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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*
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. [email protected]

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
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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