Inferring sublexical correspondences from sight vocabulary: Evidence from 6-and 7-year-olds

We report an experiment designed to investigate 6-to-7-year-old children's ability to acquire knowledge of sublexical correspondences between print an d sound from their reading experience. A computer database containing the p rinted word vocabulary of children taking part in the experiment was compil ed and used to devise stimuli controlled for grapheme-phoneme correspondenc e (GPC) frequency and rime neighbourhood consistency according to the child ren's reading experience. Knowledge of GPC rules and rime units was compare d by asking children to read aloud three types of nonword varying in regula rity of GPC and consistency of rime pronunciation. Results supported the view that children can acquire knowledge of both GPC rules and rime units from their reading experience. GPC rule strength affec ts the likelihood of a GPC response; rime consistency affects the likelihoo d of a rime response.