Common and script-specific awareness in relation to word recognition in English and Chinese

Abstract

Regardless of the script, in the process of learning to read words, readers develop awareness of the structural and functional properties of words with increased exposure to the script. However, as sub-word units that are critical for phonological or morphological processing or both are not uniform, the types of the awareness may vary from script to script. By reviewing relevant studies, this study examines awareness in relation to phonological and morphological processing in English word recognition and in Chinese character recognition to identify common and script-specific aspects of awareness. It reveals that whether in English word reading or in Chinese character reading, readers become aware of how sub-word units correspond to phonological and morphological information, which can be referred to as awareness of orthography–phonology correspondence and awareness of orthography–morphology correspondence. At a more local level, awareness of orthography–phonology correspondence and orthography–morphology correspondence that develops may be script-specific due to the nature of critical processing units in different orthographies. In English words, the critical processing unit is a phonological one such as a phoneme (or a rhyme), whereas in Chinese characters, it is a component of a character which is closely linked to orthography.

Keywords:

• phonological awareness
• SLA
• morphological awareness
• Chinese

Notes

1. This study was conducted on the nearly 2000 compound characters included in the online Character Catalogue developed by The Le@rning Federation (Curriculum Corporation 2007). The Le@rning Federation is an initiative on behalf of the Australian Education Systems Officials Committee (AESOC). This initiative is project managed by Curriculum Corporation, Australia.