36.3406, Reviews: A Linguistic Approach to the Study of Dyslexia: Gloria Cappelli and Sabrina Noccetti (ed.) (2022)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3406. Sat Nov 08 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3406, Reviews: A Linguistic Approach to the Study of Dyslexia: Gloria Cappelli and Sabrina Noccetti (ed.) (2022)

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Date: 08-Nov-2025
From: Clay Hunter Williams [williams at aiu.ac.jp]
Subject: Applied Linguistics: Gloria Cappelli and Sabrina Noccetti (ed.) (2022)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/36-1569

Title: A Linguistic Approach to the Study of Dyslexia
Series Title: Communication Disorders Across Languages
Publication Year: 2022

Publisher: Multilingual Matters
           http://www.multilingual-matters.com/
Book URL:
https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?K=9781800415959

Editor(s): Gloria Cappelli and Sabrina Noccetti

Reviewer: Clay Hunter Williams

In the realm of research pertaining to the science of literacy and
literacy development, the issue of dyslexia looms large in the
developed world, and there are voluminous numbers of studies and
papers regarding the disorder and its treatment. In such an
information-deluged environment, it is difficult to imagine that yet
another edited volume on the subject could be worthy of particular
attention – especially when said volume’s chapter submissions are
largely restricted to evidence from studies undertaken in Italy with
Italian L1 (native language) dyslexic learners. As dyslexia is
popularly understood as a disorder affecting phonetic decoding in the
reading process, and as such often will show more pronounced effects
in the reading of languages with deep orthographies (e.g., English), a
book focusing largely on one of the more transparent orthographies
among major modern languages is fairly surprising. However, as the
edited volume A Linguistic Approach to the Study of Dyslexia (Cappelli
& Noccetti (Eds.), 2022) quickly lays out, phonological processing
issues, while an important part of the profile of dyslexic learners,
is not the entirety of the disorder, and the chapters of this
manuscript detail – and, piece by piece, marshal evidence for – an
entire range of other linguistic effects of the disorder. These
include direct effects of dyslexic disorders on areas such as
morphosyntactic and semantic processing, as well as various
comorbidities commonly occurring in developmental dyslexics. It is in
this focus outside of the usual phonological concentration where this
book truly has something to offer the community of reading disorder
specialists and researchers, as the focus on learners from an L1 with
a relatively transparent orthography underpins the arguments being
made. The manuscript covers the gamut of dyslexic effects in both L1
and L2 (second language) study, and as such, would be of great
scholarly value to a great number of researchers in the applied
linguistics field.
SUMMARY
The volume begins with a basic introduction, authored by Gloria
Cappelli and Sabrina Noccetti, defining developmental dyslexia and
showcasing its “comorbidity with other neurodevelopmental disorders,
such as dyscalculia, disgraphia, dysorthography, attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), and developmental coordination
disorders (DCD) (Cappelli & Noccetti, 2022, p. 3).  This sets up many
of the studies we will see later in the volume, as is made explicit
later in the introduction when the authors list and summarize the
upcoming chapters.
The first section of the book, Psychological and Neurobiological
Foundation of Language Skills in People with Dyslexia comprises the
first three chapters of the volume, which are all expansive reviews of
the literature on dyslexia. The first chapter, The Neurobiological
Basis of Language Skills and Dyslexia by Enrico Ghidoni is easily the
most technical chapter in the volume (fair warning to graduate
students and those without a background in genetics and neuroimaging
studies). The chapter outlines hypotheses and models for how and why
specific learning disabilities (SLD) such as dyslexia occur. The
strengths and weaknesses of these models are discussed with the author
never seeming to take an absolute stance, but instead merely
presenting the evidence to date as it is. The second chapter, Late
Effects of Early Language Delay on Complex Language and Literacy
Abilities: A Clinical Approach to Dyslexia in Subjects with a Previous
Language Impairment, by Caludia Casalini, Daniela Brizzolara, Anna
Maria Chilosi, Filippo Gasperini, and Chiara Pecini, reviews the
literature related to early childhood language delay and its prevalent
tandem appearance with other language disorders such as developmental
dyslexia. The literature shows that dyslexics with previously
documented language delay often display reduced abilities in
phonological processing and phonological working memory which may
profoundly impact the development of literacy skills. The third
chapter, Foreign Language Learning Difficulties in Developmental
Dyslexia: A Narrative Review of Existing Evidence, by Filippo
Gasperini, turns the focus to developmental dyslexia effects on
foreign language study. The review of the literature helpfully extends
across a variety of L1/L2 combinations, featuring English, Swedish,
Polish, Spanish, and Chinese. Throughout, a pattern emerges evincing
that dyslexia has a clear negative impact on literacy acquisition in
foreign language learning; however, its impact on the acquisition of
L2 oral skills is not as clearcut, showing more varied effects on
learning outcomes.
In Part 2 of the book, Theoretical and Experimental Linguistic
