1. THE DYNAMICS OF WRITTEN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Per Henning Uppstad, University of Stavanger, Norway
An experiment of thought:
Axis 2: Among all those who read and write, do people develop differently with regard to how they exploit their spoken language?
Axis 1: Among all those who read and write, do people have different constraints on experiencing a relation between spoken and written language?
More orthographic
Deaf
Second Language learners
Normal
More orthographic
Normal
Deaf
Dyslexics?
Second Language
Dyslexics?
Less orthographic
Less orthographic
Phonology?
Is there a phonological theory that can seize this variety?
If yes, can it keep up dynamic perspectives in developement?
Two kinds of approaches: Descending and ascending approaches (Deutsch and Budwig, 1983)
Descending approaches: evaluate points in development according to an idealized, end state system
Ascending approaches: value the characteristics of language as it develops
Problems
How to generalize phonological description in an ascending approach?
A strong focus on structure is not compatible with an ascending approach.
Grapheme-phoneme conversions are simplistic, because they presuppose the existence of an ideal phonology with and ideal orthography.
How are linguistic structures (descriptions) related to skills?
Proposal
1 Going from description to explanation
Linguistic description: Structure-by-contrast
Disadvantages:
Cannot explain change
Normative
”Two-dimensional”
Explanation in developmental studies: Structure-by-frequency-and-contrast
Advantages:
Focus on change
”Three-dimensjonal”
Claim: a structure is only a structure in its own system. In a different system, however, it may function as a cue
2 A nuanced understanding of skill.
Tønnessen (1999) suggests a synthesis of the behaviourist mechanistic focus on the cognitivist intellectual focus. In his terms skill is best conceived of as the flexible combination of automaticity and awareness. Even very skilled readers/writers move along a continuum of monitoring and steering as they read and write.
Monitoring
Steering
Conclusion
A dynamic perspective can be encouraged in research and teaching by focusing on a nuanced understanding of skill (Tønnessen, 1999)
A dynamic perspective involves explanations of change: structure-by-frequency-and-contrast.
References:
Deutsch, W., & Budwig, N. (1983). Form and function in the development of possessives. Papers and Reports on Child Language Development, 22,
Tønnessen, F. E. (1999). Awareness and automaticity in reading. In I. Lundberg, F. E. Tønnessen & I. Austad (Eds.), Dyslexia: advances in theory and practice (pp ). Dordrecht, Boston, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.