Traditional Orthography Research Articles

Hungary’s Rusyn Policy in the Early 1940s: The Subcarpathian Scholarly Society, the Journal Zoria/Hajnal, and the Rusyn Language

Hungary’s Rusyn Policy in the Early 1940s: The Subcarpathian Scholarly Society, the Journal <i>Zoria/Hajnal</i>, and the Rusyn Language

Prospects, Opportunities and Difficulties of Creating Digital Dostoevsky in Traditional Russian Orthography

The article considers the need to republish the texts of classical Russian literature in general, as well as the creative heritage of F. M. Dostoevsky in particular, in the author's orthography. The author analyzes the key cultural and technological obstacles on the path to drawing the attention of the public and the scientific community to the problem of insufficient number of books published in traditional orthography. A set of practices and solutions that contribute to changing the current situation in the long and short term is proposed. Based on historical experience, as well as the work of modern researchers in the field of textual studies, the socio-cultural functioning of traditional spelling in Russia at the present time is highlighted. This is the language in which the Russian classics were created. Rehabilitation and functioning of traditional spelling involves the capacity to write and publish your texts in scientific and business communication. It is necessary to encourage the use of traditional orthography in professional literary-critical and linguistic activities. Technical issues need to be addressed, in particular, the introduction of a new standard for the Russian keyboard layout, the development of information and reference services on the history of the Russian language, tools and technologies for creating electronic texts. Creating the digital Dostoevsky can help solve the problems of the variable use of traditional Russian writing.

Teaching conventional early reading skills to children with intellectual disabilities in special schools in the UK: a survey of current practices and perceived barriers

ABSTRACT Statistics relating to special schools indicate very low rates of basic literacy. However, there is very little information available regarding typical instruction in these settings and, therefore, no clear picture of the potential barriers precluding the improvement of reading skills in special schools. The current paper investigated current practices in conventional early reading instruction (i.e., instruction involving the development of reading abilities using traditional orthography) with children in special schools and, in particular, children with intellectual disabilities. One hundred and ninety teachers participated in the survey, which aimed to: collate information on current practices related to conventional early reading instruction for children with intellectual disabilities in special schools across the United Kingdom (UK); investigate the putative effects of age and severity of intellectual disabilities on teachers’ choice of instructional approaches; and examine teachers’ perceptions of barriers to improving reading skills in this population. Age and severity of intellectual disability were associated with different responses relating to the choice of approaches and expectations. Access to training and suitable curricula were seen as greater barriers to improving reading skills than time or staffing.

Arabic teenagers’ attitudes to electronic writing in Arabizi

The globalization of English-based technology has caused the present-day Arab generation to rely on the use of the Latin script as the main writing system when communicating through the electronic medium in Spoken Arabic (SA). This has raised fears for the preservation of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the traditional orthography of Arabic. This study presents the attitudes of Arab adolescents in northern Israel towards the use of Arabizi (Latinized Arabic) in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), and towards MSA. The data were collected via a questionnaire completed by 8th grade students. The questions were divided into three different themes: (1) Demographic data, (2) The degree of control of communication with Arabizi in CMC, and (3) Subjects’ attitude towards Arabizi and MSA. The results show that although the students all use Arabizi and report that it is easier and more accessible to them, they consider MSA important and valuable, as it is related to their identity as Arabs.

Gutturals in General Israeli Hebrew

Abstract Modern Hebrew is written with the traditional Hebrew orthography, which contains several symbols that refer to guttural sounds. However, the pronunciations corresponding to these symbols in Modern Hebrew are not phonetically guttural. This paper is an exhaustive survey of these realizations. It shows that in many cases, there are reasons to think that even though no sound is produced, there is an underlying segment in the position of the historical guttural, and this segment behaves in a predictable manner. That said, alongside this general pattern, there are some effects related to historical gutturals that must be regarded as morpheme-specific, as well as some idiosyncrasies of the different original gutturals.

Reflections of Church Slavonic – Croatian diglossia on the Baška tablet: a new contribution concerning its language and linguistic layers

