About this Research Topic
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a written language disorder that is also characterized by phonological processing deficits (Wagner et al., 1994). According to Bishop and Snowing’s (2004) two-dimensional model, individuals with DD exhibit impaired phonological processing but intact nonphonological language processing skills. This is in contrast with Specific Language Impairment (now Developmental Language Disorder, DLD), a group that shows deficits in both phonological and nonphonological dimensions of language. The comorbidity between DD and DLD and whether it is measured and controlled for in DD studies is an important consideration. DD group-level performance on non-phonological language tasks could be compromised by the presence of individuals in the group who also have DLD. However, even after controlling for the overlap between DD and DLD, nonphonological language problems have been detected in DD (Rispens & Been, 2007; Robertson & Gallant, 2019).
Non-phonological skills in the areas of morphology and syntax also involve phonological processing and should be carefully controlled in DD studies. There is some evidence that deficits in morphosyntax are only found in DD when phonological processing demands are high (Shankweiler et al., 1995). However, further examination is needed to address whether nonphonological problems are explained by phonological deficits. In addition to studying specific language skills, another approach is to study the statistical processing of spoken language and how this broader skill is related to DD. This processing is more domain-general in that it is not tied to a particular language skill such as phonology, morphology, or syntax. There is increasing evidence that individuals with DD have broader deficits in the statistical processing of spoken language, suggesting a relationship between statistical language learning impairments and DD (Kahta & Schiff, 2018; Vandermosten et al., 2019). More insight is needed to uncover how the demands of spoken linguistic processing are related to phonological processing difficulties in this population. The goal of this research topic is to integrate a collection of papers that have rigorously considered the challenges noted above to examine spoken language processing in DD that goes beyond phonological processing.
We invite authors to submit manuscripts that address spoken language processing in DD beyond phonology. Original empirical research articles are preferred but review articles will be considered. We welcome papers from both child and adult DD populations that fall under one or more of the relevant themes noted below:
• processing in DD that controls for phonology while examining other areas of spoken language (e.g., morphology, syntax, semantics)
• statistical learning in DD and how it relates to language skills
• novel approaches to measuring spoken language (beyond phonology) in DD
• comparisons of spoken language in DD versus DLD
Non-phonological skills in the areas of morphology and syntax also involve phonological processing and should be carefully controlled in DD studies. There is some evidence that deficits in morphosyntax are only found in DD when phonological processing demands are high (Shankweiler et al., 1995). However, further examination is needed to address whether nonphonological problems are explained by phonological deficits. In addition to studying specific language skills, another approach is to study the statistical processing of spoken language and how this broader skill is related to DD. This processing is more domain-general in that it is not tied to a particular language skill such as phonology, morphology, or syntax. There is increasing evidence that individuals with DD have broader deficits in the statistical processing of spoken language, suggesting a relationship between statistical language learning impairments and DD (Kahta & Schiff, 2018; Vandermosten et al., 2019). More insight is needed to uncover how the demands of spoken linguistic processing are related to phonological processing difficulties in this population. The goal of this research topic is to integrate a collection of papers that have rigorously considered the challenges noted above to examine spoken language processing in DD that goes beyond phonological processing.
We invite authors to submit manuscripts that address spoken language processing in DD beyond phonology. Original empirical research articles are preferred but review articles will be considered. We welcome papers from both child and adult DD populations that fall under one or more of the relevant themes noted below:
• processing in DD that controls for phonology while examining other areas of spoken language (e.g., morphology, syntax, semantics)
• statistical learning in DD and how it relates to language skills
• novel approaches to measuring spoken language (beyond phonology) in DD
• comparisons of spoken language in DD versus DLD
Keywords: developmental dyslexia (DD), morphology, syntax, phonology, semantics, statistical processing, spoken language, non-phonological
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