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ERIC Number: EJ1307242
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jun
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Word Class and Spelling in English
Treiman, Rebecca; Jewell, Rebecca; Berg, Kristian; Aronoff, Mark
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v47 n6 p1027-1035 Jun 2021
The spelling of an English word may reflect its part of speech, not just the sounds within it. In 2 preregistered experiments, we asked whether university students are sensitive to 1 effect of part of speech that has been observed by linguists: that content words (e.g., the noun "inn") must be spelled with at least 3 letters, whereas function words (e.g., the preposition "in") may have only 2 letters. Participants heard VC (vowel-consonant) and consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC; consonant-vowel-consonant) nonwords that were used as nouns (content words) or prepositions (function words). Participants either spelled the items on their own or chose between options with single and double final consonants (e.g., "ib" vs. "ibb"). Participants in the choice task favored final consonant doubling for VCs that were used as nouns. They usually chose single final consonants for VCs that were used as prepositions and for CVCs. Effects of word class were also found in the spelling production task. Final consonant doubling was less common in the production task than the choice task, reflecting participants' reluctance to produce this relatively uncommon spelling pattern. Our results support the view that spelling performance reflects the combined influences of multiple patterns, both phonological and nonphonological.
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Missouri (Saint Louis)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A