The role of sound-to-symbol literacy in phonological awareness: Evidence from Cantonese
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Phonological awareness reflects linguis2c knowledge related to the sound system of a language. Individual development of phonological awareness is known to progress from larger to smaller sized units and is promoted by the acquisi2on of literacy, especially in alphabet-based wri2ng systems that are built around sound-to-symbol correspondences. The present study addressed the nature of phonological awareness in speakers of a logographically scripted language. It inves2gated phonological awareness in adult speakers of Cantonese hailing from Hong Kong who (compared to speakers of other logographically scripted languages) tradi2onally received liGle sound-based assistance of tool like Pinyin or Zhu-yin-Fu-Hao when they acquire orthography. The study adopted an individual difference approach, quan2fying individually variable levels of experience with a sound-to-symbol wri2ng system and phonological awareness. FiLy-seven Hong-Kong speakers of Cantonese took part, comple2ng a rhyme judgment and a phoneme monitoring task, alongside an extensive background ques2onnaire online. The main predic2on of the study that Cantonese speakers who had a rela2vely high level of experience with sound-to-symbol wri2ng would show advantage in phonological awareness at the subsyllabic level was par2ally borne out by the data. The findings of the present study suggest that phonological awareness is a complex set of dissociable skills, shaped by linguis2c and orthographic experience of individual speakers.
Source: Brain Research
Institution: University of Konstanz
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,110
OpenAlex ID: W4402661567