Spelling principles matter: An ERP study investigating the processing of different types of pseudohomophones

Abstract

Spelling in any writing system is governed by fundamental principles. We examined the processing of two types of pseudohomophones constructed from words whose spellings are based on different principles – on the traditional principle of writing, requiring memorization of their spelling, and on the morphological principle, allowing the determination of their spelling from another word with the same morpheme (root) to examine the dependence of the occurrence of orthography–phonology conflict on spelling principles. Event-related potentials were recorded from 22 volunteers during silent reading. Pseudohomophones based on the morphological principle increased the N400 amplitude, emphasizing semantic and morphological processing importance. The P600 component showed significant effects for differentiating words and pseudohomophones based on the traditional principle, predominantly indicating the involvement of memory and reanalysis processes. Source reconstruction demonstrates that both pseudohomophones activate the left inferior frontal gyrus. However, pseudohomophones based on the traditional principle additionally activate the right and left postcentral gyrus, indicating the involvement of additional areas in the differentiation process. The earlier differences for stimuli based on the morphological principle indicate access to smaller units (morphemes), whereas stimuli based on the traditional principle require whole word processing. Our findings underscore the significant role of spelling principles in orthographic processing.