“Raining c_ _ _ and _o_ _” - The role of the syllable onset in word recognition in reading in Portuguese

Abstract

The aim of this study was to confirm on new data whether the syllable onset, especially in word initial position, enables more efficient word recognition in reading. Many researchers have suggested the importance of the syllable onset. The consonantal skeleton of words is the first to be activated in the reading process in English, according to Lee, Rayner & Pollatsek (2001). Moreover, it was shown that the onset is preserved whereas other graphemes are suppressed in chat discourse in Portuguese (Silva, 2006). An experimental study was conducted based on a word recognition task in the context of a sentence. One or two graphemes belonging either to the onset or the rime, or its constituents, the nucleus or the coda, were represented. We reached the conclusion that the branching onset in word initial position favours lexical recognition.