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Comment
. 2012 Oct;35(5):305-7.
doi: 10.1017/S0140525X12000337. Epub 2012 Aug 29.

Writing systems: not optimal, but good enough

Mark S Seidenberg  1
Affiliations
Comment

Writing systems: not optimal, but good enough

Mark S Seidenberg. Behav Brain Sci. 2012 Oct.

Erratum in

  • Behav Brain Sci. 2012 Dec;35(6):467

Abstract

Languages and writing systems result from satisfying multiple constraints related to learning, comprehension, production, and their biological bases. Orthographies are not optimal because these constraints often conflict, with further deviations due to accidents of history and geography. Things tend to even out because writing systems and the languages they represent exhibit systematic trade-offs between orthographic depth and morphological complexity.

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Comment on

  • Towards a universal model of reading.
    Frost R. Frost R. Behav Brain Sci. 2012 Oct;35(5):263-79. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X11001841. Epub 2012 Aug 29. Behav Brain Sci. 2012. PMID: 22929057 Free PMC article.

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