he paper discusses the linguistic layers of the Glagolitic text of the Baska tablet (cca. 1100 AD), which is considered the oldest textual monument of Croatian language and literature. This text is placed in a wider sociohistorical (1.1) and linguistic context (1.2, 1.3). Following a brief description of the Baska Tablet and a review of the most important literature (2.1), our discussion turns to the question of the tablet’s foundational linguistic layer (Old Croatian or Church Slavonic) and the thesis concerning the Croatian Church Slavonic language of the text. The argumentation for this thesis is considered and disputed. It is impossible to determine with complete certainty which linguistic data from the text belongs to either of these two Slavic languages, since the basic lexis of both Old Croatian and Church Slavonic is Proto-Slavic in origin. It is possible to identify only some exclusive characteristics of one idiom or the other in the text, and Church Slavonicisms in this highly stylised epigraphic text are stylistically relevant (2.2). The arguments put forth to support the thesis that the language of the text is Croatian Church Slavonic are unacceptable, since the law of open syllables did not hold in the time of the Baska tablet (which uses traditional Glagolitic orthography), and the writing and pronunciation of the phonemes yat and schwa in the early 12th century cannot be considered criteria for differentiating linguistic layers, since the value of these phonemes overlap in both the Old Croatian and Croatian Church Slavonic languages. A potential interpretation of Latin influence in the inscription of some names in the text is provided at the end of the work (2.3). A separate chapter (3) consists of a discussion on two processes (Croatisation and Church-Slavonicisation) and concludes, considering that the text of the Baska tablet was composed as a legal text with specific literary characteristics, that the language used on the Baska tablet is a Church-Slavonicised vernacular, although a classification of linguistic data can only say with certainty that it is a Church Slavonic-Cakavian written hybrid.

Getting Rid of the Horizontal-to-Vertical Strategy: A Case Report of a Japanese Research Psychologist

Most Japanese research psychologists have used “Horizontal-to-Vertical Conversion Strategy” for their research, simply replicating experimental studies published in Western journals with Japanese participants and publishing papers only in Japanese (the traditional orthography of the Japanese language is vertical). This short article criticized this prevailing research strategy among Japanese psychologists and reported a series of studies resulted from an invention of new experimental procedure. It showed an example of a Japanese researcher who had got rid of the inadequate approach by inventing a new experimental method. It also aimed to encourage Japanese psychologists to conduct innovative research and publish their studies in English journals.

Orthographie als System — Orthographieerwerb als Systemerwerb

Traditional orthography teaching in German primary schools initially often operates under the misleading assumption of a one-to-one relation between letters and phonemes. The discovery that letters can also have other functions requires a reorganization of the learner system that not all pupils handle successfully. The paper proposes a theoretically motivated alternative route towards the acquisition of reading and writing. It illustrates the didactical support needed in order to introduce some core notions like syllable, stem, and word that can help children to understand the logic underlying orthography instead of mainly relying on memorization as a learning device.

A comparison of two strategies of sight word instruction in children with mental disability

The aim of this research study was to compare two strategies of sight word instruction in children attending a school for learners with moderate to severe mental disability, namely modified orthography (MO) and modified orthography where an association was made between the modification and the traditional orthography (MO/TO) together with a control group (TO). Thirty-three participants were matched according to their gender, receptive language skills and alphabet knowledge and assigned to the three groups, after which they were taught 10 sight words by using one of the above-mentioned strategies for 2 weeks. Word identification scores were obtained prior to teaching, on a daily basis during teaching, and after 3 weeks of withdrawal to determine the retention of identified words. Results show that individuals with moderate to severe mental disability are able to learn sight words through any of the three strategies implemented. Although there was no statistically significant difference between the three groups on a 5% level, significance on a 10% level was recorded for the MO/TO and TO groups. The order of effectiveness as measured by group averages on word identification was: MO/TO, TO and MO. The clinical implication of these results is that by using MO/TO as teaching strategy for sight words, individuals with limited literacy skills would be able to derive meaning from the written word while forming an association between the modification and the orthography. This could provide early reading success and enhance word identification.

Use of Pictographic-Articulatory Symbols to Promote Alphabetic Reading in a Language-Impaired Boy: Case Study

This case study describes an intervention that used both Blissymbols and a new type of pictographic-articulatory symbol to teach reading to a 9-year-old boy with a specific language impairment. The symbols are derived from spatial positioning of the articulators relative to each other within the whole, with each symbol portraying the salient articulatory features of a letter sound. The results suggest that the symbols may have played a mediating and compensatory role by promoting this child's ability to read traditional orthography.

Effects of Modified Orthography on the Identification of Printed Words

Research has shown that instructional methods involving pairing pictures with print interfere with identification of written words. Preliminary evidence, however, indicates that use of modified orthography (where a line drawing is superimposed upon the printed word) may be effective for reading instruction with individuals who have mental retardation. In the present study, we used a single-subject parallel treatments design with 4 adults who had moderate to severe mental retardation. They received reading instruction under two conditions--traditional and modified orthography. Results showed that traditional orthography was a more effective method for word identification. The relative advantage of modified orthography over traditional orthography for individuals with mental retardation was not supported.

Commentary

EDITORIAL NOTE: Belarusian, a Slavic language, is the distinctive tongue of the Republic of Belarus, formerly a part of the USSR. It is written in a version of the Cyrillic alphabet, fast standardized around 1906; this version is referred to below as the "traditional orthography. " A revised standard, bringing Belarusian script closer to that of Russian, was promulgated under the Soviet regime in 1933. As the following report explains, a recent attempt to revive the earlier system has recently met with official disapproval. This report was made available on the Internet by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Prague, Czech Republic, in RFE/RL Newsline vol. 2, no. 152, part II, 10 August 1998, with the title "A language on trial"; it is printed here by permission. Copyright © 1998 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. The report was drawn to the editor's attention by Luisa Maffi of Northwestern University. The "Postscript" at the end was made available by Jan Maksymiuk.

