Cited by 1,022Reading and Literacy DevelopmentSecond Language Acquisition and LearningPhonetics and Phonology Research

On the anglocentricities of current reading research and practice: The perils of overreliance on an “outlier” orthography.

Share, David L.·2008·Psychological Bulletin

Abstract

In this critique of current reading research and practice, the author contends that the extreme ambiguity of English spelling-sound correspondence has confined reading science to an insular, Anglocentric research agenda addressing theoretical and applied issues with limited relevance for a universal science of reading. The unique problems posed by this "outlier" orthography, the author argues, have focused disproportionate attention on oral reading accuracy at the expense of silent reading, meaning access, and fluency, and have significantly distorted theorizing with regard to many issues-including phonological awareness, early reading instruction, the architecture of stage models of reading development, the definition and remediation of reading disability, and the role of lexical-semantic and supralexical information in word recognition. The dominant theoretical paradigm in contemporary (word) reading research--the Coltheart/Baron dual-route model (see, e.g., J. Baron, 1977; M. Coltheart, 1978) and, in large measure, its connectionist rivals--arose largely in response to English spelling-sound obtuseness. The model accounts for a range of English-language findings, but it is ill-equipped to serve the interests of a universal science of reading chiefly because it overlooks a fundamental unfamiliar-to-familiar/novice-to-expert dualism applicable to all words and readers in all orthographies.

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Crossref · 10.1037/0033-2909.134.4.584

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  • This system's proper development matters for English and possibly more so for other writing systems.

    “The proper development of this system is surely relevant in English (Shaywitz et al., 2002), but it may be even more important in other writing systems (van der Mark et al., 2009; Share, 2008; Ziegler, 2006; Siok, Perfetti, Jin, & Tan, 2004; Holopainen, Ahonen, & Lyytinen, 2001; Paulesu et al., 2001).”

    From The Development of Cortical Sensitivity to Visual Word Forms (2011) · cites this paper as Share, 2008

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Authors
Share, D. L.
Affiliations
University of Haifa (IL)
Corresponding author
Share, David L.
Venue
Psychological Bulletin
Published
2008-07
Volume
134
Issue
4
Pages
584-615
ISSN
  • 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1455
OpenAlex
W2040035146
Cited by
1,022
References
439
Citations by year
2026: 52 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 67 · 2021: 77 · 2020: 86 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 50 · 2017: 71 · 2016: 55 · 2015: 49 · 2014: 51 · 2013: 66 · 2012: 64
FWCI
69.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Phonetics and Phonology Research
Keywords
orthography, science of reading, dual-route model, word recognition, silent reading, reading fluency, phonological awareness, early reading instruction, reading disorders, reading development
MeSH terms
Child, Child Development, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Humans, Language, Linguistics, Reading, Research Design, Verbal Behavior

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