysis 3
H&&8&""%&88&&&8&
'&&<8=8%"8(&&8&
&.-8'"''&'&&(%t`5.#pb3.333.G
K(H&%(&)'&''&KH`S534<a.32_=.
Discussion
G&&(%&&"&' %&&&&'
%&/6'"&&7&8&&<7&8"8&
(7=%'&"%&<(=""%&''&'
)&"'+;+;"&<(=8(''&
8G'&8&'&)8%&&8&&
&&'"&%"&<(=.
)2'5

G(''7&8&&8%&&)''&
''&'&"&"<+;+;+;";+;+;+D(= %&.
G&&'&&&'&+;+;+;&&;+;+;+
&<G7=.&(&&''&&8
%&&&8&&%(%&7(
&.&%&'&&&"
(%&8&"&'"&.
7& %&(8&&7&8&
%&'&""%&&%&&<..&)
"%&&+>;%&&;>+&=8&&
)'&&"&:'''KH`.&)8
&%&89&&%7&(&&&9&)&&
&8&&%&).G&8%&&&'
%&%'&K(H&(&&
(&%&&.G7&&%&)
'&%'&&KH`##.4<a.MM_=.
General Discussion
6"&&8"8)"%&8&&8
%"&/<=""%&8&&8&+;"&
<+;+>;+;=7&8+;"&<;+;>+;+=<=&%"&'&
&8&%&&)7(&"7,"&8.
%&&&8&&'&&&
&&('&&)%8%7"&''&'
7)',"(&%',"(. %&&&8
&&7)',"(&%
)3'5

',"(.7&%&&9((%))"&
"))&)&&&''&&7.
G%&&&,"&.H&(8'"&&
""%&8&+;"&<.."%&)&)%(7=''&
)&&)&)&"%&7&8+;"&<..8
&&)%(7&"%&=.G%9&&('&)%
(7<+;"&="&("&)'%).&
%&'""%&)%&'''+;"&
&)&&:&"<+;=&&)'(&&:
&"<+;=.G"))&&&("%)&'"7(&
&"'%&:&:%%%).G8'"8(''&"))&)
&&" )<&+&&22M=&&&)&8(
7&8"%)%&:&:%.
U"')"))&&&%)"&8''&&)/")
(%:&)"8%&+;"&.G&&:
%('%'")&&&)."&"
"))&&&""%&(''&&)&&%
)%:%<!"L)33MD!&&.33D
(3=.-8%&(&&'&8''"
'%)&&"%)7&)%&"&".U"
"&)8&&'+&)"<+&&.35D
+&+&&3D+&&.3#=8'"'%)&
("%)&).G%'("%)&)8
7(&)%+;&"&""7%&7(&+$1C11
<(&.33S33=&"&(7&"&"&%8&&
)'5

)%&%&.&"&'8&%"&'&+$11
%)%&&&&&&+;:&%&"&&)%
%)&)(%&+;:7%)%<(&.33=.
H"&""8&'&&%&'&
'+;&"&""("%)."+;"&
)"&(%&&7"&(%&&(&%)(.(
%7&&)%"H )&+;&"&""
&(7%).$&)&(77"&&7))'&"
8)&%&'%&:&:%%%)&"&(
%)&)&.&"'),"&
(&&&(7&%()"&"&%(7"&(
'&"&8P%"&<N)8335=.
-8&&"'&"8)&%&"9(&&
'79'%)%&('"(7%)/
8&""&&%&&%"89"))&%:%)"
'%)7+;&"&"<+&+&&3#D&&.2M4=.
$")&%&:&:%&&%888%)'
&8&&&:&"%&&8&"&"&&:&
".G8&&$+<+&&&.33=&"))&&&
&)%(&8&)'&&:%(8
"")&&&7&9&"&&%"&%"&
"7)7(&&.&&%(8(
''&"8&(&"&&&:&"/&(
&%&&<.)."&=8&7
:&&8&"7,"&&&%'&)&%"&
)'5

'&%)&&.G')'8(''&'&8&&8
&&&%%)'+;"&&(7:7&%&&(
%&:&:%&&%&&+$1C11<(&.33S=.
&$+&%'8"%&
<&+&&22M=.U""&&&8&&%&.-8
8&'"(""&&&&%8(
&7"&&&G''7&8&'&&.6&
&' %&8,"&'&%',"(7)
',"(&%7&&&"&'&"&&',"(
&',"('8%<8&7"&"&"&'
:&8"='&"&8(88&
G'+;"&8&'&%&&.
U"%&&&"%&&&&8(''&%&
&7"777(&+&&<22M=.
&'%'''&%&'&8(''&"
')'&&7&8&%'8(&%'
""%&&8%&"))&&8%&%.U"
%%%&'8G'&'&&&7&
$+"%%&7(%"%&"<+&&&22#D
7&&+&&K33=8'"&"&"&
7&'&&)&&&%7'&
78(''&"&&)%.
&&''&'&%'8&"7'
8%&&"""&''&%&
<&+&&22M=."%&&+;+;+;8&
)'5

