Phonology and spelling: the case of syllabic consonants

Two experiments were performed to explore the effects of one aspect of English phonology, syllabic consonants, on children's spelling. In Experiment 1, kindergarteners (age 6), first graders (age 7), and second graders (age 8) spelled words with stressed syllabic /r/, such as sir, and words with medial vowels, such as wet. Vowel omissions (e.g., "sr") and vowel misorderings (e.g., "sre") were more common for the syllabic /r/ words than for the comparison words. In Experiment 2, first and second graders spelled words with unstressed syllabic /r/, such as wander, unstressed syllabic /l/, such as easel, and unstressed syllabic nasals, such as carton. Words with unstressed vowels in the second syllable, such as bandit, were also included. For first graders, vowel omissions and misorderings occurred primarily for syllabic /r/ and /l/. By second grade, only orthographically influenced errors on syllabic /l/ remained. The results show that phonology plays an important role in early spelling. They also shed light on the nature of children's phonological representations.