Research on Dyslexia, the manuscript shifts from broad review of the
literature on dyslexia and begins to focus on more niche aspects of
the disorder, starting with Chapter 4, Phonological and Lexical
Effects on Reading in Dyslexia, by Marijan Palmović, Ana Matić Škorić,
Mirta Zelenika Zeba, and Melita Kovačević. Chapter 4 details an
eye-tracking study on Croatian primary school children, comparing
dyslexic children with non-dyslexic children across reading tasks
designed to measure the impact of phonotactic probability and word
frequency on reading efficacy and procedures. The study finds that
dyslexic children required more time and were more affected by unusual
orthographic combinations, as well as finding a more pronounced effect
for low word frequency; however, these children also were able to
productively use context clues, which allowed their reading rates to
accelerate towards the ends of sentences. The following chapter,
Morphemes as Reading and Spelling Units in Developmental Dyslexia, by
Cristina Burani, investigates the use of morpheme-level processing
skills as a compensatory reading strategy among developmental
dyslexics – especially learners whose L1 orthography is relatively
transparent. The author reviews studies across several languages,
demonstrating that there are problems in morphemic segmentation among
dyslexic learners (especially when the word root is modified), but
also that transparent morphemic patterns (such as root+suffix in
Italian) can produce strong facilitation effects for dyslexic readers.
Dyslexic readers performed better reading morpheme groups as opposed
to syllable groupings. This calls for consideration of whether or not
morphological training would be an effective intervention for dyslexic
students. Chapter 6, Morphological Knowledge in French-speaking
Children with Dyslexia, by Rachel Berthiaume, Amélie Bourcier, and
Daniel Daigle, follows the theme of the proceeding chapter, looking at
morphological processing behaviors by French L1 dyslexic learners. The
authors similarly present data that dyslexic students seem to
compensate for their poor phonological processing skills through
reliance on morpheme-level analysis and processing, and they issue a
call to action, suggesting how to implement explicit instruction on
morphology and how to use morphological information for literacy
development in the classroom. Chapter 7, Developmental Dyslexia and
Morphosyntactic Competence in Italian Young Adults, by Giovanna
Marotta, focuses the reader more on syntax. The author presents a
study of dyslexic and non-dyslexic university students in Italy. In an
elicitation task, the researcher found that, despite being relatively
academically successful (i.e., having reached university), the
dyslexic students still exhibited certain grammatical limitations;
these manifested even in oral language production and comprehension,
such as in certain relative clause formations and in identification of
syntactic subject in null-subject sentences. Chapter 8, Dyslexia and
Syntactic Deficits: Overview and a case Study of Language Training, by
Anna Cardinaletti, Elisa Piccoli, and Francesca Volpato follows this
line of study, presenting a study using sentence repetition and
elicited production techniques with Italian dyslexic high schoolers.
They similarly find deficits in relative clause usage and accuracy.
The researchers then focus on one study to create a case study on
language training in relative clause structure as a means of
remediation. The training produced positive  results, including
improved accuracy across the board and successful elicitation of forms
(e.g., locative and genitive relatives) which the student had not
produced at all in previous trials. This type of training is suggested
as a possible means of  improving grammatical performance among
dyslexic learners. Chapter 9, The Impact of Dyslexia on
Lexico-Semantic Abilities: An Overview, by Gloria Cappelli (one of the
manuscript editors) addresses present-day hypotheses that dyslexics
may have notable differences in lexical organization and that the
observable deficits in phonological processing and memory may
negatively impact lexical representation, as well as the common
observation that dyslexics may use semantic knowledge productively to
compensate for these phonological and memory issues. While the
literature is inconsistent, there is wide agreement that dyslexics
have functional semantic skills and can use these to compensate for
other problems in reading performance. Chapter 10, Dyslexia and
Pragmatic Skills, by Gloria Cappelli, Sabrina Noccetti (both
manuscript editors), Nicoletta Simi, Giorgio Arcara, and Valentina
Bambini, turns the readers’ attention to the impact dyslexia has been
found to have on pragmatic skills, e.g., producing more issues with
discourse organization and understanding figurative language. The
chapter details evidence from a study of Italian dyslexics (Cappelli
et al., 2018)  wherein the subjects evinced difficulties in explaining
figurative language, misunderstood figurative language in a text, and
even struggled with accuracy in production tasks (interviews), showing
gender and number agreement issues, incorrect prepositions, etc. The
stated implications are that even relatively well-adapted dyslexics
who have succeeded in academia to the point of being enrolled in
university (and largely overcome struggles with issues such as reading
speed), may still evince pragmatic comprehension problems.
The third (and final) section, Applied Linguistic Research and
Dyslexia, focuses on the effects of developmental dyslexia on foreign
language acquisition. Chapter 11, Visual and Auditory Stimuli for