&88&;+;+;+8&(&8<&'&
8&%)&=.8'"&)8(
''&'&'&&&&&(%'& %&/G9)&"&
(&8&"&""%&&8(''&823.'&
+;+;+;&.2&;+;+;+&. %&
8&8''&8(''&855.S&
+;+;+;&5#.4&;+;+;+&.&&8(8
8"%&''&"&%&.U%&&%&
'"8&7)',"( %&/)&&
&)7)',"(&&&8&.G
''8)'+;+;+;%&;+;+;+&<''
7&8'&&'5#3SS#5%&(=.&K(
H&'&:8(&&7&8&"&"<+;+;+;;+;+;+=
&&(%<'&=%&(,"KH`.4
<a.5M_=8&%7&&&%("&.
6&&&%7&(9(7"&''&'
7)',"()%8'(&)7&(
''&<.).+&&.35D72M3=.G''&')8(
"7&(<K(+!"34=8
8"&&&''7&8"7:&%:8((7
7(&&8&)&&&%8.&&&"&&"(
&"7:&%:88&'''&'&
&(%8"&'&&&'8(:''&7&
%&.
)#'5

"(&"&&"(%)&&%)
"())".6%&'&8%7%)%"/
G'&%&P&)%+;&"&"%77('&%:
"%.G%%&%&7(%)&&
,"&(8&)%),"&.G'&&
"7"8&&(&&:%&%&:&:%
%%%&"&('&%&'&&
%7&&)%.G%'&8&&%)%8
,"&/8%"&&"78&&)%()(
&"&<.).K8(223D&&.2M4D&.3#DG'&
22='"&"&&8"&%&&'8
%)(&8&'&&&('''&"&
7(8&&8%)(&&&8&&%&'&)(&.
)5'5

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3.3M3CS#S3M.3#.244M
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67<=S:MM.
+&H.+&&.<3#=.6&&''7&8U
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)4'5

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"(.Behavior Research Methods, Instuments & Computers,
354:#.
7!..<2M#=.)3('&&&&7&8
'&(&)%(&%((.Journal of
Experimental Psychology: General113<=54.
OL.G'&!.$+.<33#=.U&)%:%)9&/
6"7'&'&.Reading and Writing: An
Interdisciplinary Journal, 17MS:M.
T"%9.L.L.$+.L.!.<3=.&)&'&
')%"&8)&.Journal of Experimental Psychology:
Human Perception and Performance38<4=#2:54.
!" .L).H.<33M=.G"'"7"&
(.Scientific Studies of Reading, 12<=5:M3./
3.3M3C3MMM#3M3#4
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)%%%&""&).Quarterly Journal of Experimental
Psychology, 64<=53#:54./3.3M3CS#S3M.33.532M3
!&-.! .$F9&G.<33=.)7)"&(&&
&&(/U"7"&)"8)&.Journal of
Memory and Language, 49<=S5:25./3.34C3S#2:524<3=3334M:M
!(.$."L..<3#=.9)dK(H&d.&'&&%/CC
.:%F&.)C87C%9)CK(H&CK(H&.%'
(+.<3=.%%)&7&)%(7&"&".
Language and Cognitive Processes, 28<=55:S4./
3.3M3C3423245.3.4#M4
(+.N)L.N!.<33S=.&&)&
%&'%"&&&/&+$1')".
Psychological Review, 114<=S:5./3.3SC33:25.#..S
(+.N)L.N!.<33=.K()(7/T):
)')"8&&+&&$"<+$11=
.Cognitive Psychology, 61<=34:5.
)S'5

&6.G..-.<2M4=.-8&)"&.Journal
of Memory and Language, 25<#=#4:#S5./3.34C3S#2:524<M4=233M:
3
&%%.<33S=.+9;/%)&'&&9)&"(
%&'%'$!$.Behavior Research
Methods, 39<#=M52:M4./3.S5MC7'322S2
&%%.99..<334=.T'"&&
)&)9.Journal of Research in Reading, 29<#=#M:#.
/3.CL.#4S:2MS.334.334.
&O.+&&!.<22M=.6"78/G''&'
)&8).Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 5<=SS:M.
(.L7.!.&:6)H.N)L.+.<22M=.%
''&"8)&.Cognition, 68<=KS:KM3./
3.34C333:3SS<2M=3335:
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Cognition, 74:.
7&!.&O.+&&!.K$.<33=.6%%)
"8)&&")/8').
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 10<=#35:##./3.S5MC7'324#22
"L..%9.T."$.+.!(.$..<332=.
K(&&&'%&)F&)&"(%&.Psychonomic
Bulletin & Review, 16<=5:S./3.S5MC7.4..5
.K(T.+ .!" .<34=.%&7&(
%&('%&:&:%%
%/!'&U&)%$%&-(%&.Journal of
Cognitive Psychology, 28<4=45M:4S./3.3M3C3##52.34.MS
.!" .7".&%.+&.+&&!.
<3#=.e"&'()&''&"7%
 ).Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 26<M=M:M5.
G'&!.<22=.Reading and the Mental Lexicon.-/T8 7".
G'&!.<22=.G7('&KU/"7(7"&&%)'
%((78.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception
and Performance, 18<#=33#.
)M'5

