Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Expression of syntactic complexity in sentence comprehension: A comparison between dyslexic and regular readers

  • Published:
Reading and Writing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the influence of syntactic complexity on sentence comprehension in Hebrew. Participants were 40 native Hebrew-speaking 5th grade dyslexic and normally reading children aged 10–11 years. Children’s syntactic abilities were tested by three experimental measures: syntactic judgment, a sentence-picture matching task, and a sentence correction task. Each task consisted of sentences composed of five syntactic constructions varying in the level of syntactic complexity (active, passive, conjoined, object-subject relative, and subject-object relative). The length of sentences and the number of propositions in the sentences were controlled. In addition, a wide range of the children’s reading and general abilities (e.g., reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and working memory) was examined. The results indicated that dyslexic readers were less accurate and slower than good readers in all reading tasks and in the tasks on sentence comprehension. The findings suggest that the factor of syntactic complexity seems to be a relatively independent aspect of sentence comprehension. This aspect of sentence comprehension is probably not affected in dyslexic readers. Rather, processing deficit related to phonological and memory impairments of dyslexic children and their ability to process syntactic information is responsible for the difficulties in sentence comprehension.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • N.A. Badian F.H. Duffy H. Als G.B. McAnulty (1991) ArticleTitleLinguistic profiles of dyslexic and good readers Annals of Dyslexia 41 221–245

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Bentin A. Deutsch I.Y. Liberman (1990) ArticleTitleSyntactic competence and reading ability in children Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 48 147–172

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Berman (1985) The acquisition of Hebrew D. Slobin (Eds) The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition Erlbaum Hillsdale, NJ 255–371

    Google Scholar 

  • J.A. Bowey (1986) ArticleTitleSyntactic awareness and verbal performance from preschool to fifth grade Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 15 285–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Breznitz, Z. (1997). Text for oral reading. Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. Jerusalem [in Hebrew].

  • Z. Breznitz M. Leikin (2000) ArticleTitleSyntactic processing of Hebrew sentences in normal and dyslexic readers: Electrophysiological evidence The Journal of Genetic Psychology 161 IssueID3 359–380

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Byrne (1981) ArticleTitleDeficient syntactic control in poor readers: Is a weak phonetic memory code responsible? Applied Psycholinguistics 2 210–212

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Caplan (1993) Language: structure, processing, and disorder MIT Press cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Caplan G. Waters (1999) ArticleTitleVerbal working memory and sentence comprehension Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22 77–126

    Google Scholar 

  • C.J. Clifton S.A. Duffy (2001) ArticleTitleSentence and text comprehension: Roles of linguistic structure Annual Review of Psychology 52 167–196

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Crain D. Shankweiler (1988) Syntactic complexity and reading acquisition A. Davison G.M. Green (Eds) Linguistic Complexity and Text Comprehension: Readability Issues Reconsidered Erlbaum Hillsdale NJ 167–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Deutsch, A. (1994). Operating of attention systems in the field of the syntax in children with severe reading disabilities. Doctoral thesis. The Hebrew University, Jerusalem [in Hebrew].

  • A. Deutsch S. Bentin (1996) ArticleTitleAttention factors mediating syntactic deficiency in reading-disabled children Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 63 386–415

    Google Scholar 

  • Ephratt, M. (1985). Root–pattern array: Main tool for hebrew word formation. Doctoral thesis. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University [in Hebrew].

  • E.C. Ferstl G. Flores d’Arcais (1999) The reading of words and sentences A.D. Friederici (Eds) Language comprehension: A biological perspective Springer Berlin 175–210

    Google Scholar 

  • J.M. Fletcher P. Satz R.J. Scholes (1981) ArticleTitleDevelopmental changes in the linguistic performance correlates of reading achievement Brain and Language 13 78–90

    Google Scholar 

  • A.E. Fowler (1988) ArticleTitleGrammaticality judgments and reading skill in grade 2 Annals of Dyslexia 38 73–94

    Google Scholar 

  • A.D. Friederici (1999) The neurobiology of language comprehension A.D. Friederici (Eds) Language comprehension: A biological perspective Springer-Verlag Berlin 265–304

    Google Scholar 

  • A.L. Glass J. Perna (1986) ArticleTitleThe role of syntax in reading disability Journal of Learning Disabilities 19 354–359

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Gottardo K.E. Stanovich L.S. Siegel (1997) ArticleTitleThe relationships between phonological sensitivity, syntactic processing, and verbal working memory in the reading performance of third-grade children Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 63 563–582

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Gough W. Tunmer (1986) ArticleTitleDecoding, reading, and reading disability Remedial and Special Education 7 6–10

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Hagoort C.M. Brown L. Osterhout (1999) The neurocognition of syntactic processing M. Brown C.M. Hagoort (Eds) The Neurocognition of language Oxford University Press Oxford 273–318

    Google Scholar 

  • W.A. Hoover P.B. Gough (1990) ArticleTitleThe simple view of reading Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 2 127–160

    Google Scholar 

  • M.A. Just P.A. Carpenter (1992) ArticleTitleA capacity theory of comprehension: Individual differences in working memory Psychological Review 99 122–149

    Google Scholar 

  • A.G. Kamhi H.W. Catts (1989) Reading disabilities: A developmental language perspective Little Brown Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Kemper S. Rash (1988) Speech and writing across the life span M.M. Gruneberg P.E. Morris R.N. Sykes (Eds) Practical aspects of memory: current research and issues Wiley Chichester 107–112

    Google Scholar 

  • J. King M.A. Just (1991) ArticleTitleIndividual differences in syntactic processing Journal of Memory and Language 30 580–602