The use of graphic language intervention among young children in Norway

Knowledge about graphic communication intervention and use among young disabled children has been sparse. The present study is based on a thorough search, and provides reliable information about children who are 10 years old or younger who have graphic communication (for example, photographs, drawings, Blissymbols, PIC, traditional orthography) as their main form of communication. The study covers all such children in three Norwegian counties, comprising a population of 1.1 million people. Detailed descriptions of the children, the systems they use, and their educational settings are presented, and implications for the organisation of habilitation services are discussed.

The effect of orthography on the acquisition of literacy skills

The effect of the regularity of orthography on the acquisition of literacy skills was studied by comparing the reading and spelling of 70 Italian children aged 6–11 years with that of 90 English children learning traditional orthography (t.o.) and 33 children aged 6–7 years learning the initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.), using an Italian passage for adults which was also translated into English. The Italian children learned to read at an earlier age than the English t.o. children, but not than the English i.t.a. children. The English t.o. and i.t.a. children could read more words than they could spell, whereas the Italian children could spell most of the words they could read and even some they could not read.The English children read fast and inaccurately, whereas the Italian children read slowly and accurately using a systematic, phonological strategy until 10 years, when they read fast and accurately. All the children used a phonological strategy in spelling, but only the Italians were mostly successful. Thus the results suggest that, if the orthography is predictable and invariant, the children use a systematic, phonological strategy and learn to read and spell more quickly and accurately.

An Easy Symbolic System for Phonemes Which is Keyboard Compatible

A keyboard compatible phonemic system is described. It uses those graphemes in traditional orthography which normally represent particular phonemes. This system has a certain degree of regularity, it can normally be stored compactly without the need for separators and, because it is grapheme-based, it can use the same symbols to represent speakers from different countries. The system's regularity is achieved by using the same grapheme which represents similar sounds in its lower and upper case forms (e.g., thick and this are represented as /thik/ and /THis/, respectively). Similarly, all short forms of vowels are in lower case and all long forms are in upper case. It is argued that most psychologists currently using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) do so in a highly restricted manner to represent the pronunciation of words (analogous to the representation of word sounds in dictionaries) rather than as a precise phonetic representation of sounds which is available in the fuller form of the IPA. When making such dictionary-based representations of phonemes, there is no advantage in using the restricted form of the IPA given the advantages of the proposed keyboard compatible system which is easy to learn, less susceptible to error by more experienced users, and can be easily stored on computer.

The form and use of written communication produced by physically disabled individuals using microcomputers

The paper presents the findings of a study which analyzed the written communication output of 6 congenitally, physically disabled individuals (between the ages of 13 and 22 years) who were originally trained in the use of Blissymbols for face-to-face communication and later made the transition to traditional orthography. All written output produced by each subject using a microcomputer over a 4-week period was collected and analyzed in terms of its form and use. Results indicated that these individuals used written communication to fulfill a range of purposes including homework, letter writing, and self expression. They were relatively successful in utilizing appropriate sentence structure and morphology. Implications of the findings with respect to the related literature and clinical intervention are discussed. Directions for future research are suggested.

English Spelling and Pidgin

English has had centuries of ‘traditional orthography’, but novel varieties of English have no orthography at all until it is created for them. How are these spelling systems developed and how close to, or distant from, ‘real’ spelling need they be?

Computer‐Assisted Communication for Language Development

AbstractThis paper argues that educational software should be written in such a way that teachers have access to the program's educational content. One such program, a computer‐mediated reading and language development scheme, is discussed. The program allows each word of traditional orthography to be replaced by a graphic symbol if the teacher wishes.

Methods of Teaching Word Identification to Backward Third Grade Students

AbstractIn an attempt to improve the word identification of backward readers, three methods of instruction and three different forms of orthography were compared. There were no differences among read and say, read and spell, and read, trace and spell methods. There were also no differences among treatments that compared a coloured orthography, syllabified words and traditional orthography. However, in a second experiment, it was found that a mastery learning method was superior to a traditional method of instruction, though the validity of the mastery learning procedures was questioned in this context.

THE IMPACT OF I/T/A ON LOW‐LEVEL READERS IN THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

The Initial Teaching Alphabet was contrasted with traditional orthography in remediation classes for slow readers at the junior high school level. Using the Iowa Test scales as the measure of achievement, the Initial Teaching Alphabet group demonstrated statistically superior gains. Differences in motivation and attitude were ruled out as major contributors. The Initial Teaching Alphabet potential as a remediation technique for higher grade levels appears to be dependent upon curriculum standardization and teacher preparation.