G'&!.<33=.)'&)%&"&"7("&'''&)
7&(.Language and Speech, 445:S4.
G'&!."!.<225=.G'"'&%)&&'
)")&'"&"&'):&"(H.Canadian
Journal of Experimental Psychology-Revue Canadienne De Psychologie
Experimentale, 49<=3:#M./3.3SC24:24.#2..3
G.!"L.KFF:K7.:6&( .<225=.G
%'&%&","&' )
&)%(.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 124<=3S:4.
.+&&!.".(+.<35=.&&
+&&/%&'!'U)".Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 42<#=44:545.
/3.3SC33333
N)L.8.<335=.),"&%&(
9))")/%()"&)&(.
Psychological Bulletin, 131<=:2./3.3SC33:232...
)2'5

G7
Descriptives of Experiment 1. Average reaction times (ms) as a function of vowel
type, consonant structure, and visual disruptor condition. Standard deviations in
brackets, the first number is calculated from the averages by participants, and the
second from averages by items.
Stimulus structure Hardening vowels Softening vowels
+;+;+; SM.5<.=<M2.S= MS.M<#3.=<M5.M=
+;+>;+; M44.S<5.5=<3.#= 25.5<4.=<.3=
;+;+;+ M#5.<M.M=<M4.#= M4S.<5.4=<33.4=
;+;>+;+ M5M.M<.2=<3M.4= MM#.<55.=<35.2=
)3'5

G7
Descriptives of Experiment 2. Average reaction times (ms) as a function of vowel
type, consonant structure, and visual disruptor condition. Standard deviations in
brackets, the first number is calculated from the averages by participants, and the
second from averages by items.
Stimulus structure Hardening vowels Softening vowels
+;+;+; 4SS.2<5S.3=<S.M= SS.3<4.#=<#.3=
+;+>;+; S#.<M.#=<5#.5= SM.<SS.3=<#2.=
;+;+;+ S#.3<52.=<#.#= S44.M<M.5=<#5.2=
;+;>+;+ S#.3<S#.=<5.= SS.S<S#.=<.=
)'5

Appendices
Appendix A: Items from Experiment 1, with approximate English transcription
CV, hard VC, hard VC, soft
fAgX]V<7&(= fEgh][<7(&= AgX]Vf<&(7= Egh][f<(&"7=
fWgXiX<7"&((= f\ghih<7("&= WgXiXf<"&((7= \ghihf<("&7=
jV]A]W<)"= j[]E]\<)(("= V]A]Wj<")= []E]\j<((")=
jVkWfX<)"7(= j[k\fh<)("7= VkWfXj<"7()= [k\fhj<("7)=
iAlXjV<()= iElhj[<()= AlXjVi<()= Elhj[i<()=
iVmWnV<9"%= i[m\n[<9("%= VmWnVi<9"%= [m\n[i<9("%=
mVlAoX<9(= m[lEoh<9(= VlAoXm<(9= [lEohm<(9=
?AoWkW<""= ?Eo\k\<(("("= AoWkW?<""= Eo\k\?<(("("=
?AgVnW<&%"= ?Eg[n\<(&%("= AgVnW?<&%"= Eg[n\?<(&%("=
?VgXfW<&(7"= ?[ghf\<&7("= VgXfW?<&(7"= [ghf\?<&7("=
?WoVpV<"= ?\o[p[<("= WoVpV?<"= \o[p[?<("=
pVmVoV<9= p[m[o[<9= VmVoVp<9= [m[o[?<=
pVoAmW<9"= p[oEm\<(9("= VoAmWp<9"= [oEm\p<(9("=
pW?XlW<"("= p\?hl\<("("= W?XlWp<"("= \?hl\p<("("=
]WgVlX<"&(= ]\g[lh<("&= WgVlX]<"&(= \g[lh]<("&=
kAgVpW<&"= kEg[p\<(&("= AgVpWk<&"= Eg[p\k<(&("=
kV]WjV<")= k[]\j[<(")= V]WjVk<")= []\g[k<("&=
kWoVjW<")"= k\o[j\<(")("= WoVjWk<")"= \o[j\k<(")("=
kWoVlW<""= k\o[l\<("("= WoVlWk<""= \o[l\k<("("=
oA?WlV<"= oE?\l[<(("= A?WoVl<"= E?\l[o<(("=
oVjAgA<)&= o[jEgE<)(&(= VjAgAo<)&= [jEgEo<)(&(=
oWjA]X<")(= o\jE]h<(")(= WjA]Xo<")(= \jE]ho<(")(=
gAoW?V<&"= gEo\?[<&(("= AoW?Vg<"&= Eo\?[g<(("&=
gVkViV<&= g[k[i[<&= VkViVg<&= [k[i[g<&=
lVmWfX<9"7(= l[m\fh<9("7= VmWfXl<9"7(= [m\fhl<9("7=
)'5

