THE PHONOLOGICAL DEFICIT IN DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA: IS THERE A SUPRASEGMENTAL COMPONENT?

Catherine Dickie1, Mitsuhiko Ota1 & Ann Clark2
1University of Edinburgh; 2Queen Margaret University

ID 1441
[full paper]

Adult dyslexics were tested on a range of tasks which were presented in two closely matched versions: a segmental version and a suprasegmental version. The tasks targeted phonological contrasts on one hand and the metalinguistic ability to manipulate phonological units on the other hand. Results showed that dyslexics did show a deficit in suprasegmentals as well as segmentals when the tasks involved manipulation, but the representation of suprasegmental contrasts does not appear to be impaired.