Skip to main content
Log in

Phonological awareness and morphological awareness: differential associations to regular and irregular word recognition in early Korean Hangul readers

  • Published:
Reading and Writing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A large battery of reading related skills were orally administered to 111 4-year old and 118 5-year old Korean kindergartners, who were also tested on reading of regular and irregular Korean Hangul words. In regression equations, speeded naming was uniquely associated with reading of both regular and irregular words. In contrast, only the three measures of phonological awareness at the levels of phoneme onset, coda, and syllable uniquely explained Hangul regular word recognition, whereas only morphological awareness consistently explained irregular word recognition. Results suggest somewhat different cognitive demands for reading of regular and irregular words, based on the dual-route model, in Korean Hangul.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowers, P. G., & Newby-Clark, E. (2002). The role of naming speed within a model of reading acquisition. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 15, 109–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castles, A., & Coltheart, M. (2004). Is there a causal link from phonological awareness to success in learning to read? Cognition, 91, 77–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chialanti, D., & Caramazza, A. (1995). Where is morphology and how is it processed? The case of written word recognition. In L. B. Feldman (Ed.), Morphological aspects of language processing (pp. 55–76). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho, J.-R. (2001). Hangul word-frequency effects in the categorization task. Korean Journal of Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, 13, 113–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho, J.-R., & Chen, H.-C. (1999). Orthographic and phonological activation in the semantic processing of Korean Hanja and Hangul. Language and Cognitive Processes, 14, 481–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho, J.-R., & McBride-Chang, C. (2005). Correlates of Korean Hangul acquisition among kindergartners and second graders. Scientific Studies of Reading, 9, 3–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, E. V. (1995). The lexicon and syntax. In J. L. Miller, & P. D. Eimas (Eds.), Speech, language, and communication (pp. 303–337). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coltheart, M., Rastle, K., Perry, C., Langdon, R., & Ziegler, J. C. (2001). DRC: A dual route cascaded model of visual word recognition and reading aloud. Psychological Review, 108, 204–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, M. F. (1996). Test of visual-perceptual skills (non-motor). Burlingame, CA: Psychological and Educational Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goswami, U. (1986). Use of analogy in learning to read: A developmental study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 42, 73–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, C. S.-H., & Bryant, P. (1997). Phonological skills are important in learning to read Chinese. Developmental Psychology, 33, 119–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, C. S.-H., Chan, D. W.-O., Tsang, S.-M., & Lee, S.-H. (2002). The cognitive profile and multiple-deficit hypothesis in Chinese developmental dyslexia. Developmental Psychology, 38, 543–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, H.-S., & Hanley, J. R. (1994). Phonological awareness and visual skills in learning to read Chinese and English. Cognition, 54, 73–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang, H., & Simpson, G. B. (1996). Development of semantic and phonological priming in a shallow orthography. Developmental Psychology, 32, 860–866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, H.-J., & Cho, J.-R. (2001). Phonological awareness, visual perception, and reading of Hangul in preschool children. Korean Journal of Developmental Psychology, 14, 15–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J., & Davis, C. (2004). Characteristics of poor readers of Korean Hangul: Auditory, visual, and phonological processing. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 17, 153–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S.-O., Gong, S.-J., & Jo, H.-S. (2004). The effects of phonological processing abilities on the reading ability of four- and five-year olds. Korean Journal of Developmental Psychology, 17, 37–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim-Renaud, Y.K. (Ed.). (1997). The Korean alphabet: Its history and structure. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.

  • Korean Association of Child Studies, & Hansol Education Research Center (2002). Child development report 2001. Seoul, Korea: Hansol Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y. (1997). Mental lexical pathway and processing resource. In Proceedings of the Korean Experimental and Cognitive Psychology (pp. 11–19). Seoul: Korean Experimental and Cognitive Psychological Association.

