Variations in reading and spelling acquisition in Portuguese, French and Spanish: A cross-linguistic comparison
Research Paper
Variations in reading and spelling acquisition in Portuguese, French and Spanish: A cross-linguistic comparison
Research Paper
Variations in reading and spelling acquisition in Portuguese, French and Spanish: A cross-linguistic comparison

Abstract

This study undertakes a cross-linguistic comparison of reading and spelling acquisition in French, Portuguese and Spanish languages. It aims to examine several explanatory factors for the well-documented effect of language on the speed of reading and spelling development: differences in orthographic depth and complexity of syllabic structures. A longitudinal study was carried out with first graders in the three languages and with a common assessment procedure. Children were tested in October, February and May on letter knowledge, familiar word and simple pseudoword reading and spelling. Results show that all children were accurate in reading and spelling at the end of the first school year. Differences between languages are highlighted when rate of acquisition and linguistic variables such as lexicality, items length, or complexity of grapheme-phoneme correspondences and of the syllabic structure are considered. These differences will be discussed in the light of the explanatory factors mentioned.

How to Cite

Serrano, F., Genard, N., Sucena, A., Defior, S., Alegria, J., Mousty, P., Leybaert, J., Castro, S. & Seymour, P., (2011) “Variations in reading and spelling acquisition in Portuguese, French and Spanish: A cross-linguistic comparison”, Journal of Portuguese Linguistics 10(1), 183-204. doi: https://doi.org/10.5334/jpl.106

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Francisca Serrano (Universidad de Granada Facultad de Psicologia, Campus de Cartuja s/n, Granada 18071, Spain)
Nathalie Genard (Free University of Brussels (LCLD), CP 191,50, Avenue F.D., Roosevelt, B–1050 Brussels, Belgium)
Ana Sucena (Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Porto, Rua Valente Perfeito, 322, 4400-330 V.N. Gaia, Portugal)
Sylvia Defior (Universidad de Granada, Facultad de Psicologia, Campus de Cartuja s/n, Granada 18071, Spain)
Jesus Alegria (Free University of Brussels (LCLD), CP 191,50, Avenue F.D., Roosevelt, B–1050 Brussels, Belgium)
Philippe Mousty (Free University of Brussels (LCLD), CP 191,50, Avenue F.D., Roosevelt, B–1050 Brussels, Belgium w)
Jacqueline Leybaert (Free University of Brussels (LCLD), CP 191,50, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, B–1050 Brussels, Belgium)
São Luís Castro (Faculdade de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Manuel P. da Silva, P–4200-392 Porto; Portugal)
Philip H. K. Seymour (University of Dundee, Department of Psychology Dundee DD1 4HN, Scotland, UK)

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Publication details

Pages 183-204
Accepted on 2016-03-08
Published on 2011-06-30

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

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This article has been peer reviewed.

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