W7 Reading Flashcards
What distinguishes spoken language from written language?
Spoken language is inherent to all human cultures, while written language, though common, is not universal. Writing allows for recording facts and differentiating between fact and fiction.
How did writing systems develop according to different theories?
Some evidence suggests writing arose independently in several cultures, while other evidence proposes it originated once or twice and was adapted by others.
What are pictographs?
Pictographs are symbols that represent concepts, used by cultures like some American First Nations and ancient civilizations (e.g., Sumerians, Egyptians).
What marked the transition from pictographs to true writing systems?
The transition involved creating logographs, which represent words, and the use of syllabic symbols, as seen in Egyptian hieroglyphics.
What significant advancement did the Phoenicians contribute to writing systems?
The Phoenicians developed an alphabet around 1000 BCE that included symbols for consonants, later adopted and modified by the Greeks who added vowel symbols.
What are the three main types of contemporary writing systems?
- Logographic (one symbol for each word), 2. Syllabic (one symbol for each syllable), 3. Alphabetic (one symbol for each phoneme).
What are the conditions for a true alphabet?
- Each phoneme must be represented, 2. Ideally, 1:1 grapheme-phoneme correspondence, 3. Ideally, 20-30 graphemes.
What distinguishes “shallow” from “deep” orthographies?
Shallow orthographies have consistent GPCs (e.g., Italian), while deep orthographies have inconsistent GPCs (e.g., English, French).
What is the dual-route model of reading?
It proposes two routes: a direct lexical route for familiar or irregular words and an indirect sublexical route for unfamiliar words based on GPC rules.
What is phonological mediation in reading?
Phonological mediation suggests that sound plays a crucial role in recognizing words, where visual input may require phonological recoding.
How do semantic effects influence reading?
Semantic information can affect how quickly and accurately phonology is accessed, with frequency and imageability impacting reading speed.
What is phonological awareness and why is it important?
Phonological awareness is the recognition of sounds in words, essential for learning to read and write, and is linked to literacy development.
What are common tasks used to assess phonological awareness?
Tasks include sound-to-word matching, rhyme recognition, phoneme segmentation, and phoneme counting.
How can early intervention improve literacy skills?
Early interventions can enhance spoken language skills, providing a foundation for better literacy outcomes, even if literacy issues are independent of speech problems.
What is dyslexia and how is it defined?
Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulties in reading and writing despite adequate intelligence and educational opportunities, often associated with phonological processing issues.
