1. Effect of literacy on speech processing

2. Literacy
26% of world is illiterate

3. Literacy 26% of world is illiterate
98% of illiterate people live in developing countries

4. Literacy 26% of world is illiterate
98% of illiterate people live in developing countries

5. Literacy 26% of world is illiterate
98% of illiterate people live in developing countries
14% of Americans read below basic level
85% of juveniles in court are illiterate
70% of prisoners are illiterate

6. Literacy and language processing
Most linguists assume literacy is an add on to spoken abilities.
Literacy doesn’t affect spoken speech processing

7. Writing systems Logographic
Symbol represents word or part of word. Not phonetic
Many Chinese characters

8. Writing systems Logographic Syllabic
Symbol represents word or part of word. Not phonetic
Many Chinese characters
Syllabic
Symbol represents a phonetic symbol
Japanese hiragana

9. Writing systems Logographic Syllabic Abjad
Symbol represents word or part of word. Not phonetic
Many Chinese characters
Syllabic
Symbol represents a phonetic symbol
Japanese hiragana
Abjad
Alphabetic, but no vowels represented
Arabic, Hebrew

10. Writing systems
Alphabet
Symbol represents a single phoneme

11. Does writing system affect language processing?
Subjects
Portuguese speakers who learned to read after age 18 (ex illiterates)
Portuguese speakers who could not read (illiterates)

12. Does writing system affect language processing?
Experiment: Segmentation of speech
Delete the first sound of a made-up word presented orally
Some words were consonant initial
[pluku] [pubə]
Some were vowel initial
[ʌbopu]

13. Does writing system affect language processing?
Experiment: Segmentation of speech
Delete the first sound of a made-up word presented orally
Some words were consonant initial
[pluku] [pubə]
Some were vowel initial
[ʌbopu]
Results
Ex-illiterates: 73% correct
Illiterates: 19% correct

14. Does writing system affect language processing?
If you haven’t learned to represent speech sounds as phonemes, you can’t manipulate phonemes

15. Does writing system affect language processing?
If you haven’t learned to represent speech sounds as phonemes, you can’t manipulate phonemes
Are linguists wrong to assume everyone (even illiterates) processes language by phonemes?

16. Does writing system affect language processing?
Experiment 2
Listen to a word and determine if it contained a particular phone or syllable
[t], [k], [ta], [tʌ], [r]

17. Does writing system affect language processing?
Experiment 2
Listen to a word and determine if it contained a particular phone or syllable
[t], [k], [ta], [tʌ], [r]
Subjects: Illiterates, poor readers, better readers

18. Does writing system affect language processing?
Experiment 2
Listen to a word and determine if it contained a particular phone or syllable
[t], [k], [ta], [tʌ], [r]
Subjects: Illiterates, poor readers, better readers
Results: depending on phone
Illiterates: 36-68% correct
Poor readers: 84-95% correct
Better readers: 77-98% correct
[r] recognized best, [tʌ] worst

19. Does writing system affect language processing?
Better readers recognize phones and syllables in spoken speech

20. Does writing system affect language processing?
Experiment 3
Subjects asked to determine if words rhymed (ended in same sounds)
Results: better readers >> poor readers >> illiterates

21. Phonemic segmentation
Ability to separate words into phones

22. Phonemic segmentation
Ability to separate words into phones
Why is it hard?

23. Phonemic segmentation
Ability to separate words into phones
Why is it hard?
Fuzzy boundaries between phones

24. Phonemic segmentation
Ability to separate words into phones
Why is it hard?
Fuzzy boundaries between phones
It is necessary to read alphabetic system

25. Problem
Illiterates contrasted with literates

26. Problem Illiterates contrasted with literates
Is it not knowing a writing system at all or not knowing an alphabetic writing system?

