TITLE:
The Role of Phonology and Morphology in the Development of Basic Reading Skills of Dyslexic and Normal Native Arabic Readers
AUTHORS:
Salim Abu-Rabia, Nariman Abu-Rahmoun
KEYWORDS:
Dyslexia in Arabic; Morphology; Phonology (Short Vowels); Dyslexia in Semitic Orthographies
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.3 No.7,
November
28,
2012
ABSTRACT: This study is an investigation of the role of some basic reading skills of dyslexic (n = 27) and normal readers of Arabic: A reading-age-matched group (n = 29) and a chronological age-matched group (n = 31). The children were tested on reading and cognitive measures, all of which had vowelized and unvowelized versions: phonological, orthographic, reading, spelling, syntax, and working memory skills. The results of the MANOVA revealed significant differences between the dyslexic readers and the two control groups on most measures. Moreover, main effects of vowels and roots were found. In other words, subjects were much better at the vowelized than the unvowelized tests and used morphology to assist their reading accuracy. However, the Stepwise Regression analysis revealed that syntax, reading measures (isolated words, real roots and false roots), morphology and spelling were the most powerful predictors of reading accuracy among dyslexic and normal readers.