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Kontiola R. Laaksonen R. Solkava T. Erkingontti (1990) ArticleTitlePattern of language impairment is different in Alzheimer’s disease and multi-infarct dementia Brain and Language 38 364–383

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Leikin J. Aharon-Peretz (1998) ArticleTitleAn aspect of auditory word and sentence comprehension in Alzheimer’s disease Journal of Medical Speech-Language Pathology 6 115–122

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Nation M.J. Snowling (2000) ArticleTitleFactors influencing syntactic awareness skills in normal readers and poor comprehenders Applied Psycholinguistics 21 229–241

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Norman S. Kemper D. Kynette (1992) ArticleTitleAdults’ reading comprehension: Effects of syntactic complexity and working memory Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences 47 258–265

    Google Scholar 

  • C.A. Perfetti (1994) Psycholinguistics and reading ability C.A. Perfetti (Eds) Handbook of psycholinguistics Academic Press New York 849–894

    Google Scholar 

  • C.A. Perfetti (1999) Comprehending written language: A blueprint of the reader A.D. Frederici (Eds) Language comprehension: A biological perspective Springer-Verlag Berlin 167–208

    Google Scholar 

  • C.A. Perfetti A.M. Lesgold (1977) Discourse comprehension and sources of individual differences P.A. Carpenter M.A. Just (Eds) Cognitive processes in comprehension Erlbaum Hillsdale, NJ 141–183

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Raven J. Court (1976) Raven’s progressive matrices J.C. Raven Ltd., Oxford Psychologists Press Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Rochon C.S. Waters D. Caplan (1994) ArticleTitleSentence comprehension in patients with Alzheimer’s disease Brain and Language 46 329–349

    Google Scholar 

  • H.B. Rosen (1977) Contemporary Hebrew Mouton The Hague

    Google Scholar 

  • H.S. Scarborough (1991) ArticleTitleEarly syntactic development of dyslexic children Annals of Dyslexia 41 207–220

    Google Scholar 

  • H.S. Scarborough (1998) Early identification of children at risk for reading disabilities: phonological awareness and some other promising predictors B.K. Shapiro P.J. Accardo A.J. Capute (Eds) Specific reading disability: A view of the spectrum. York Press Timonium MD 77–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Shankweiler D., Crain S., Brady S., Macaruso P. (1992). Identifying the causes of reading disability. In Gough P.B., Ehri L.C. et al. Reading acquisition. Erlbaum, Hillsdale NJ, pp 275–305

  • D. Shankweiler S. Crain L. Katz A.E. Fowler A.M. Liberman S.A. Brady R. Thornton E. Lundquist L. Dreyer J.M. Fletcher K.K. Stuebing S.E. Shaywitz B.A. Shaywitz (1995) ArticleTitleCognitive profiles of reading disabled children: Comprehension of language skills in phonology, morphology, and syntax Psychological Science 6 149–156

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Shanon (1973) ArticleTitleInterpretation of ungrammatical sentences Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 12 389–400

    Google Scholar 

  • Shany, M. & Ben Dror, I. (1998). Test of Working Memory. Unpublished test. University of Haifa [in Hebrew].

  • Shany, M., Zayber, T., Ben-Dror, A. (1997). Diagnostic Tools: Reading and writing. Internal report of the Unit of Research and Assessment, Bet-Berl College [in Hebrew].

  • D. Share M. Leikin (2004) ArticleTitleLanguage impairment at school entry and later reading disability: Connections at lexical versus supra-lexical levels of reading Scientific Studies of Reading 8 87–110

    Google Scholar 

  • L.S. Siegel (1999) ArticleTitleIssues in the definition and diagnosis of learning disabilities: A perspective on Guckenberger v. Boston University Journal of Learning Disabilities 32 304–320

    Google Scholar 

  • S.T. Smith D. Shankweiler V.A. Mann (1984) ArticleTitleThe association between comprehension of spoken sentences and early reading ability: the role of phonetic representation Journal of Child Language 11 627–643

    Google Scholar 

  • C.E. Snow M.S. Burns P. Griffin (1998) Preventing reading difficulties in young children National Research Council Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • K.E. Stanovich (1988) ArticleTitleThe dyslexic and garden variety poor reader: The phonological core variable difference model Journal of Learning Disabilities 21 590–604

    Google Scholar 

  • C.L. Stein J.S. Cairns E.B. Zurif (1984) ArticleTitleSentence comprehension limitations related to syntactic deficits in reading-disabled children Applied Psycholinguistics 5 305–322

    Google Scholar 

  • W.E. Tunmer W. Hoover (1992) Cognitive linguistic factors in learning to read P.B. Gough L.C. Ehri R. Treiman (Eds) Reading acquisition Erlbaum Hillsdale, NJ 175–214

    Google Scholar 

  • S.A. Vogel (1974) Syntactic abilities in normal and dyslexic children University Park Press Baltimore, MD

    Google Scholar 

  • D.M. Willows E.B. Ryan (1986) ArticleTitleThe development of grammatical sensitivity and its relationship to early reading achievement Reading Research Quarterly 21 253–266

    Google Scholar 

  • R.W. Woodcock K.S. McGrew N. Mather F.A. Schrank (2001) Woodcock Johnson III Riverside Publishing Chicago

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, 31905, Israel

    Mark Leikin & Orit Assayag Bouskila

Authors
  1. Mark Leikin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Orit Assayag Bouskila
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark Leikin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Leikin, M., Bouskila, O.A. Expression of syntactic complexity in sentence comprehension: A comparison between dyslexic and regular readers. Read Writ 17, 801–822 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-004-2661-1

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-004-2661-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation