The visual complexity of orthographies varies across writing systems. Prior research has shown that complexity strongly influences the initial stage of reading development: the perceptual learning of grapheme forms. This study presents a computational simulation that examines the degree to which visual complexity leads to grapheme learning…

The pronunciation of a word represented in an alphabetic writing system (such as this one) is relatively transparent--but a language's sounds change over time and vary across space, while its spellings remain relatively static, resulting in some amount of divergence between the written and spoken forms. The introduction of loanwords and…

Through computational modeling, here we examine whether visual and task characteristics of writing systems alone can account for lateralization differences in visual word recognition between different languages without assuming influence from left hemisphere (LH) lateralized language processes. We apply a hemispheric processing model of face…

Two main theories of visual word recognition have been developed regarding the way orthographic units in printed words map onto phonological units in spoken words. One theory suggests that a string of single letters or letter clusters corresponds to a string of phonemes (Coltheart, 1978; Venezky, 1970), while the other suggests that a string of…

Reports lexical priming effects for two inconsistently spelled segments in Italian words. Finds that Italian, despite its regular orthography, is not spelled purely nonlexically. Argues that a dual-route model of spelling production can be applied to Italian. (NH)

Investigates whether spelling models proposed to account for performance in languages with a deep orthography are applicable to a shallow orthography such as Spanish. Finds significant effects for the variables of grapheme frequency and lexical priming, coinciding with results found in the English language. (RS)

Describes an algorithm for developing a domain knowledge base used in a Japanese language intelligent tutoring system. The domain knowledge represents a model of the expertise required of a student for proficiency in reading "katakana," a Japanese orthography. The algorithm described can generate a knowledge base of Japanese phonological…

The Plaut, McClelland, Seidenberg and Patterson (1996) connectionist model of reading was evaluated at two points early in its training against reading data collected from British children on two occasions during their first year of literacy instruction. First, the network's non-word reading was poor relative to word reading when compared with the…

The article explores information processing models of spelling performance and argues that an adequate theory of spelling processes must include: (1) qualitative changes in performance as a function of maturation that underlie development of automaticity; (2) transactional development of spelling-related knowledge structures and efficient…