Word reading in a minority language: Buildup of the orthographic lexicon in Hunsrückisch

ABSTRACT

Studies on minority languages reading may contribute to reveal how new readers construct the orthographic lexicon. When they read words written in these languages, literate adults transfer automated word reading skills, quickly establishing a relationship between the already known semantic and phonological representations and the new orthographic forms. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate how does the access to written words in Hunsrückisch occur, a Brazilian minority language with German origin. A lexical decision task was applied with written words in Hunsrückisch. Three groups took part of the study, two of which were composed of Hunsrückisch speakers. One of these groups included participants with knowledge of Standard German. The results of the experiment indicate different response patterns for each of the groups. The group of Hunsrückisch and Standard German speakers managed to build up the minority language’s orthographic lexicon more effectively. Research on reading processing of minority languages can contribute to verify the functioning of a writing system and have implications for linguistic policies and pedagogical practices involving these languages.

Keywords:
Reading; learning; orthographic lexicon; Hunsrückisch