Statistical Patterns in Children's Early Writing
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| Title: | Statistical Patterns in Children's Early Writing |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Pollo, Tatiana Cury, Kessler, Brett, Treiman, Rebecca |
| Source: | Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Dec 2009 104(4):410-426. |
| Availability: | Elsevier. 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Tel: 877-839-7126; Tel: 407-345-4020; Fax: 407-363-1354; e-mail: usjcs@elsevier.com; Web site: http://www.elsevier.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2009 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Spelling, Foreign Countries, Beginning Writing, Evaluation, Preschool Children |
| Geographic Terms: | Brazil, United States |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jecp.2009.07.003 |
| ISSN: | 0022-0965 |
| Abstract: | Many theories of spelling development claim that before children begin to spell phonologically, their spellings are random strings of letters. We evaluated this idea by testing young children (mean age = 4 years 9 months) in Brazil and the United States and selecting a group of prephonological spellers. The spellings of this prephonological group showed a number of patterns that reflected things such as the frequencies of letters and bigrams in children's language. The prephonological spellers in the two countries produced spellings that differed in some respects, consistent with their exposure to different written languages. We found no evidence for reportedly universal patterns in early spelling such as the idea that children write one letter for each syllable. Overall, our results reveal that early spellings that are not phonological are by no means random or universal and preserve certain patterns in the writing to which children have been exposed. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.) |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2009 |
| Accession Number: | EJ857514 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Many theories of spelling development claim that before children begin to spell phonologically, their spellings are random strings of letters. We evaluated this idea by testing young children (mean age = 4 years 9 months) in Brazil and the United States and selecting a group of prephonological spellers. The spellings of this prephonological group showed a number of patterns that reflected things such as the frequencies of letters and bigrams in children's language. The prephonological spellers in the two countries produced spellings that differed in some respects, consistent with their exposure to different written languages. We found no evidence for reportedly universal patterns in early spelling such as the idea that children write one letter for each syllable. Overall, our results reveal that early spellings that are not phonological are by no means random or universal and preserve certain patterns in the writing to which children have been exposed. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.) |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0022-0965 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jecp.2009.07.003 |
