Non-alphabetic Scripts Research Articles

How to Write the History of the New World: Histories, Epistemologies, and Identities in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World

How to Write the History of the New World: Histories, Epistemologies, and Identities in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World

Orthography and reading speed: Data from native readers of Kannada

Reading has been an extensively studied topicin the Western hemisphere for several decades,and an enormous amount of empirical data hasaccumulated on various aspects of readingalphabetic writing systems like English. Oflate, there has been some interest in theprocessing of non-alphabetic scripts. However,there is hardly any empirical research base onseveral of these writing systems. Twoexperiments are reported on factors influencingrapid reading of words in Kannada, a Dravidianlanguage spoken in southern India. The resultsindicate that word frequency and word type(concrete vs. abstract) do not affect Kannadaword reading latencies (Experiment 1), whereassyllable length, orthographic complexity, andphoneme/grapheme sequence irregularity doaffect reading latencies (Experiment 2). The resultsare discussed in terms of the need for cautionin generalizing from studies based onalphabetic scripts, and point to the relevanceof considering orthography-specific variablesin understanding reading time, even in adult,proficient readers.

A Computational Theory of Writing Systems (review)

Reviewed by: A computational theory of writing systems by Richard Sproat Tadao Miyamoto A computational theory of writing systems. By Richard Sproat. (Studies in natural language processing.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp. xviii, 236. ISBN 0521663407. $65 (Hb). Linguists generally regard written language as little more than a crude approximation of spoken language. In this book Sproat counters this trend by developing a formal theory of writing systems, focusing on a computational theory of text-to-speech synthesis (TTS) systems. Ch. 1 (1–33) outlines technical issues pertaining to TTS. All TTS systems include two main functions: conversion of written text into linguistic representations and conversion of linguistic representations into speech. S’s discussion focuses mostly on the formal issues concerning the initial stage, based on his ongoing work at AT&T Labs. He introduces some critical constructs of his theory of writing systems. One is the orthographically relevant level (ORL). S characterizes ORL as a specifically linguistic level of representation and couples it with the constraint that orthographic depth be consistent across the vocabulary of a language. A further theoretical construct, mapping, mediates between linguistic representations and orthographic presentations, with the constraint that the mapping is a regular relation. These theoretical constructs and constraints are critical to S’s argument: they present writing systems as constraint-based systems, establishing their legitimacy as subjects of serious linguistic inquiry. Ch. 2 (34–66) provides a formal account of orthographic objects, including the introduction of another theoretical construct, the small linguistic unit (SLU). A planar (two-dimensional) finite-state model serves as a computational device in the representation of the SLU. This model defines a rich set of catenation operations that are particularly suitable for representing nonalphabetic scripts. To illustrate the validity of his planar grammar formalism, S provides an extensive analysis of the internal structure of Chinese characters. All writing systems restrict the direction of the script at the macroscopic levels of the line, page, and document. Deviation from this restriction is allowed only at the microlevel of script-internal catenation, that is, at the level of the SLU. Universally, the orthographic syllable is the unmarked SLU, as seen in Linear B, Devanagari, Han’gul, and Chinese. The largest SLU is found in Maya writing, where it may extend from the unmarked syllabic level to that of the word or small phrase. Ch. 3 (67–130) discusses the issue of orthographic depth. In linguistic terms, orthographic depth may be characterized as the tension in faithfulness between phonology and morphology. To verify ORL and its associated constraint, S meticulously contrasts Russian and Belarusian orthographies, showing that they differ mostly in the depth of the level of representation. Across its entire vocabulary, Russian orthography is much deeper than that of Belarusian. The notion of deep orthography is further extended to English, where S uncontroversially concludes that the evidence for a deep morphological ORL in English is equivocal. S does not, however, align himself with advocates of whole-word reading, who naively assume that English spelling is logographic in nature, based on a loose definition of logography. Nor does he agree with Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle that English has a near-optimal spelling system (Sound pattern of English, New York: Harper and Row, 1968), a view that S believes is based merely on personal taste. Ch. 4 (131–62) reviews seminal work on writing systems, most of which employ arboreal classifications. He then postulates an alternative, nonarboreal arrangement that places writing systems in a two-dimensional space, according to which phonographical elements (e.g. consonantal, alphabetic, and syllabic) are encoded, and the amount of associated logography. For instance, in Chinese, the syllable is the phonographic type, and it is accorded copious logography although not as much as in Japanese. In this framework, Chinese and Japanese are essentially phonographic writing systems with additional logographic information encoded. Ch. 5 (163–84) discusses psycholinguistic aspects of writing systems. As is common with psycholinguistic approaches, S’s computational model rests on [End Page 822] two fundamental principles: the dual route hypothesis and architectural uniformity. In S’s computational model, the dual route consists of mapping to the ORL and a set of spelling rules that serve...

