Received: from icpc.icpc.fukui-u.ac.jp (icpc.icpc.fukui-u.ac.jp [133.7.1.100]) by literacy (8.7.6/8.7.3) with ESMTP id IAA19942 for <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov>; Wed, 16 Oct 1996 08:29:27 -0400 (EDT) Received: from edu00.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp (edu00.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp [133.7.28.100]) by icpc.icpc.fukui-u.ac.jp (8.7.3+2.6Wbeta5/3.1W) with SMTP id VAA07288 for <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov>; Wed, 16 Oct 1996 21:28:33 +0900 (JST) Received: from cjsllit.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp by edu00.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp (4.1/6.4J.6) id AA04012; Wed, 16 Oct 96 21:30:04 JST Received: by cjsllit.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp with Microsoft Mail id <01BBBBA8.B1371EA0@cjsllit.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp>; Wed, 16 Oct 1996 21:26:28 +-900 Message-Id: <01BBBBA8.B1371EA0@cjsllit.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp> From: CHARLES E JANNUZI <jannuzi@edu00.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp> To: "'NIFL-ESL'" <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: Dyslexia in Japan Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 21:26:22 +-900 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Status: RO X-Status: Hello to everyone out there worldwide. Recently I was involved in a very interesting discussion on a listserv called JALTCALL (Japan Association for Language Teachers=JALT). Someone asked, "Did dyslexia exist in Japan?" They were interested if reading disorders occurred with native speakers of Japanese learning to read Japanese. I realize that the term "dyslexia" has fallen into disrepute with many literacy and reading specialists, but it is still used by some researchers and language educators outside of the USA. There is a belief amongst many people that dyslexia is language-specific. To support this idea, they cite the fact that western countries that use alphabetic written languages report more dyslexia than, for example, Japan. Now, back in 1968 there was published a study that purported to show that logographs (like Japanese kanji) get processed in a different part of the brain than does an alphabetic writing system, because certain aphasics could process the former but not the latter. How this got blown into the theory that English causes dyslexia while Japanese cures it I'll probably never know. But a lot of people repeat the popular belief that reading disorders do not exist on the scale in Japan as they do in ,say, the US. Well, first of all, Japanese is not a purely logographic (or, more precisely, morphographic, as a word can be a combination of morphemes, but usually one morpheme gets one kanji--not always though) language. The written language also uses two syllabaries in addition to the kanji. Second, subsequent discussion threw a lot of doubt on the idea that Japan doesn't have reading disorders or illiteracy. My own experience in vocational high schools in Japan and in its junior high schools reinforces my doubts. Anyway, what are your ideas on reading disorders being language- or culture-specific? Do some written languages appear to be superior to others for learners to acquire literacy in them? Do you know of any studies that add to this discussion? I'll be happy to try and forward em correspondence from JALTCALL if my summary above is insufficient. And I am more than keenly interested to see what any of you have to say about this. Thanks. Charles Jannuzi jannuzi@edu00.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp jannuzi@ThePentagon.com (an em forwarding address on a www site) Fukui Unversity, College of Education, Bunkyo 3-9-1, Fukui-shi 910 JAPAN 81-776-27-7102
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