Learning the Manchu Writing System: The Role of Intra‐Symbol Processing in Orthography Acquisition.
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| Title: | Learning the Manchu Writing System: The Role of Intra‐Symbol Processing in Orthography Acquisition. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Li, Bai1 (AUTHOR) libai@must.edu.mo, Murphy, Victoria2 (AUTHOR), Nag, Sonali2 (AUTHOR) sonali.nag@education.ox.ac.uk |
| Source: | Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Apr2026 Supplement 1, Vol. 61, p1-14. 14p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Orthography & spelling, *Phonological decoding, *Word recognition, *Phonology, *Written communication |
| Abstract: | Characteristics of the Manchu writing system provide an excellent testing ground for current theorizing about orthography acquisition. Using traditionally demarcated orthographic units called uju hergen—symbol blocks representing phonological syllables—we investigated the role of visual features and phonological representations in learning the Manchu symbol set. Novice Manchu learners (n = 196; 89.8% female; Mage = 18.79) participated in two experiments. Experiment 1 focused on visual complexity effects and Experiment 2 on mapping complexity effects and switching costs. Among visual characteristics, the number of connected points was found to make a unique contribution to uju hergen recognition. Naming error rate was lower for a list of uju hergen with single (one‐to‐one) mapping between a phoneme marker and sound compared to a matched list but with multiple (one‐to‐many) mapping. No switching cost was observed between lists with low‐ and high‐switching‐demand. Established explanatory constructs of grain size, orthographic depth, and orthographic breadth, referenced together as the construct of orthographic scale, explain the results. But reading uju symbol blocks also requires processing within symbol blocks: at the visual level, connected points provide the sub‐symbol cues to decompose discrete simple features and recompose them into phoneme markers; and at the level of phonological representation, the resultant markers must be read by appropriate symbol‐to‐sound mapping. Together, our study expands theorizing on orthography acquisition by bringing focus on the under‐studied construct of intra‐symbol processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 193225973 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Learning the Manchu Writing System: The Role of Intra‐Symbol Processing in Orthography Acquisition. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Bai%22">Li, Bai</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> libai@must.edu.mo</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Murphy%2C+Victoria%22">Murphy, Victoria</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nag%2C+Sonali%22">Nag, Sonali</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> sonali.nag@education.ox.ac.uk</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Reading+Research+Quarterly+%28John+Wiley+%26+Sons%2C+Inc%2E%29%22">Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)</searchLink>. Apr2026 Supplement 1, Vol. 61, p1-14. 14p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Orthography+%26+spelling%22">Orthography & spelling</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonological+decoding%22">Phonological decoding</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Word+recognition%22">Word recognition</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonology%22">Phonology</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Written+communication%22">Written communication</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Characteristics of the Manchu writing system provide an excellent testing ground for current theorizing about orthography acquisition. Using traditionally demarcated orthographic units called uju hergen—symbol blocks representing phonological syllables—we investigated the role of visual features and phonological representations in learning the Manchu symbol set. Novice Manchu learners (n = 196; 89.8% female; Mage = 18.79) participated in two experiments. Experiment 1 focused on visual complexity effects and Experiment 2 on mapping complexity effects and switching costs. Among visual characteristics, the number of connected points was found to make a unique contribution to uju hergen recognition. Naming error rate was lower for a list of uju hergen with single (one‐to‐one) mapping between a phoneme marker and sound compared to a matched list but with multiple (one‐to‐many) mapping. No switching cost was observed between lists with low‐ and high‐switching‐demand. Established explanatory constructs of grain size, orthographic depth, and orthographic breadth, referenced together as the construct of orthographic scale, explain the results. But reading uju symbol blocks also requires processing within symbol blocks: at the visual level, connected points provide the sub‐symbol cues to decompose discrete simple features and recompose them into phoneme markers; and at the level of phonological representation, the resultant markers must be read by appropriate symbol‐to‐sound mapping. Together, our study expands theorizing on orthography acquisition by bringing focus on the under‐studied construct of intra‐symbol processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1002/rrq.70106 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 14 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Orthography & spelling Type: general – SubjectFull: Phonological decoding Type: general – SubjectFull: Word recognition Type: general – SubjectFull: Phonology Type: general – SubjectFull: Written communication Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Learning the Manchu Writing System: The Role of Intra‐Symbol Processing in Orthography Acquisition. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Li, Bai – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Murphy, Victoria – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Nag, Sonali IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 02 M: 04 Text: Apr2026 Supplement 1 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 19362722 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 61 Titles: – TitleFull: Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) Type: main |
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