ABSTRACT
In any model that countenances the existence of a non-lexical route underlying reading aloud, that route must consist of (at least) four distinct components. In the first place, the representations derived by visual analysis must be assigned "abstract letter identities". Second, the string of individual letters so constructed must be explicitly parsed into graphemic constituents. Third, sight–sound correspondence rules must assign a phonological representation to each element of the parsed letter string. Finally, the sequence of phonological elements so assigned must be "blended" into fully specified phonetic segments that can trigger motor commands to the speech musculature. The chapter presents psychological examinations of M.S, who had deficits on reading, writing, and memory tasks are the more striking. The extreme purity of M.S.'s deficit is consistent with the claim that the extra-lexical reading route is both functionally and anatomically distinct from reading routes based upon word forms.
