Statistical learning and spelling: The case of graphotactic regularities

In this article, we focus on the statistical learning of graphotactic regularities and on what spellers do with what they learn about graphotactic regularities. Graphotactic regularities refer to patterns involving the order and arrangement of letters in written words, for instance that certain letters or letter sequences are most likely to occur in specific positions in the words of a specific language. We first review studies showing that children are sensitive to salient graphotatic regularities from a young age, even before they are able to connect sounds to letters, but that sensitivity to other graphotactic regularities emerges later and remains less developed, even at the end of the elementary school. Then, we show how sensitivity to graphotactic regularities influences individuals’ spelling of specific words, as evidenced by studies on real words and on the learning of novel spellings.