The localist dual-route model of visual word recognition assumes a routine
that addresses the pronunciation of all words known to the reader (the lexi
cal-semantic pathway) and another routine, operating in parallel, that asse
mbles pronunciations on the basis of sublexical spelling-sound corresponden
ces. The present experiment exploits the exception effect (in which words t
hat are atypical in terms of their spelling-sound correspondences are named
more slowly than typical ones) because it is considered a marker of the jo
int operation of these two routines. Participants named high- and low-frequ
ency regular and exception words that were repeated across two blocks of tr
ials. The widely reported interaction between regularity and word frequency
is present in Block 1 but is reduced in magnitude in Block 2. DRC, an impl
emented dual-route model, simulates the data. Taken in conjunction with oth
er reports, the results provide further evidence for a double dissociation
between addressed and assembled routines and are consistent with the view t
hat skill in recognizing printed words known to the reader reflects the dom
inance of orthographic over phonological processing.