Cognitive profiling and preliminary subtyping in Chinese developmental dyslexia

The present study examined the cognitive profile and subtypes of developmental dyslexia in a nonalphabetic script, Chinese. One hundred and forty-seven Chinese primary school children with developmental dyslexia were tested on a number of literacy and cognitive tasks. The results showed that rapid naming deficit and orthographic deficit were the two most dominant types of cognitive deficits in Chinese developmental dyslexia, and that rapid naming and orthographic processing had significant unique contributions to literacy performance. Seven subtypes of dyslexia – global deficit, orthographic deficit, phonological memory deficit, mild difficulty, and three other subtypes with rapid-naming-related deficits – were identified using scores of the cognitive tasks as classification measures in cluster analyses. These subtypes were validated with a behaviour checklist and three literacy measures. The authors suggested that orthographic and rapid naming deficits in Chinese dyslexic children might pose an interrelated problem in developing orthographic knowledge and representation. Therefore, orthographic-related difficulties may be the crux of the problem in Chinese developmental dyslexia.

Testing for dual brain processing routes in reading: a direct contrast of chinese character and pinyin reading using FMRI.

Chinese offers a unique tool for testing the effects of word form on language processing during reading. The processes of letter-mediated grapheme-to-phoneme translation and phonemic assembly (assembled phonology) critical for reading and spelling in any alphabetic orthography are largely absent when reading nonalphabetic Chinese characters. In contrast, script-to-sound translation based on the script as a whole (addressed phonology) is absent when reading the Chinese alphabetic sound symbols known as pinyin, for which the script-to-sound translation is based exclusively on assembled phonology. The present study aims to contrast patterns of brain activity associated with the different cognitive mechanisms needed for reading the two scripts. fMRI was used with a block design involving a phonological and lexical task in which subjects were asked to decide whether visually presented, paired Chinese characters or pinyin "sounded like" a word. Results demonstrate that reading Chinese characters and pinyin activate a common brain network including the inferior frontal, middle, and inferior temporal gyri, the inferior and superior parietal lobules, and the extrastriate areas. However, some regions show relatively greater activation for either pinyin or Chinese reading. Reading pinyin led to a greater activation in the inferior parietal cortex bilaterally, the precuneus, and the anterior middle temporal gyrus. In contrast, activation in the left fusiform gyrus, the bilateral cuneus, the posterior middle temporal, the right inferior frontal gyrus, and the bilateral superior frontal gyrus were greater for nonalphabetic Chinese reading. We conclude that both alphabetic and nonalphabetic scripts activate a common brain network for reading. Overall, there are no differences in terms of hemispheric specialization between alphabetic and nonalphabetic scripts. However, differences in language surface form appear to determine relative activation in other regions. Some of these regions (e.g., the inferior parietal cortex for pinyin and fusiform gyrus for Chinese characters) are candidate regions for specialized processes associated with reading via predominantly assembled (pinyin) or addressed (Chinese character) procedures.

The phonological deficit hypothesis in Chinese developmental dyslexia

The phonological deficit hypothesis in developmental dyslexia wasexamined with readers in Chinese, a nonalphabetic script. Fifty-sixChinese children with dyslexia (23 of whom had reading and writingdifficulties and 33 had reading problems only) were compared withaverage readers of the same age (CA controls) and average readers of thesame reading-level (RL controls) in phonological awareness andphonological memory skills. The results showed that the Chinese dyslexicchildren with both reading and writing difficulties performedsignificantly worse than their CA controls and RL controls in nearly allthe phonological tasks, whereas those with reading problems only,performed significantly less well than their CA controls, but similarlywith their RL controls. These findings suggest that Chinese childrenwith dyslexia have deficits in processing phonological information liketheir alphabetic counterparts.

