Brian Doyle: Irish Lenition & Orthographic Depth

[Elizabeth J. Pyatt]

a Chairde,

I am currently completing a graduate seminar in research design and
methodology. For our final project, we have been assigned to write up a
quantitative research proposal.

I have taken an interest in orthography, particularly in L2 reading/writing
instruction and how this issue relates to spelling reform(s) in Irish. This
stems from two observations:

1) The commonly heard lament from older Irish immigrants that "they changed
the language" and that they (i.e., the speakers) have difficulty reading the
new spelling, particularly the "h"annaí.

2) The difficulty L1 English speakers have in acquiring Irish pronunciation.

Modern Irish orthography is often described as simplified. However,
considering the one-to-one grapheme/phoneme principle in the Orthographic
Depth Hypothesis, it strikes me that the method of representing lenition in
modern Irish orthography (i.e., a posterior H) might not be as "simple" as
the traditional method of the "buailte" or dot. Furthermore, certain lenited
consonants (e.g., ch, sh, th) might be more liable to transfer of (English)
L1 grapheme/phoneme correspondences than their traditional correspondents.

Therefore, my proposal involves an experiment with two subject groups of L2
Irish learners with no previous background in Irish. The control group would
be instructed with materials using modern Irish orthography. The experiment
group with materials using modern (i.e., simplified) spelling but with
lenition represented by the dot. At the end of the instruction period (as
yet undetermined), a proficiency test designed to measure low-level,
intraword processing would be administered and a quantitative analysis
performed.

I'd be curious to hear feedback on these ideas, as well as recommended
literature, from those who are so inclined. Although this is only a term
project, my hope would be to develop this into a proposal for a master's
thesis.

Le meas,

Brian Doyle
Northeastern Illinois University
Chicago, IL

--
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

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