ABSTRACT
Orthographies vary from each other in terms of grapheme-phoneme correspondence. The grapheme—phoneme relationship can be shallow or deep, and the extent of this relationship is generally referred to as "orthographic depth." We present the results of two studies that examined the spelling performance of non-English-speaking children who had learned English as a second language primarily through textbooks. The results showed that the nature of orthography of the native language of these children influenced their spelling of English words. Results also showed that, regardless of whether English was learned in the spoken form or primarily through books, phonology plays an important role in spelling.
Brains may be similar from one culture to another but orthographies certainly are not
— Coltheart, Patterson, & Marshall (1980)