The Effect of Initial Letters in Word Recognition: A Phonological or Positional Effect ?
Résumé
This study examines the effect of initial letters on word recognition, particularly in cases of metaplasm where the letters are reversed. The main objective is to determine whether recognition is primarily influenced by the position of the initial letters (position effect) or by phonological characteristics (phonological effect). To address this research question, we conducted a study with 79 participants (N = 79), divided into four experimental conditions. In each condition, 10 altered words were presented, either by changing the position of the first letter, modifying the sound of the first letter, both, or no change. The results showed that word recognition errors were more frequent when the position of the first letter was modified or swapped, or when the sound of the first letter was changed compared to the control condition. These results suggest that there is both a phonological and positional effect for the first letters of a word. Moreover, the combination of both also leads to errors. This study contributes to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of word recognition, which can have implications for improving reading strategies and managing reading disorders. The results of this research shed light on the processes of word recognition and could be applied for chatbots, thereby enhancing the ability of these systems to understand and process human language, even in contexts where words are altered or presented in unconventional ways.