  • Lee, S.-S., Lee, K.-D., Nam, K.-S., Chung, C.-S., Lee, I.-K., & Choi, Y.-C. (1991). Development of a corpus of contemporary Korean for compiling a lexicographical database. Seoul, Korea: Korean Dictionary Compilation Board of Yonsei University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lim, J.-R. (2002). The realities of modern Korean vocabulary usage and the properties of its word formation. Korean Language, 30, 41–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manis, F. R., Seidenberg, M. S., & Doi, L. M. (1999). See Dick RAN: Rapid naming and the longitudinal prediction of reading subskills in first and second graders. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 129–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, V. A., (2000). Introduction to special issues on morphology and the acquisition of alphabetic writing systems. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 12, 143–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBride-Chang, C., Cho, J.-R., Liu, H., Wagner, R. K., Shu, H., Zhou, A., Cheuk, C. S.-M., & Muse, A. (2005a). Changing models across cultures: Associations of phonological and morphological awareness to reading in Beijing, Hong Kong, Korea, and America. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 92, 140–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBride-Chang, C., Chow, B. W.-Y., Zhong, Y., Burgess, S., & Hayward, W. G. (2005b). Chinese character acquisition and visual skills in two Chinese scripts. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 18, 99–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBride-Chang, C., & Ho, C. S.-H. (2000). Developmental issues in Chinese children’s character acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 50–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBride-Chang, C., Shu, H., Zhou, A., Wat, C. P., & Wagner, R. K. (2003). Morphological awareness uniquely predicts young children’s Chinese character recognition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 743–751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (1988). Korean orthography. Seoul, Korea: National Institute of Korean Language.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (1998). Korean kindergarten curriculum. Seoul, Korea: Special Education Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, F. J., Smith, L., & Dow-Ehrensberger, M. (1995). Education and cognitive development: A natural experiment. Developmental Psychology, 31, 789–799.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nunes, T., Bryant, P., & Olsson, J. (2003). Learning morphological and phonological spelling rules: An intervention study. Scientific Studies of Reading, 7, 289–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, H.-W., Kwak, K.-J., & Park, K.-B. (1995). Korean-Wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence. Seoul, Korea: Special Education Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seidenberg, M. S. (1985). The time course of phonological code activation in two writing systems. Cognition, 19, 1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, G. B., & Kang, H. (1994). The flexible use of phonological information in word recognition in Korean. Journal of Memory and Language, 33, 319–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siok, W. T., & Fletcher, P. (2001). The role for phonological awareness and visual-orthographic skills in Chinese reading acquisition. Developmental Psychology, 37, 886–899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sprenger-Charolles, L., Siegel, L. S., & Bonnet, P. (1998). Reading and spelling acquisition in French: The role of phonological mediation and orthographic factors. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 68, 134–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, I., & Taylor, M. (1995). Writing and literacy in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, R. K., & Torgesen, J. (1987). The nature of phonological processing and its causal role in the acquisition of reading skills. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 192–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoon, H.-K., Bolger, D. J., Kwon, O.-S., & Perfetti, C. A. (2002). Subsyllabic units in reading: A difference between Korean, English. In L. Verhoeven, C. Elbro, & P. Reitsma (Eds.), Precursors of functional literacy (pp.139–163). Amsterdam: J. Benjamins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zho, M.-H., Lee, J.-M., Kim, J.-O., Shin, H.-J., Yi, K.-O., Do, K.-S., Lee, Y., Lee, H.-J., Kim Y.-J., Kim S.-Y., Koh, S.-Y., & Chung, H.-S. (2003). Psychology of language. Seoul, Korea: Hagjisa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler, J. C., & Goswami, U. (2005). Reading acquisition, developmental dyslexia, and skilled reading across languages: A psycholinguistic grain size theory. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 3–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD) (R05-2004-000-11520-0) to Jeung-Ryeul Cho. This research was also partially supported by Research Grants Council grant #4257/03H from the Hong Kong government to Catherine McBride-Chang. We are grateful to In-Sug Whang, Young-Me Paek, Hae-Won Park, and Sue-Eun Cho for their assistance in data collection. We also thank the students, teachers, and headmasters of Hansarang, Yoosung, and Daeja Kindergartens in Korea for the participation in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jeung-Ryeul Cho or Catherine McBride-Chang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cho, JR., McBride-Chang, C. & Park, SG. Phonological awareness and morphological awareness: differential associations to regular and irregular word recognition in early Korean Hangul readers. Read Writ 21, 255–274 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-007-9072-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-007-9072-z

Keywords

Navigation