Knowledge of suffixed words: A comparison of reading disabled and nondisabled readers

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to measure and compare reading disabled and nondisabled readers" semantic and syntactic knowledge about derivational suffixes as a function of modality (reading versus listening) and as a function of the "neutrality" of the derivative (neutral versus nonneutral) . In the present study, neutrality refers to how straightforward and productive is the relationship between the root and derived form, with "completeness" qualifying as a neutral derivative and "completion" a nonneutral derivative. Two experimental tests were designed for the study. The Semantics test measured ability to extract lexical-semantic information from suffixed words, and the Syntax test measured knowledge regarding the part-of-speech contribution of derivational suffixes. In each test the target words were divided equally between neutral and nonneutral derivatives and between items that were either read or listened to. Participants included 20 sixth-grade reading disabled students (6RD), 20 fourthgrade normal readers (4N), and 20 sixth-grade normal readers (6N).In both the Semantics test and the Syntax test all groups scored better on neutral than on nonneutral derivatives while listening and reading, and the RD students were no more affected by neutrality than the nondisabled readers. In the Semantics test all groups scored better in listening than in reading, but the RD group showed the greatest oral-reading difference. The RD group also scored better in

Derivational morphology and spelling in dyslexia

“…The plots against Reading Age (Figures 1 and 2) show very clearly that dyslexic morphological development followed a normal course in which capacity to perform both implicit (sentence context) and explicit (analogy) tasks was dependent on the literacy level which had been achieved. This outcome agrees with previous findings by Carlisle (1987), Bryant et al (1997a, b;1998), Champion (1997) and Fowler and Liberman (1995) but contrasts with Elbro's (1989Elbro's ( , 1990 report of group differences in sentence analysis and morpheme reversal and completion tasks.…”

The Processing of Inflectional Morphology: A Comparison of Children with and without Dyslexia

“…This type of paradigm has been used in investigations of derivational morphology. Champion (1997) compared dyslexic 6th graders to chronological matched (CA) and reading age matched (RA) control groups on a task that involved extracting lexical-semantic information about inflected forms in an oral and reading condition. The dyslexic children were far more impaired than the control groups in the reading condition, relative to their age appropriate performance in the oral condition.…”

The role of phonological awareness in early childhood reading in English

“…For Leong (1989), poor readers and spellers were slower at producing derived and base word forms than good readers or spellers, particularly when the words involved both phonological and orthographic changes from base to derived form. Champion (1997) established that, while poor readers differed from good readers in awareness of the semantic and syntactic aspects of derived forms, the differences were more pronounced in reading than in oral tasks. Fowler and Liberman (1995) found that poor readers differed from good readers in the oral production of words that undergo phonological shifts and that students' sensitivity to morphologically complex words in an oral production task was related to their reading and spelling abilities.…”

“…Leong, 1989;Fowler & Liberman, 1995;Champion, 1997;Singson, Mahoney & Mann, 2000). Leong (1989) and Champion (1997) contrasted good and poor readers.…”

“…Leong, 1989;Fowler & Liberman, 1995;Champion, 1997;Singson, Mahoney & Mann, 2000). Leong (1989) and Champion (1997) contrasted good and poor readers. For Leong (1989), poor readers and spellers were slower at producing derived and base word forms than good readers or spellers, particularly when the words involved both phonological and orthographic changes from base to derived form.…”