*** Welcome to piglix ***

Word recognition


Word recognition, according to Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) is "the ability of a reader to recognize written words correctly and virtually effortlessly". It is sometimes referred to as "isolated word recognition" because it involves a reader's ability to recognize words individually from a list without needing similar words for contextual help. LINCS continues to say that "rapid and effortless word recognition is the main component of fluent reading" and explains that these skills can be improved by "practic[ing] with flashcards, lists, and word grids".

The article "The Science of Word Recognition" says that "evidence from the last 20 years of work in cognitive psychology indicates that we use the letters within a word to recognize a word". Over time, other theories have been put forth proposing the mechanisms by which words are recognized in isolation, yet with both speed and accuracy. These theories focus more on the significance of individual letters and letter-shape recognition (ex. serial letter recognition and parallel letter recognition). Other factors such as saccadic eye movements and the linear relationship between letters also affect the way we recognize words.

An article in ScienceDaily suggests that "early word recognition is key to lifelong reading skills". There are different ways to develop these skills. For example, creating flash cards for words that appear at a high frequency is considered a tool for overcoming dyslexia. It has been argued that prosody, the patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry, can improve word recognition.

Word recognition is a manner of reading based upon the immediate perception of what word a familiar grouping of letters represents. This process exists in opposition to phonetics and word analysis, as a different method of recognizing and verbalizing visual language (i.e. reading). Word recognition functions primarily on automaticity. On the other hand, phonetics and word analysis rely on the basis of cognitively applying learned grammatical rules for the blending of letters, sounds, graphemes, and morphemes.


...
Wikipedia

...