lVkXmA<(9= l[khmE<9(= VkXmAl<"9= [khmEl<9(=
lVlX?V<(= l[lh?[<= Aqh?Vq<= [lh?[l<=
lWpA?A<"= l\pElE<("((= WpAlAl<"= \pElEl<("((=
)'5

Appendix B: Items from Experiment 2 with approximate English transcription
CV, hard CV, soft VC, hard VC, soft
fAjVrV<7)= s[kEoh<(= A?ApWj<")= t][?[l<(=
fAiAlV<7= stg[kh<(&= A?WpWj<"")= []h]ti<(=
fVfAiV<77= s[g\ot<&("(= ArApV?<= []Ek[i<(=
fVrViV<7= sh?Ek\<(("= W?YpAf<"7= [k\o\j<("(")=
fV?WpW<7""= sE]Eg[<((&= A?V?Vr<= [kEgh?<(&=
fWrAfV<7"7= ?ts[sE<((= WpYiVr<"= [o[?[f<7=
fYlVjV<7)= ?[pE]h<(= VpAiWi<"= [o\stp<("(=
jWiWfV<)""7= ?hstoh<(= ApVrVl<= [g\?\r<&("("=
jYrAlW<)"= ?\otkE<("((= AlViYp== [g\otp<&((=
iArApV<= ?Ep[o\<(("= Y?VjWj<)")= hsEkti<((=
iVfV?W<7"= p[ot?E<((= WiA?Yj<")= h?t][f<(7=
iVrXjA<()= phk\]h<("= ViV?Xr<(= h?[gt?<&(=
iYiXlA<(= pE][?t<((= W?ViWr<""= h?E?\j<((")=
rApVpX<(= ]tk[]E<((= WiV?Wi<""= hp[oh?<=
rWjVfW<")7(= ]h]tk\<(("= Y?XiAi<(= hphghf<&7=
rXiAiW<("= ]E?[oE<((= W?XlVr<"(= h][g[f<&7=
?ViW?A<"= kts[k[<(= WiX?Wf<"("7= hk[]Ei<(=
?VrXjV<()= ktgEoE<(&((= AjVrAr<)= hk[ot?<(=
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?WlVrA<"= khgtpE<&((= WiWrXr<""(= hgEkE?<&((=
?XpV?Y<(= kEph?E<((= V?XlAl<(= \]tshp<("(=
pVfArV<7= otsEo\<((("= ArVrWl<"= Ep[?E?<((=
pWfXfA<"7(7= otkhph<(= WfXiAj<"7()= E]\ktj<(("()=
pXiVfV<(7= otohg[<(&= WiXjAf<"()7= Ekh?\p<(("=
pXiWrW<(""= ohp[sh<= VrAfXi<7(= Eotg\f<((&("7=
pYjAlV<)= o\k\gE<("("&(= WrAiXf<"(7= Eo\?Er<(("(=
lA?WpV<"= g[]\]E<&("(= VfVjVf<7)7= Egt][f<(&(7=
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lVfV?V<7= g\ghp[<&("&= VfWfAj<7"7)= Eg[oEf<(&(7=
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... 'an'), graphemes would be less activated during sub-lexical orthographic processing. Thus, although grapheme units can probably be activated as a pure orthographic code, in the absence of phonological activation during the task (see Commissaire & Casalis, 2017, experiment 1c), letter clusters that developing readers learn to use as units probably initially rely on how a sound is mapped onto print, in line with proposals by Perry and colleagues (2013;see Brand et al., 2007 andSchmalz, Porshnev &Marinus, 2016 for other sub-lexical representations than graphemes). It is noteworthy that the less confident pattern for weakly cohesive complex graphemes could also reflect individual variability in the way participants' responses vary with grapheme condition. ...
... 'an'), graphemes would be less activated during sub-lexical orthographic processing. Thus, although grapheme units can probably be activated as a pure orthographic code, in the absence of phonological activation during the task (see Commissaire & Casalis, 2017, experiment 1c), letter clusters that developing readers learn to use as units probably initially rely on how a sound is mapped onto print, in line with proposals by Perry and colleagues (2013;see Brand et al., 2007 andSchmalz, Porshnev &Marinus, 2016 for other sub-lexical representations than graphemes). It is noteworthy that the less confident pattern for weakly cohesive complex graphemes could also reflect individual variability in the way participants' responses vary with grapheme condition. ...
Article
This study aimed to investigate grapheme coding during silent word reading in French developing readers from Grades 3 and 5. Children performed a letter detection task in which three conditions were used; the letter to detect was (a) presented as a single-letter grapheme (simple condition; A in phare), (b) embedded within a multi-letter grapheme that is considered as a unit or not depending on context (weakly cohesive complex condition; A in chant where "an" is a unit but not in other words such as cane), or (c) embedded within a multi-letter grapheme that is systematically considered as a unit (highly cohesive complex condition; A in chaud). Results showed a grapheme condition effect in Grade 5 children only. In this group, both complex grapheme conditions were processed more slowly than the simple condition, but this complexity effect was much stronger for the highly cohesive condition. We suggest that graphemes can be coded as sublexical orthographic units from Grade 5 and that such orthographic fine-grained coding is affected by the degree of grapheme cohesion.
... When grapheme parsing is more ambiguous, as is the case for weakly cohesive complex graphemes (e.g., ''an"), graphemes would be less activated during sublexical orthographic processing. Thus, although grapheme units can probably be activated as a pure orthographic code, in the absence of phonological activation during the task (see Commissaire & Casalis, 2017, Experiment 1c), letter clusters that developing readers learn to use as units probably initially rely on how a sound is mapped onto print, in line with proposals by Perry et al. (2013;see Brand et al., 2007, andSchmalz, Porshnev, &Marinus, 2017, for sublexical representations other than graphemes). It is noteworthy that the less confident pattern for weakly cohesive complex graphemes could also reflect individual variability in the way that participants' responses vary with grapheme condition. ...
... When grapheme parsing is more ambiguous, as is the case for weakly cohesive complex graphemes (e.g., ''an"), graphemes would be less activated during sublexical orthographic processing. Thus, although grapheme units can probably be activated as a pure orthographic code, in the absence of phonological activation during the task (see Commissaire & Casalis, 2017, Experiment 1c), letter clusters that developing readers learn to use as units probably initially rely on how a sound is mapped onto print, in line with proposals by Perry et al. (2013;see Brand et al., 2007, andSchmalz, Porshnev, &Marinus, 2017, for sublexical representations other than graphemes). It is noteworthy that the less confident pattern for weakly cohesive complex graphemes could also reflect individual variability in the way that participants' responses vary with grapheme condition. ...
