Orthographic knowledge in L2 lexical processing: A cross-linguistic perspective

Abstract

Introduction During the last decade, there has been a growing interest in vocabulary acquisition among second language (L2) researchers. The research stockpile has expanded in scope and complexity at a remarkable rate for the brief period of time. Despite the increasing number of empirical studies, however, relatively little attention has been given to orthographic considerations. In view of the major gains in L2 vocabulary research, the gap has become problematic. Conceivably, the minimal concern with orthographic knowledge may stem from the predominance of top-down approaches to L2 reading research over the last decade. More than 60% of the empirical research between 1974 and 1988 reflected this perspective (Bernhardt, 1991). As a consequence, scant work had been done on lower-level verbal processing mechanisms until very recently, and the role and function of orthographic knowledge remain largely unexplored. There are compelling reasons, however, to believe that orthographic knowledge plays a critical part in L2 reading, particularly in lexical processing. Current L2 vocabulary studies, for example, consistently demonstrate that the ability to utilize context in inferring the meaning of unknown words is highly correlated with reading proficiency (e.g., Chern 1993; Haynes, 1984). And, even more important, the failure to use context for lexical inference is, in many cases, attributable to word misidentification (Huckin &: Bloch, 1993). When L2 learners mistakenly assume they know a word, they tend to ignore various contextual clues that highlight the semantic incongruity resulting from the misidentification.