Teaching EFL Vocabulary to Learners with Dyslexia, by Sabrina Noccetti
(also a manuscript editor), presents an experiment in using visual
prompts vs. one-to-one translation in vocabulary learning tasks for
Italian (L1) EFL learners. Using RAN software, invented (pseudo) words
were presented in two conditions – using pictures to explain meaning
and using L1 translation. The results show dyslexic participants
particularly benefited in the long term (after two weeks) when
vocabulary is paired with concrete images. Chapter 12, Reading as a
Multi-Layer Activity: Training Strategies at Text Level, by Francesca
Santulli and Melissa Scagnelli, details a study on use of the
SuperReading course (a commercial speedreading program that teaches
eye-hopping techniques to improve reading speed and accuracy) adapted
for Italian as a means of improving reading efficacy in developmental
dyslexics. The results found that the teaching and practice of these
reading strategies increased reading speed and comprehension across
the board, but especially among dyslexic subjects. In Chapter 13,
Teaching Latin to Dyslexic Learners: A Methodological Proposal,
Rossella Iovino offers a practical prescription for the teaching of
the classical language to Italian learners, using a methodology
designed to accommodate learners with Specific Learning Disorders. She
notes that traditional teaching techniques, which are highly reliant
on visual verbal learning styles, are inappropriate for SLD learners,
who may benefit more from multisensory approaches, emphasizing
morphological and syntactic analysis, and using color-coding and
visual-graphic models to better enable SLD learners to understand
grammar instruction. The final chapter, Foreign Language Teacher
Preparedness to Teach Learners with Dyslexia, by Joanna Nijakowska,
looks at the need for specific teacher training on how to include
special needs students (including those with dyslexia) in foreign
language teaching. She presents data on how demographic variables
impact teacher attitudes towards teaching students with SLDs, taking
the data from the development and validation of a survey conducted
across Cyprus, Greece, and Poland, which focused on teacher
preparedness to include dyslexic learners.
EVALUATION
Taken as a whole, the book is a timely and well-rounded linguistic
investigation of many of the less obvious and less-explored effects of
developmental dyslexia. As previously stated, the predominant focus on
the Italian L1 context serves to eliminate the negative impact of deep
orthographies on literacy acquisition and thus allows us to focus on
other linguistic areas of analysis without getting sidetracked, as
would often be the case in studies of English L1 learners. In that
way, the manuscript certainly succeeds in advancing the discussion of
dyslexic effects beyond the usual phonological decoding issues.
The difficulty which this book will face, however, is in finding an
audience beyond the portion of the scientific community directly
interested in the study of dyslexic effects on learning. The chapters
contained in this volume, while clearly written and directed towards
interesting individual topics of investigation, are nevertheless too
niche in focus to appeal to general learners. The manuscript could not
be productively employed as a classroom text for anything except
perhaps a course for dyslexia specialists (or perhaps slightly more
broadly, SLD clinicians). The book largely assumes a reading audience
already well versed in literature on developmental dyslexia, and
anyone who is not may struggle with the content. The range of required
research expertise is similarly wide, as the articles reference and
describe a wide gamut of research techniques and methodologies,
including neuroimaging, eye-tracking, and computer tests, which may be
unfamiliar to people outside of a narrow band of specialists.
While the individual chapters range considerably in focus, the central
theme is clear, and the way the chapters are laid out in the sections
is logical. While there are some abrupt changes in author tone from
chapter to chapter (which is generally to be expected in an edited
volume), the overall story is clear, and the linguistic description
follows a clear progression from topic to topic, which aids in overall
readability.  In summary, for those in the linguistics community who
are actively engaged in research on literacy acquisition and specific
learning disabilities, I would highly recommend A Linguistic Approach
to the Study of Dyslexia as an interesting exploration of dyslexic
effects from a relatively unusual research vantage point.
REFERENCES
Cappelli, G., Noccetti, S., Arcara, G., & Bambini, V. (2018).
Pragmatic competence and its relationship with the linguistic and
cognitive profile of young adults with dyslexia. Dyslexia, 24(3),
294-306.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Clay Williams is a professor in the English Language Teaching
Practices program of the Graduate School of Global Communication and
Language at Akita International University. He received a Ph.D. in
Second Language Acquisition and Teaching from the University of
Arizona. His research interests include cross-script word recognition,
literacy acquisition, pedagogical adaptation in East and Southeast
Asia, and online and virtual reality technology integration into L2
acquisition. He is the author of such books as Teaching English
Reading in the Chinese-speaking World: Building Strategies Across
Scripts and Teaching English in East Asia: A Teacher’s Guide to
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Learners.



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