... This leads to several empirical predictions: in a pseudoword reading task, participants should be able to consistently apply complex rules and give context-appropriate responses. This seems to be, indeed the case (e.g., Martensen, Maris, & Dijkstra, 2003;Schmalz, Porshnev, & Marinus, 2017). However, evidence suggests that complexity continues to exert an effect in reading aloud latencies, even in skilled readers (e.g., Rastle & Coltheart, 1998; but see Schmalz, Beyersmann, Cavalli, & Marinus, 2016). ...
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Orthographies vary in complexity (the number of multi-letter grapheme-phoneme rules describing print-to-speech regularities) and unpredictability (the number of words which cannot be read correctly, even with at-ceiling knowledge of the rules). To assess how these constructs affect reading acquisition, we used an artificial orthography learning paradigm, where participants learn to read pseudowords written in unfamiliar symbols, and subsequently read aloud novel words written in the same symbols (generalisation). In three experiments (third experiment pre-registered), we manipulated the consistency of symbol-to-sound mappings: in the first inconsistent condition, vowel pronunciation depended on the subsequent letter (condition complexity), and in the second inconsistent condition, vowel pronunciation was unpredictable from the context (condition unpredictability). Across experiments, we found that pseudowords with inconsistent mappings are more difficult to learn than pseudowords with consistent mappings only, regardless of whether the inconsistency is due to complexity or unpredictability. Numerically, participants learning orthographies containing unpredictable correspondences seem to be less likely to form rules, either for simple or for complex correspondences. We propose that rule extraction and distributional learning happens simultaneously during reading acquisition: in a mathematical model, we show that distributional learning may lead to more complete knowledge than rule extraction for orthographies that are high in unpredictability.
... This leads to several empirical predictions: in a pseudoword reading task, participants should be able to consistently apply complex rules and give context-appropriate responses. This seems to be, indeed the case (e.g., Martensen, Maris, & Dijkstra, 2003;Schmalz, Porshnev, & Marinus, 2017). However, evidence suggests that complexity continues to exert an effect in reading aloud latencies, even in skilled readers (e.g., Rastle & Coltheart, 1998; but see Schmalz, Beyersmann, Cavalli, & Marinus, 2016). ...
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Orthographies vary in complexity (the number of multi-letter grapheme-phoneme rules describing print-to-speech regularities) and unpredictability (the number of words which cannot be read correctly, even with at-ceiling knowledge of the rules). To assess how these constructs affect reading acquisition, we used an artificial orthography learning paradigm, where participants learn to read pseudowords written in unfamiliar symbols, and subsequently read aloud novel words written in the same symbols (generalisation). In three experiments (third experiment pre-registered), we manipulated the consistency of symbol-to-sound mappings: in the first inconsistent condition, vowel pronunciation depended on the subsequent letter (condition complexity), and in the second inconsistent condition, vowel pronunciation was unpredictable from the context (condition unpredictability). Across experiments, we found that pseudowords with inconsistent mappings are more difficult to learn than pseudowords with consistent mappings only, regardless of whether the inconsistency is due to complexity or unpredictability. Numerically, participants learning orthographies containing unpredictable correspondences seem to be less likely to form rules, either for simple or for complex correspondences. We propose that rule extraction and distributional learning happens simultaneously during reading acquisition: in a mathematical model, we show that distributional learning may lead to more complete knowledge than rule extraction for orthographies that are high in unpredictability.
... Therefore, Hebrew offers an excellent natural context to study letter-position processing in learning to read (Friedmann et al., 2007). Other examples are the influence of vowel letters on the pronunciation of consonant letters in Russian (Schmalz et al., 2017) and complexity vs. irregularity effects in French and English (Schmalz et al., 2016). By strategically conducting experimental studies in different languages, capitalizing on their specific features and challenges, we can systematically isolate and better understand the different processes which the reading and spelling system in the brain is capable of or how it has adapted itself to the linguistic structures of different languages. ...
