AUTHOR Steinberg , Danny D . TITLE Would an Orthography Based on Chomsky and Halle ' s Underlying Phonological Representations Be Optimal ?

EDRS Price MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29 *English, Linguistics, *Linguistic Theory, Orthographic Symbols, Phonetics, *Phonetic Transcription, Phonology, Reading, *Reading Processes, Semantics, *Spelling Chomsky and Halle claim that an orthography based on their system of phonological representations of lexical items would be optimal. Their analysis assumes that (1) a reader need read only for meaning and not for sound, (2) an orthography based on their underlying phonological representations would not be exceptionally difficult to learn, and (3) there is no direct link between the phonetic aspect of a lexical item and its meaning. This paper argues that none of these assumptions is warranted and that an orthography based on a broad phonetic representation is to be preferred. (Author) Steinberg From: Working Papers in Linguistics; Vol. 3, No. 3, March 1971. WOULD AN ORTHOGRAPHY BASED ON CHOMSKY AND HALLE'S CY% UNDERLYING PHONOLOGICAL REPRESENTATIONS BE OPTIMAL?1 rr\ Danny D. Steinberg L.C1 Department of English as a Second Language I.L. University of Hawaii The investigations of Chomsky and Halle (1968) into the sound system of English have led them to posit a certain system of underlying phonological representations (hereafter, UPR) for lexical items. This system is of prime importance in these researchers' consideration of the problem of an optimal orthography for English. They hold that the process of reading will be facilitated to the extent that an orthography corresponds to the UPR rather than to the phonetic (overt phonological) representations (hereafter, OPR) of lexical items. (Itis because our present. English orthography closely approximates their UPR system that they conclude that our spelling system is a near optimal system for the lexical representation of English words ( Chomsky and Halle, 1968: 49-50)). The rationale behind the view that an orthography based on UPR is more facilitating for reading than an orthography based on OPR is perhaps most clearly expressed by Carol Chornsky (1970) in what is essentially an elaboration of the Chomsky and Halle position. She states, 0 "Consider also the common items of words such as courage/courageous, or 440) anxi-ous/anxi-ety, or hoto ra ra hAlthough the phonetic variations are considerable, they are perfectly automatic, and the 0 lexical spellings [ "lexical spelling" is used here in a non-orthographic 0 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE 1 OFFICE OF EDUCATION krt THIS DOCUMENT MS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION 1 POSITION OR POLICY.