The Use of Orthographic Analogies in Learning to Read Chinese

Two studies, comprising training in phonological analogy and semantic analogy with pre‐ and post‐training assessments, were conducted to investigate whether young children made orthographic analogies in learning to read a nonalphabetic script, Chinese, as alphabetic readers do. Twenty Chinese first‐graders and 20 third‐graders participated in each of the studies. The results showed that not only the third‐graders, but also the first‐graders made phonological analogies by the phonetic (i.e. the orthographic component in a Chinese character that provides sound cues) and semantic analogies by the radical (i.e. the orthographic component that provides meaning cues). It was, therefore, suggested that the roles and functions of the phonetics and radicals could be taught explicitly in school from an early age to help improve children's reading skills.

The use of orthographic analogies in learning to read Chinese.

Two studies, comprising training in phonological analogy and semantic analogy with pre-and post-training assessments, were conducted to investigate whether young children made orthographic analogies in learning to read a nonalphabetic script, Chinese, as alphabetic readers do. Twenty Chinese first-graders and 20 third-graders participated in each of the studies. The results showed that not only the third-graders, but also the first-graders made phonological analogies by the phonetic (i.e. the orthographic component in a Chinese character that provides sound cues) and semantic analogies by the radical (i.e. the orthographic component that provides meaning cues). It was, therefore, suggested that the roles and functions of the phonetics and radicals could be taught explicitly in school from an early age to help improve children's reading skills.

Naming-speed deficits and phonological memory deficits in Chinese developmental dyslexia

The naming-speed deficit hypothesis in developmental dyslexia was examined with readers in a nonalphabetic script, Chinese. Twenty Chinese dyslexic children in Hong Kong were compared with 20 average readers of the same age (CA controls) and 20 average readers of the same reading level (RL controls) in naming speed (naming digits, colours, pictures, and Chinese characters) and phonological memory skills (digit repetition, word repetition, and nonword repetition). The results showed that the naming speed of Chinese dyslexic children was significantly slower than that of their CA controls in all the naming tasks, but similar to that of their RL controls. The dyslexic children also performed significantly worse than both CA and RL controls in all the phonological memory tasks. These findings suggest that Chinese dyslexic children have naming-speed deficits and phonological memory deficits like their alphabetic counterparts.

A calculus of Ezra Pound: vocations of the American sign

That the beauty of Ezra Pound's late Cantos can appear - on the same page - with the rankest anti-Semitism continues to be problem worth serious discussion, well problem in the understanding of modernism. Kuberski locates the central tension between Pound's poetry and his politics in the contrast between the poet's technical innovations - his commitment to modernist writing - and his antimodernist conception of reading and aesthetics. Few 20th-century poets, Kuberski says, have been as dedicated to reconciliation of metaphysical values and the materiality of human languages. Focusing on this juncture of form and meaning he asserts that Pound's work presents a dramatic, perhaps tragic, illustration of the cost involved in moving from theocentric or logocentric understanding of art to truly modern or postmodern understanding of it. Kuberski also considers the ways in which Pound's career reflects an extreme version of tensions in American culture. Both his poetry and his fascism can be derived from elements of American Romanticism, he claims, citing Emerson's exposition of natural language, Whitman's sense of the poet Adamic Superman, and Poe's exploration of nonalphabetic scripts. In his title and his terminology Kuberski employs the metaphor of stones, calculating device, to chart Pound's overt concerns with stone-like foundation for human knowledge, for origin, and for civilisation.

The universality of two routines for reading: evidence from Chinese dyslexia

A study of 11 Chinese neurological patients with reading disorders indicates that reading aloud a non-alphabetic script, like reading alphabetic scripts, can be accomplished using two distinct routines: one that associates a whole written word with its complete pronunciation, and one that utilizes parts of the written word. Each routine can be selectively impaired by brain damage, resulting in different patterns of reading disability. These data are consistent with the independent neural organization of each routine, and the generality of the two-routine model for reading alphabetic and non-alphabetic scripts.

Automatic phonetic transfer in bidialectal reading

ABSTRACTThis study investigated phonetic activation in reading a nonalphabetic script – Chinese. Since the Chinese ideographic script can be read with more than one dialectal pronunciation, a reader who has learned to read in two dialects will have two pronunciations for the same word stored in his memory. Thus, interference effects will occur. Sixteen subjects who read in Cantonese and Mandarin and 16 subjects who read in Mandarin but not in Cantonese were tested in a similarity judgment task based on pairs of Chinese words that were pronounced the same or differently in one or both of the dialects. That automatic phonetic activation would occur even for an ideographic script such as Chinese was supported by the results.