Abstract
The time taken by beginning readers to name or categorize words is directly related to the number of letters in a word. LaBerge and Samuels 1974 postulated that this effect is due to letter processing during word identification. However, prior studies failed to control for the positive correlation between number of letters and number of syllables. In the present studies, 1- and 2-syllable words consisting of 4, 5, or 6 letters were used to examine letter and syllable effects in word categorization, word naming, and picture naming among Grade 2, Grade 4, and University students. Experiment 1 revealed that categorization times for Grade 2 students are directly related to the number of letters in 1-syllable words. For 2-syllable words, Grade 2 and Grade 4 students produced the longest categorization times for 4-letter words. This letters × syllables interaction was replicated in Experiment 2 for both word naming and picture naming. University students showed the effect only for picture naming. These results were interpreted to reflect the role of the assembly of a phonological code during the processing of alphabetic print displays in early reading.
Published Version
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