Cross-linguistic transfer in bilingual reading is item specific

Abstract The grain size of orthographic representations prompted by a consistent orthography (like Spanish or Basque) increases if reading is simultaneously learned in another language with an inconsistent French). Here, we aimed to identify item properties that trigger this grain-size accommodation bilingual reading. Twenty-five French–Basque and 25 Spanish–Basque children attending Grade 3 read Basque words pseudowords containing “complex” letter clusters mapping one sound French but several sounds Spanish, “simple” the same structure all three languages. Only speaking faster than ones, suggesting they accessed multi-letter “French” units boost lexical processing. A negative complexity effect was found for across groups. We discuss existence flexible cross-linguistic transfer reading, proposing adjusts item-specific characteristics during