Examines two versions of the alphabet to show how psychological evidence indicates that grammar is best which best approximates the system people have in their heads. (RB)

This issue of "Exploring," is devoted primarily to examination of alphabets and the languages they represent. Major articles include: "Shrinking the Alphabet" (Pat Murphy), a comparison of alphabet composition for different languages; "The Puzzle of Linear B" (Paul Doherty), a history of archaeologists' deciphering of an early form of written…

See FL 502 583 for the first part of this article. (RS)

Describes an alphabetic process for cuing readers to speak the three dimensions of sound: fundamental frequency, duration, and intensity. (RB)

Preschool children's early understanding of letters was explored. Five tasks were designed to elicit information about children's conceptualizations of letters in their own names, and the children's responses were analyzed descriptively to determine general patterns. (Author/VWL)

As part of a study of the feasibility and effect of teaching Navajo children to read their own language first, the results of analysis of grapheme and unit frequencies noted in the speech of Navajo 6-year-olds are presented in this report. Material gathered by means of interviews conducted by 22 adult Navajos with over 200 Navajo children is…

See FL 502 588 for the conclusion of this article. (RS)

This article presents the results of a questionnaire sent to Spanish teachers regarding possible orthographic reforms in Spanish. Changes considered included elimination of certain letters and representation of each phoneme by only one letter. Responses to each question are classified and explained. (Text is in Spanish.) (CHK)

Subjects instructed to circle misspellings while reading prose were less likely to detect misspellings in function than in content words. Misspellings that changed the shape of a word were more likely to be detected. It is not clear whether differences between function and content words are due to familiarity or redundancy. (Author/RD)

Reports a study that examined sixth- and 10th-grade students' ability to generate orthographic and phonetic derivatives for three predominant vowel-alternation patterns characteristic of internal derivational morphology. Results support the hypothesis that a productive knowledge of these patterns in orthography precedes a productive knowledge of…

This publication presents three suggested language arts curriculum units. They represent a cross-section of materials that have been developed to deal with the learning problems of students with special language difficulties. Originally developed for grades 7-12, these units may be adapted for use in adult education or at other grade levels. They…