Do Linguistic Landscapes Influence the Spelling Competence of Orthographic Beginners? Two Case Studies

Abstract

The paper discusses whether linguistic landscapes influence the spelling competence of orthographic beginners. Two case studies are presented. In case study 1, a specifically designed corpus is presented: it includes an exemplary spelling phenomenon from one linguistic landscape (N-N compounds), which is analysed with respect to the frequency of wrong spellings. In the course of a second study, a field experiment, we analyse if wrong spellings in a linguistic landscape actually influence orthographic beginners. The test participants were third graders (N = 92), as it may be assumed that the effect of linguistic landscapes on spelling is particularly significant among orthographic beginners who, according to the curriculum, have already acquired basic reading skills but have not yet completed their spelling acquisition. According to the curriculum, the relevant orthographic phenomenon (N-N compound spellings with hyphen) has not yet been acquired in this form. Both studies presented in the paper do not rule out that wrong spellings in linguistic landscapes may affect the spelling performance of orthographic beginners.