Three interrelated problems in reading: A review

Abstract

In this review, three interrelated problems are discussed with respect to reading. The skilled S may recognize words not so much by a serial letter-by-letter analysis, but rather by some sort of interactive process permitting the extraction of higher order distinctive features. Some semantic information may be available from words beyond the one currently fixated, even though orthographic or phonological information is preconscious or rapidly lost. Finally, the accessing of meaning from the written representation may proceed directly, without any prior or intervening phonological stage. These conclusions are considered within the context of the possibly different aims of the reader at different times, the distinctions between easy and difficult material, and the experienced and tile novice reader. Implications for alternative coding systems, such as a syllabary, are discussed in terms of the roles of the phoneme and the syllable as fundamental units in speech perception.