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Because of its regularity, it is relatively easy to learn to read and spell in Finnish. However, a specific hurdle in spelling acquisition seems to be the doubling of consonant letters. In this study on consonant letter doubling spelling in Finnish children (91 Grade 1 and 191 Grade 2 children), we asked two questions. First, are items with double consonant letters (e.g., “kissa” [ˈkisːɑ] ‘cat’) indeed harder to spell than single consonant items (e.g., “kisa” [ˈkisɑ] ‘contest’)? Second, is consonant doubling harder for stop consonants (e.g., “takki” [ˈtɑkːi] ‘coat’) than for continuant consonants (e.g., “kissa” [ˈkisːɑ] ‘cat’)? We found that Finnish children made more errors on items with double consonant letters than on items with single consonant letters and that this effect was larger for stop than for continuant consonant letters. Exploratory analyses showed that these effects were stronger for younger and poorer spellers. Post hoc analyses of the errors made on double consonant items showed that the children predominantly made nonlexical errors (> 90%). When they did make a lexical error, these errors typically did not map on the type of errors that would be expected from a corpus analysis of the higher-frequency orthographic neighbors. Overall, lexical influences on spelling of Finnish children seem to be minimal and unpredictable. We discuss two potential reasons why it is more difficult to spell items with double consonant letters than with single consonant letters and suggest how these could be investigated in future research.
... Nevertheless, our data show that grapheme units are activated independently of phonology and can be considered as sub-lexical orthographic units per se in expert readers. Such unitization process was also evidenced with other type of salient units such as syllables (Taft, 1992) and more recently consonant-vowel (CV) clusters (Schmalz, Porshnev & Marinus, 2016). Schmalz and colleagues investigated whether Russian speakers process CV clusters as orthographic sub-lexical units. ...
Article
This work aimed to investigate grapheme coding during sub-lexical processing and lexical access. Using the letter detection task in Experiment 1, we compared letter pairs that could be considered as a grapheme unit or not depending on context (referred to as weakly cohesive complex, e.g. an in chant vs. cane) to real two-letter graphemes (highly cohesive complex, e.g. au in chaud) and single-letter graphemes (simple, e.g. a in place). Three experimental conditions were used, one of which was designed to prevent phonological influences. Data revealed that only highly cohesive complex graphemes were processed as units, not the weakly cohesive ones. The same pattern was found across experimental conditions, in favor of an orthographic mechanism. In Experiments 2 and 3, a primed lexical decision task was used with two SOAs and two different ranges of lexical frequency. We manipulated the number of graphemes removed from partial primes (d**che vs. do**he-DOUCHE) and relatedness. In contrast with Experiment 1, no evidence was provided in favor of a role of graphemes during lexical access. We suggest that graphemes can be conceived as sub-lexical orthographic units per se but can only be captured within a sub-lexical route to reading.
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Anecdotal evidence suggests that biliterates who had limited exposure to one of their scripts during childhood often struggle to develop reading fluency. Reading fluency is a prerequisite for fluent reading and comprehension. Here, we investigate reading dysfluency and its causes in 70 biliterate adults reading while processing Cyrillic and Latin scripts. We confirm that most participants indeed struggle to develop fluency if they have not had exposure to a script from childhood. We test three potential bottlenecks: letter processing, orthographic coding efficiency, and word-specific knowledge. We find that speed depends on the first of these bottlenecks. This has likely knock-on effects on orthographic processing and word-specific knowledge, which in turn slows down the reading process. This finding suggests that reading instructions for adults should be supplemented by training of letter processing.
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The Orthographic Depth Hypothesis [Katz, L., & Frost, R. (1992). The reading process is different for different orthographies: The orthographic depth hypothesis. In R. Frost & L. Katz (Eds.), Orthography, phonology, morphology, and meaning (pp. 67–84). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science] proposes cross-linguistic differences in the involvement of lexical processing during reading. In orthographies with complex, inconsistent, and/or incomplete sublexical correspondences, decoding is more difficult and therefore slower. This gives more time to the lexical route to retrieve information, and leads to a greater ratio of lexical processing. We test whether this mechanism applies both for words with inconsistent (in English) and for words with complex (in French) correspondences. As complex correspondences are sufficient to derive a correct pronunciation, an increase in lexical processing may not occur. In a reading-aloud task, we used the frequency effect to measure lexical processing. The data showed stronger involvement of lexical processing for inconsistent compared to consistent words, and for complex compared to simple words. The results confirm that Katz and Frost’s proposed mechanism applies to different sources of orthographic depth.
