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Frost and fogs, or sunny skies? Orthography, reading, and misplaced optimalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2012

David L. Share
David L. Share*
Affiliation:
Department of Learning Disabilities and Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel. dshare@edu.haifa.ac.il
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Abstract

I argue that the study of variability rather than invariance should head the reading research agenda, and that strong claims of orthographic “optimality” are unwarranted. I also expand briefly on Frost's assertion that an efficient orthography must represent sound and meaning, by considering writing systems as dual-purpose devices that must provide decipherability for novice readers and automatizability for the expert.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 5 , October 2012 , pp. 307 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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