Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research Vol.55 1587-1599 December 2012. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2012/10-0335)
© American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrowCustom Print
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow My Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bahr, R. H.
Right arrow Articles by Dow, M.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bahr, R. H.
Right arrow Articles by Dow, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Delicious   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Article

Linguistic Pattern Analysis of Misspellings of Typically Developing Writers in Grades 1–9

Ruth Huntley Bahra
Elaine R. Sillimana
Virginia W. Berningerb
Michael Dowa
a University of South Florida
b University of Washington

Correspondence to Ruth Huntley Bahr: rbahr{at}usf.edu

Purpose: A mixed-methods approach, evaluating triple word-form theory, was used to describe linguistic patterns of misspellings.

Method: Spelling errors were taken from narrative and expository writing samples provided by 888 typically developing students in Grades 1–9. Errors were coded by category (phonological, orthographic, and morphological) and specific linguistic feature affected. Grade-level effects were analyzed with trend analysis. Qualitative analyses determined frequent error types and how use of specific linguistic features varied across grades.

Results: Phonological, orthographic, and morphological errors were noted across all grades, but orthographic errors predominated. Linear trends revealed developmental shifts in error proportions for the orthographic and morphological categories between Grades 4 and 5. Similar error types were noted across age groups, but the nature of linguistic feature error changed with age.

Conclusions: Triple word-form theory was supported. By Grade 1, orthographic errors predominated, and phonological and morphological error patterns were evident. Morphological errors increased in relative frequency in older students, probably due to a combination of word-formation issues and vocabulary growth. These patterns suggest that normal spelling development reflects nonlinear growth and that it takes a long time to develop a robust orthographic lexicon that coordinates phonology, orthography, and morphology and supports word-specific, conventional spelling.

KEY WORDS: spelling, triple word-form theory, spelling errors, nonlinear development


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Delicious Delicious   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?