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The type of sublexical correspondences employed during non-word reading has been a matter of considerable debate in the past decades of reading research. Non-words may be read either via small units (graphemes) or large units (orthographic bodies). In addition, grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences may involve context-sensitive correspondences, such as pronouncing an “a” as /ɔ/ when preceded by a “w”. Here, we use an optimisation procedure to explore the reliance on these three types of correspondences in non-word reading. In Experiment 1, we use vowel length in German to show that all three sublexical correspondences are necessary and sufficient to predict the participants' responses. We then quantify the degree to which each correspondence is used. In Experiment 2, we present a similar analysis in English, which is a more complex orthographic system.
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Although the majority of research in visual word recognition has targeted single syllable words, most words are polysyllabic. These words engender special challenges, one of which concerns their analysis into smaller units. According to a recent hypothesis, the organization of letters into groups of successive consonants (C) and vowels (V) constrains the orthographic structure of printed words. So far, evidence has been reported only in French with factorial studies of relatively small sets of items. In the present study, we performed regression analyses on corpora of megastudies (English and British Lexicon Project databases) to examine the influence of the CV pattern in English. We compared hiatus words, which present a mismatch between the number of syllables and the number of groups of adjacent vowel letters (e.g., client) to other words, controlling for standard lexical variables. In speeded pronunciation, hiatus words were processed more slowly than control words, and the effect was stronger in low-frequency words. In the lexical decision task, the interference effect of hiatus in low-frequency words was balanced by a facilitatory effect in high-frequency words. Taken together, the results support the hypothesis that the configuration of consonant and vowel letters influences the processing of polysyllabic words in English.
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According to a recent hypothesis, the CV pattern (i.e., the arrangement of consonant and vowel letters) constrains the mental representation of letter strings, with each vowel or vowel cluster being the core of a unit. Six experiments with the same/different task were conducted to test whether this structure is extracted prelexically. In the mismatching trials, the targets were pseudowords built by the transposition of 2 adjacent letters from base words. In one condition, the pseudowords had the same number of vowel clusters as the base word, whereas in another condition, the transposition modified the number of vowel clusters (e.g., poirver: 2 vowel clusters vs. povirer: 3 vowel clusters, from POIVRER: 2 vowel clusters). In Experiment 1, pseudowords with a different number of vowel clusters were more quickly processed than pseudowords preserving the CV structure of their base word. Experiment 2 further showed that this effect was not due to changes in syllabic structure. In Experiment 3, the pattern of results was also replicated when the category (consonant or vowel) of the transposed letters was strictly equated between conditions. Experiments 4 and 5 confirmed that the effects were not attributable to lexical processing, to differences in letter identity, or to the position of transpositions. The results suggest that the orthographic representation of letter strings is influenced by the CV pattern at an early, prelexical processing stage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
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A thorough understanding of monosyllabic-word-recognition processes, in contrast with multisyllabic-word processing, has accumulated over the past decades. One fundamental challenge regarding multisyllabic words concerns their parsing into smaller units and the nature of the cues determining the parsing. We propose that the organization of consonant and vowel letters provides powerful cues for parsing, and we present data from a new task showing that a word's orthographic structure, as determined by the number of vowel-letter clusters, influences estimations of its length. Words were briefly presented on a computer screen, and participants had to estimate word length by drawing a line on the screen with the mouse. In three experiments, participants estimated words comprising fewer orthographic units as shorter than words comprising more units even though the words matched for number of letters. Further results demonstrated that the length bias was driven by orthographic information and not by phonological structure.
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Linear mixed-effects models (LMEMs) have become increasingly prominent in psycholinguistics and related areas. However, many researchers do not seem to appreciate how random effects structures affect the generalizability of an analysis. Here, we argue that researchers using LMEMs for confirmatory hypothesis testing should minimally adhere to the standards that have been in place for many decades. Through theoretical arguments and Monte Carlo simulation, we show that LMEMs generalize best when they include the maximal random effects structure justified by the design. The generalization performance of LMEMs including data-driven random effects structures strongly depends upon modeling criteria and sample size, yielding reasonable results on moderately-sized samples when conservative criteria are used, but with little or no power advantage over maximal models. Finally, random-intercepts-only LMEMs used on within-subjects and/or within-items data from populations where subjects and/or items vary in their sensitivity to experimental manipulations always generalize worse than separate F1 and F2 tests, and in many cases, even worse than F1 alone. Maximal LMEMs should be the ‘gold standard’ for confirmatory hypothesis testing in psycholinguistics and beyond.