27. Problem Illiterates contrasted with literates
Is it not knowing a writing system at all or not knowing an alphabetic writing system?
How about comparing literates in non- alphabetic system to literates in alphabetic system

28. Problem Illiterates contrasted with literates
Is it not knowing a writing system at all or not knowing an alphabetic writing system?
How about comparing literates in non- alphabetic system to literates in alphabetic system
Who?
Chinese

29. Hanyu Pinyin
Phonemic representation of Chinese in Latin letters

30. Hanyu Pinyin Phonemic representation of Chinese in Latin letters
Learned by young Chinese kids before Chinese characters

31. Hanyu Pinyin
Subjects
One group learned pinyin before Chinese characters
Other group only learned characters
Both groups were literate

32. Hanyu Pinyin Subjects Experiment 1
One group learned pinyin before Chinese characters
Other group only learned characters
Both groups were literate
Experiment 1
Delete [d, n, s] from syllable (e.g. [dan])
Add [d, n, s] to syllable (e.g. [an])

33. Hanyu Pinyin Subjects Experiment 1
One group learned pinyin before Chinese characters
Other group only learned characters
Both groups were literate
Experiment 1
Delete [d, n, s] from syllable (e.g. [dan])
Add [d, n, s] to syllable (e.g. [an])
Some items were real words, others were not

34. Hanyu Pinyin Results Real words Pinyin taught: 93% correct
Not pinyin taught: 37% correct

35. Hanyu Pinyin Results Real words Non words Pinyin taught: 93% correct
Not pinyin taught: 37% correct
Non words
Pinyin taught: 83% correct
Not pinyin taught: 21% correct

36. Hanyu Pinyin It’s not literate vs. illiterate
It’s alphabetic literate vs. alphabetic illiterate

37. Hanyu Pinyin
Spoken speech not divided into phones until/unless it is seen in alphabetic writing

38. Hanyu Pinyin
Spoken speech not divided into phones until/unless it is seen in alphabetic writing
This casts doubt on phonemic basis of phonological processing

39. Language games give insight into processing
Sorsik sunmakke played by Cuna speakers
Rule: move first syllable to end of word
Obsa > soab

40. Syllable structure How are [dage] and [ina] syllabified?
[da.ge] or [dag.e]
[i.na] or [in.a]?

41. Syllable structure How are [dage] and [ina] syllabified?
[da.ge] or [dag.e]
[i.na] or [in.a]?
In game
[ina] > [nai] not [ain]
[dage] > [geda] not [edag]

42. Syllable structure How are CC syllabified? [argan], [obsa]
[argan] > [ganar] not [rgana]
[obsa] > [saob] not [bsao]

43. Syllable structure How are CC syllabified? [argan], [obsa]
[argan] > [ganar] not [rgana]
[obsa] > [saob] not [bsao]
So CC clusters belong to different syllables
[ar.gan], [ob.sa]

44. Geminates Are geminates [C:] or [CC]? [inna] > [nain] not [nnai]
So . . .?

45. Geminates Are geminates [C:] or [CC]? [inna] > [nain] not [nnai]
So . . .?
[CC] is correct represenation for speakers

46. Intervocalic glides Are they epenthetic or an integral part of word?
[gowe], [maje]

47. Intervocalic glides Are they epenthetic or an integral part of word?
[gowe], [maje]
[gowe] > [ego] not [wego]
[maje] > [ema] not [jema]

48. Interconsonantal [i] Is [i] used to break up CC or is it part of word?
[biriga]
If [i] is part of word we’d expect
[biriga] > [rigabi]
If [i] is not part of word we’d expect
[biriga] > [gabir]

49. Interconsonantal [i] Is [i] used to break up CC or is it part of word?
[biriga]
If [i] is part of word we’d expect
[biriga] > [rigabi]
If [i] is not part of word we’d expect
[biriga] > [gabir] This is what they do

50. What does this say? [saban] > [bansa] [sapan] > [bansab]
[dage] > [geda]
[dake] > [gedag]
[sate] > [desad]

51. What does this say? [saban] > [bansa] [sapan] > [bansab]
[dage] > [geda]
[dake] > [gedag]
[sate] > [desad]
Geminate [dd, gg, bb] are pronounced as single [t, k, p]