Linguistic Rhythm and Literacy: (17 Trends in Language Acquisition Research)

The intersection of sound processing, speech production, and literacy is a promising and growing area of study. This volume showcases recent empirical research exploring the association between linguistic rhythm and reading. Linguistic rhythm does not easily assume a single definition, which is part of the motivation for this volume, and subsumes constructs including suprasegmental phonology, prosody, intonation and stress. The twelve papers collected here are the product of a gathering of like-minded researchers from the disciplines of linguistics, psycholinguistics, developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience and education. The resulting chapters cover topics including the following: developmental interactions between linguistic rhythm and reading and spelling, relationships between rhythm and dyslexia, and cross-linguistic variation in the relationship between lexical stress and orthography. This book will be of interest to researchers and graduate students in the fields of linguistics, human communication, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology and literacy.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction; 2. Prosodic Sensitivity Literacy; 3. The Contributions of Prosodic and Phonological Awareness to Reading: A Review (by Wade-Woolley, Lesly); 4. Chapter 2. Suprasegmental Phonology and Early Reading Development: Examining the Relative Contribution of Sensitivity to Stress, Intonation, and Timing (by Holliman, Andrew J.); 5. Chapter 3. Which Prosodic Skills are Related to Reading Ability in Adulthood? (by Mundy, Ian R.); 6. Chapter 4. Towards a Speech Rhythm-Based Reading Intervention (by Harrison, Emily); 7. Chapter 5. The Neural Basis of Speech Rhythm Perception (by Thomson, Jenny); 8. Chapter 6. Speech Rhythm and Temporal Structure: Converging Perspectives? (by Goswami, Usha); 9. Prosodic Productivity Literacy; 10. Chapter 7. Word Stress Competence and Literacy in Dutch Children with a Family Risk of Dyslexia and Children with Dyslexia (by Bree, Elise de); 11. Chapter 8. Stress Production in Derived English Words as a Developmental Window (by Jarmulowicz, Linda); 12. Chapter 9. Development of Reading Prosody and its Assessment (by Schwanenflugel, Paula J.); 13. Prosody and Orthography; 14. Chapter 10. Cross-Linguistic Evidence for Probabilistic Orthographic Cues to Lexical Stress (by Monaghan, Padraic); 15. Chapter 11. From Diacritics to the Mental Lexicon: Where is the Stress? (by Protopapas, Athanassios); 16. Chapter 12. Prosodic Skills and Literacy Acquisition in Spanish (by Gutierrez-Palma, Nicolas)

Review :
Thomsom and Jarmulowicz have brought together in one text twelve outstanding chapters written by a diverse set of researchers that, collectively, inspire readers to go beyond their own discipline’s way of thinking about prosody and rhythm. These chapters undoubtedly will inspire new thoughts about the relation between linguistic rhythm and literacy. Assumptions may be challenged, terms may be questioned and/or refined, and likely new programs of research will be developed. I have been waiting for a book like Linguistic Rhythm and Literacy for a long time. We have known since the late 90s that phonological and orthographic pattern knowledge play critical roles in literacy skills and more recently we have acknowledged the important contribution of morphological awareness. This book provides evidence of another component, the prosodic environment, which must be included in a comprehensive view of literacy. It is indeed a treat to have the contributions all in one place! I look forward to using the book both in my own research and with my students.