Abstract
The study tested phonemic awareness in the two languages of Russian (L1)–Hebrew (L2) sequential bilingual children (N = 20) using phoneme deletion tasks where the phoneme to be deleted occurred word initial, word final, as a singleton, or part of a cluster, in long and short words and stressed and unstressed syllables. The experiments were designed to test the effect of four linguistic factors on children’s phoneme deletion: phoneme position (initial, final), linguistic context (singleton, cluster), word length and stress. The results indicated that word length and stress confirmed previous findings in other languages demonstrating the universal validity of these factors. However, phoneme position and linguistic context gave rise to novel findings in the languages studied and provided evidence for language-specific effects on phonemic awareness reflecting onset-rime versus body-coda syllable structure differences. The results are discussed within the framework of universal versus language-specific constraints on phonemic awareness performance in different languages.
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Notes
The number of stimulus items in the two languages was different because final clustered phonemes, which hardly exist in Hebrew but are frequent in Russian, were only targeted in Russian but not in Hebrew.
This condition was tested in Russian only.
Cluster versus singleton conditions were manipulated in monosyllabic words only. This is because high familiarity bi-syllabic words with consonantal clusters are rare in the Hebrew lexicon of preschool children.
This condition was tested in Russian only.
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Appendices
Appendix A
Phonological awareness tasks
Russian
Stimulus words for initial phoneme deletion
Practice trials: лoкoть, мopoз, pyкaв, кycoк, дecять, лaдoнь, кaмeнь, кoвёp, нoмep
Experimental trials: xaлaт, caxap, лoшaдь, внyк, вeчep, бaнт, мocт, cтyл, кycт, двepь, гocть, дивaн, нocoк, кoнeц, лиcт, дpyг, нoжик, цвeт, мaлыш, выxoд
Stimulus words for final phoneme deletion
Practice trials: coceд, вoceмь, ceвep, гopox, пaмять, любoвь, cиpoп, пecoк, зaпax
Experimental trials: тopт, cмex, вeтep, дoждь, cвeт, мecяц, глaз, пeтyx, живoт, дeвять, билeт, гopoд, xлeб, pocт, зoнт, дypaк, caлaт, вxoд, пapк, гoлoc
Hebrew
Stimulus words for initial phoneme deletion
Practice trials: ורד, סדר, סכ’ן, גבר, כסף, סד’ן, ר’קוד, סרט, פנס
Experimental trials: חדר, צמח, מלון, פקק, צחוק, לשון, חתן, זמן, גשר, פרס, חודש, חלב, מלך, ס’פור, חלון, קצת
Stimulus words for final phoneme deletion
Practice trials: דלת, בצל, מרק, גזר, סוכר, גשר, ספר, בגד, בשר, חלום, מפ’ת
Experimental trials: כרוב, סתו, כב’ש, ת’נוק, לחם, כפר, כדור, בוקר, דבשה דרך, בטן, כר’ת, כלב, בלו
Appendix B
Russian letter discrimination
Practice trials | |||
1 | Г | Г | Same |
2 | H | И | Dif |
Experimental trials | |||
1 | З | Э | Dif |
2 | Ш | C | Dif |
3 | Щ | Ч | Dif |
4 | З | З | Same |
5 | П | Ц | Dif |
6 | Г | Г | Same |
7 | Э | E | Dif |
8 | Ж | К | Dif |
9 | Б | Г | Dif |
10 | Я | Я | Same |
11 | Д | T | Dif |
12 | И | У | Dif |
13 | O | У | Dif |
14 | A | Л | Dif |
15 | Ш | Щ | Dif |
16 | A | Я | Dif |
17 | Д | Д | Same |
18 | P | B | Dif |
19 | B | З | Dif |
20 | Б | Б | Same |
Russian letter identification/naming
Practice trials | |
1 | B |
2 | Л |
Experimental trials | |
1 | Ф |
2 | Ë |
3 | P |
4 | Ц |
5 | Г |
6 | H |
7 | Ж |
8 | C |
9 | З |
10 | Ч |
11 | У |
12 | A |
13 | К |
14 | П |
15 | X |
16 | Э |
17 | Ш |
18 | Щ |
19 | Ы |
20 | Б |
Hebrew letter discrimination
Practice trials | ||
1 | ג | ז |
2 | ן | ן |
Experimental trials | ||
1 | ר | ד |
2 | ק | ק |
3 | ב | ב |
4 | ה | ח |
5 | ס | ם |
6 | ק | ח |
7 | ז | ב |
8 | ג | ג |
9 | נ | ג |
10 | ז | ו |
11 | ב | ת |
12 | ס | ס |
13 | ן | ך |
14 | פ | כ |
15 | | |
16 | ס | |
17 | ך | ך |
18 | ת | ח |
19 | | |
20 | ט | ד |
Hebrew letter identification/naming
Practice trials | |
1 | ם |
2 | |
Experimental trials | |
1 | |
2 | כ |
3 | י |
4 | ר |
5 | ה |
6 | א |
7 | ז |
8 | ך |
9 | ק |
10 | ס |
11 | |
12 | ד |
13 | ןו |
14 | |
15 | ג |
16 | ח |
17 | ט |
18 | נ |
19 | ם |
20 | פ |
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Saiegh-Haddad, E., Kogan, N. & Walters, J. Universal and language-specific constraints on phonemic awareness: evidence from Russian–Hebrew bilingual children. Read Writ 23, 359–384 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-009-9204-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-009-9204-8