3.

1 Writing systems and speech

Writing systems are designed to represent the spoken words of a language. It is through individual
words that other higher units of language, such as the phrase and sentence, represented.

3.1.1 Writing systems based on speech sounds: phonemes or syllables

In the sound-based system, each symbol represents a speech sound, either a phoneme or a syllable.
There are many different sound-based writing scripts in use throughout the world today for
example, Devanagari in India, Arabic in Egypt, the Hangul syllabary in South Korea, the two Kana
syllabaries in Japan, the Cyrillic alphabet in Russia and Bulgaria, and the Roman alphabet in English-
speaking countries and Western Europe.

3.1.2 The unpredicability of English orthography

a. Why English orthography poorly represents English phonemes

Being essentially a sound-based writing system, English letters are intended to represent the
individual phonemes of the language. because the roman alphabet was based on the Latin language,
which used fewer phonemes than English, English orthography (and those of other European lands)
had to make adaptations in order to suit its language.

Thus, no longer, for example, do we pronounce words like ‘light’, ‘night’ and ‘right’ with the sort of
sound that Germans utter in words such as macht (make) and Ich (I). Such sounds have mainly
disappeared from English but are still maintained in some locales

b. The origins of the English alphabet

The origins of the Roman alphabet lie with the Semitic peoples in the Middle East thousands of years
ago. The Phoenicians adapted it to their needs and then carried that alphabet to Greece, from where
it travelled to Rome. Both the Greeks and then the Romans made adaptations to suit their
languages. The names of the letters changed as well. The letter A went from the Semitic name aleph,
to the Greek alpha, to the Roman ah and the English a.

3.1.3 Writing systems based on meaning: the morpheme

In the Chinese system every character represents one or more morphemes as well as a single
syllable. Thus, for example, the Chinese word kowtow (now incorporated into the English language)
consists of two morphemes, kow meaning ‘knock’ and tow meaning ‘head’. Kowtow thus literally
means to kneel and touch the ground with one’s forehead, thereby showing submission or respect
to a superior.
3.2 The Whole-Word vs. Phonics/Decoding controversy

3.2.1 The Phonics/Decoding Approach

a. The nature of reading according to Phonics/Decoding

b. Supporting research evidence for Phonics/Decoding is sparse

c. Problems with the Phonics/Decoding approach

1. Wrongly focuses on sound rather than meaning

2. Decoding is a very difficult process

3. Sounding out a new word relies on meaning

3.2.2 The Whole-Word Approach

a. Teaching reading should focus on meaning and communication and not on speech

1. Memory ability of children

b.Fluent readers use a whole-word strategy

c. Children learn to segment their native language, morphemically, syntactically, and phonologically,
by induction

1. Learning phonological segments in first-language learning by induction

d. Research evidence in support of learning letter–sound values by induction

e. Learning to discriminate individual letter shapes: best in a word

f. Reading should involve only meaningful words, phrases, and sentences

g. Reading should not depend on teaching new language or new concepts

h. Reading should be based on speech understanding and not on speech production

i. Reading should not depend on the teaching of writing

j. Learning to read should be enjoyable