Related Experiment Videos
Phonological mediation and the graphemic buffer disorder in spelling: cross-language differences?
M K Jónsdóttir1, T Shallice, R Wise
1Psychology Department, University College London, UK.
Cognition
|May 1, 1996
Summary
Comparing English and Italian writing patients reveals similarities but highlights differences in graphemic buffer organization. Findings suggest phonological mediation may influence syllabic structure preservation in writing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- The graphemic buffer is crucial for converting spoken words into written form.
- Caramazza and Miceli (1990) proposed an orthographic syllable tier within the graphemic buffer.
- This study investigates the graphemic buffer organization by comparing patients with acquired writing impairments.
Observation:
- Two patients, AS (English) and LB (Italian), with graphemic buffer impairments were studied.
- Both patients exhibited similar qualitative and quantitative writing errors.
- LB showed preserved writing of simple-CV over complex-CV structures, unlike AS.
Findings:
- The distinct syllabic organization observed in LB was not present in AS.
- Linguistic differences between Italian and English (syllable salience, sound-to-spelling regularity) were considered.
- LB's preserved syllabic structure may stem from greater phonological mediation, not orthographic basis.
Implications:
- Findings challenge the universality of an orthographic syllable tier in the graphemic buffer.
- The role of phonological mediation in writing processes requires further investigation.
- Cross-linguistic comparisons are vital for understanding language-specific cognitive architecture.