On the Anglocentricities of current reading research and practice: The perils of overreliance on an "outlier" orthography.

Abstract

In this critique of current reading research and practice, the author contends that the extreme ambiguity of English spelling-sound correspondence has confined reading science to an insular, Anglocentric research agenda addressing theoretical and applied issues with limited relevance for a universal science of reading. The unique problems posed by this "outlier" orthography, the author argues, have focused disproportionate attention on oral reading accuracy at the expense of silent reading, meaning access, and fluency, and have significantly distorted theorizing with regard to many issues-including phonological awareness, early reading instruction, the architecture of stage models of reading development, the definition and remediation of reading disability, and the role of lexical-semantic and supralexical information in word recognition. The dominant theoretical paradigm in contemporary (word) reading research--the Coltheart/Baron dual-route model (see, e.g., J. Baron, 1977; M. Coltheart, 1978) and, in large measure, its connectionist rivals--arose largely in response to English spelling-sound obtuseness. The model accounts for a range of English-language findings, but it is ill-equipped to serve the interests of a universal science of reading chiefly because it overlooks a fundamental unfamiliar-to-familiar/novice-to-expert dualism applicable to all words and readers in all orthographies.

Functional Dynamics of Dorsal and Ventral Reading Networks in Bilinguals

“…These findings have implications for the teaching of reading in a second language and for second language acquisition generally, in line with studies that have stressed the importance of taking into account languages' specificities, such as orthographic depth (e.g., Ziegler et al, 2010), in educational reading practices (e.g., Share, 2008). In transparent languages, most letters represent one sound and, therefore, it is easier to stress letter-sound conversion rules when teaching transparent L1 and L2 languages.…”

How phonological awareness mediates the relation between working memory and word reading efficiency in children with dyslexia

“…In such transparent orthographies, phonological awareness has less influence on word reading, but more on orthographic spelling (Wimmer, Mayringer, & Landerl, 2000). In English, it can thus be expected that the influence of phonological awareness on reading ability is stronger than in a transparent orthography like Dutch (e.g., Furnes & Samuelsson, 2010; Hogan et al, 2005; Share, 2008). Therefore, in an opaque orthography, working memory may have a more direct effect on word reading efficiency.…”

Phonological development in relation to native language and literacy: Variations on a theme in six alphabetic orthographies

“…Our rich data set also allows awareness of each unit to be contrasted across languages but despite our efforts to match stimuli and participants, it cannot be established unequivocally that these are comparable (Share, 2008). Nevertheless, exploratory analyses will be presented to provide preliminary data about whether any such language differences appear most consistent with an effect of syllable complexity (English, Icelandic > French, Greek > Spanish, Portuguese) or speech rhythm (English vs. (Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese) vs. French, Spanish).…”

“…It also sets up the possibility of cross-linguistic comparisons, although this raises inevitable questions about item and participant comparability across groups (Share, 2008). As these comparisons are of considerable theoretical interest, we have presented the outcome throughout but acknowledge the limitations inherent in this design even when careful attempts are made to match groups and stimuli.…”

“…One consequence of this is that understanding of phonological development in relation to early reading is informed by a predominantly English-language literature with all the disadvantages entailed by over-reliance on what is acknowledged to be an atypical orthography (Share, 2008). Of course, many notable studies on languages other than English exist; indeed, seminal work on phonological awareness was conducted using the Germanic languages of Scandinavia (Lundberg, Frost, & Petersen, 1988;Lundberg, Olofsson, & Wall, 0010-0277/$ -see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.…”