Orthographic context sensitivity in vowel decoding by Portuguese monolingual and Portuguese-English bilingual children

This study examines the pronunciation of the first vowel in decoding disyllabic pseudowords derived from Portuguese words. Participants were 96 Portuguese monolinguals and 52 Portuguese-English bilinguals of equivalent Portuguese reading levels. The results indicate that sensitivity to vowel context emerges early, both in monolinguals and in bilinguals. However, bilinguals, unlike monolinguals, appear to use this knowledge consistently from the first grade. Moreover, the effect of context was stronger in bilinguals than in monolinguals. Apparently, bilinguals benefited from an earlier acquisition of reading principles regarding the use of orthographic context derived from their more frequent use of large patterns to read vowels. Because the Portuguese orthography is considered to be of intermediate consistency, it demands the development of decoding mechanisms that entail units larger than graphemes. English orthography, being more inconsistent, confers bilinguals with an asset to deal with complex structures. Additionally, the data suggest that those patterns appear to be not at the level of the syllable.