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The present article investigates how phonotactic rules constrain oral reading in the Russian language. The pronunciation of letters in Russian is regular and consistent, but it is subject to substantial phonotactic influence: the position of a phoneme and its phonological context within a word can alter its pronunciation. In Part 1 of the article, we analyze the orthography-to-phonology and phonology-to-phonology (i.e., phonotactic) relationships in Russian monosyllabic words. In Part 2 of the article, we report empirical data from an oral word reading task that show an effect of phonotactic dependencies on skilled reading in Russian: humans are slower when reading words where letter-phoneme correspondences are highly constrained by phonotactic rules compared with those where there are few or no such constraints present. A further question of interest in this article is how computational models of oral reading deal with the phonotactics of the Russian language. To answer this question, in Part 3, we report simulations from the Russian dual-route cascaded model (DRC) and the Russian connectionist dual-process model (CDP++) and assess the performance of the 2 models by testing them against human data. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Statistical analysis is a useful skill for linguists and psycholinguists, allowing them to understand the quantitative structure of their data. This textbook provides a straightforward introduction to the statistical analysis of language. Designed for linguists with a non-mathematical background, it clearly introduces the basic principles and methods of statistical analysis, using ’R’, the leading computational statistics programme. The reader is guided step-by-step through a range of real data sets, allowing them to analyse acoustic data, construct grammatical trees for a variety of languages, quantify register variation in corpus linguistics, and measure experimental data using state-of-the-art models. The visualization of data plays a key role, both in the initial stages of data exploration and later on when the reader is encouraged to criticize various models. Containing over 40 exercises with model answers, this book will be welcomed by all linguists wishing to learn more about working with and presenting quantitative data.
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In two experiments, whether people use an orthographic syllable structure based on phonology when reading multi-syllabic words or a structure based on an orthographic scheme first proposed by Taft (1979, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 18, 21–39) was investigated. This was done by presenting words disrupted by a space based on the particular structures being investigated and examining the extent that the spaces affected responses. Results from the first experiment showed that participants were slower to process words when consonant clusters were disrupted by a space compared to when the space occurred after the consonants and before a vowel. This occurred even though the space that did not disrupt the consonants caused the words to be segmented in a way that was not congruent with either of the orthographic structures being examined. Participants also appeared to display a weak preference for processing words as syllabic units, phonologically defined. The second experiment provided further evidence that people use an orthographic syllable structure based on phonological syllables and not just orthographic regularities. It is argued that these results are best interpreted in terms of a graphemic parsing process that uses two stages, one which is sensitive to consonant and vowel status but not syllable boundaries and a second which is sensitive to syllable boundaries initially derived from phonology.
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The processes and the cues determining the orthographic structure of polysyllabic words remain far from clear. In the present study, we investigated the role of letter category (consonant vs. vowels) in the perceptual organization of letter strings. In the syllabic counting task, participants were presented with written words matched for the number of spoken syllables and comprising either one vowel cluster less than the number of syllables (hiatus words. e.g., pharaon) or the same number of vowel clusters (e.g., parodie). Relative to control words, readers were slower and less accurate for hiatus words, for which they systematically underestimated the number of syllables (Experiment 1). The effect was stronger when the instructions emphasized response speed (Experiment 2) and when concurrent articulation was used (Experiment 3), and the effect did not stem from phonological structure (Experiment 4). Furthermore, hiatus words were more slowly and less accurately pronounced than control ones (Experiment 5). Finally, in lexical decision, opposite effects occurred as a function of word length, with shorter words producing a facilitatory effect and longer words showing interference (Experiment 6). Taken together, the results show that perceptual units extracted from visual letter strings are influenced by the orthographic status of letters. We discuss the implications of such findings in view of current theories of visual word recognition.