Specific learning trajectories of spelling regularities

Abstract

This paper analyzed four regular spelling patterns: (1a) <e> final unstressed; (1b) <o> final unstressed; (2a) <r> at the end of infinitives; (2b) <r> at the end of nouns. The patterns in (1) are similar in terms of stress context: both are unstressed vowels. The patterns in (2) are both spelled with the letter <r> at the end of words. Writing data from children and adolescents in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th years of elementary school at a public school in Belo Horizonte were analyzed. The hypothesis tested was: spelling error rates differ significantly depending on the type of spelling pattern analyzed. The data confirmed the hypothesis. In final unstressed contexts, learners made more spelling errors related to the letter <e> than to the letter <o>. Regarding the letter <r>, infinitive verbs were spelled with more errors than nouns. Drawing on the theory of Integration of Multiple Patterns (IMP) (Treiman; Kessler, 2014), we argue that seemingly similar spelling patterns may involve specific learning trajectories. In other words, we assert that spelling acquisition occurs through multiple trajectories, which can only be identified through contextualized analyses that consider not only letter-sound correspondences but also phonetic variability and the morphological aspects operating behind each pattern. In short, we propose that the analysis – and teaching – of spelling should go beyond the traditional categorization of regularities and irregularities.