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Reading acquisition and dyslexia in the European orthographies

Philip H. K. Seymour and Lynne G. Duncan

Department of Psychology, University of Dundee p.h.k.seymour@dundee.ac.uk

Abstract

One important external influence on literacy acquisition and dyslexia is the orthography which a child must learn. This paper will examine the effect of orthography on reading acquisition and dyslexia in the context of the European languages. These languages differ in phonology, especially the distinction between the Romance languages, which have a simple open syllable structure with few consonant clusters, and the Germanic languages, which have more complex closed syllables and numerous clusters. They also differ in 'orthographic depth', the complexity and variability of the relationship between letters and sounds. The effects of syllable structure and depth are examined in relation to the early (foundational) phase of learning to read by testing letter-sound knowledge, familiar word recognition and simple nonword decoding together with elementary phonological skills in English and in several other languages. Preliminary research (Seymour, Aro & Erskine, 2003) indicates that foundation literacy acquisition is slower by a factor of more than 2:1 in English relative to a majority languages (Portuguese, French and Danish are exceptions) and characterised by much greater individual variability. New research will be presented which examines rates of progress and emerging strategies longitudinally in contrasting orthographies.

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