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Deficient syntactic control in poor readers: Is a weak phonetic memory code responsible?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Brian Byrne
Brian Byrne*
Affiliation:
University of New England
*
Brian Byrne Department of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, 2351, Australia
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Abstract

Groups of good and poor readers at second-grade level were tested for comprehension of adjectival constructions of the John is eager/easy to please types and of center-embedded relative clause constructions. The poor readers were inferior to good readers in understanding O-type adjectives (easy) but not S-type (eager). As well, they were poorer at comprehending embedded sentences, but only when the sentences described improbable events, ones which reversed the normal subject/object roles. When either noun could, on pragmatic grounds, assume either role, both groups fared equally well. The results are interpreted as casting doubt on recent assertions that deficient use of a phonetic memory code underlies the syntactic inferiority often seen in poor readers. A more pervasive linguistic immaturity is suggested as being involved.

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Type
Articles
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Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , August 1981 , pp. 201 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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