From graphemes to abstract letter shapes: levels of representation in written spelling.
The letter substitution errors of 2 dysgraphic subjects who, despite relatively intact oral spelling, made well-formed letter substitution errors in written spelling, were studied. Many of these errors bear a general physical similarity to the intended target. Analyses revealed that this similarity apparently was based on the features of the component strokes of letters rather than on visuospatial characteristics. A comparison of these subjects' letter substitution errors with those of 2 other individuals with brain damage, whose damage was at a different level of processing, revealed that the latter subjects' errors are not explicable in terms of stroke-feature similarity. Strong support was found for the computation of multiple representational types in the course of written spelling. This system includes a relatively abstract, effector-independent representational level that specifies the features of the component strokes of letters.
Rapp
B
B
Cognitive Science Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA. brenda@mail.cog.jhu.edu
Caramazza
A
A
D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009778:Occipital Lobe; D012660:Semantics; D013702:Temporal Lobe; D014825:Vocabulary; D014956:Writing