ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to explore morphological involvement in reading acquisition by reviewing research from a cross-linguistic perspective. A study of beginning readers of French versus English is used to compare the development of early awareness of derivational morphology in these two languages. The results indicate accelerated morphological development in French relative to English. The remainder of the chapter discusses aspects of spoken and written language that may govern cross-linguistic differences in sensitivity to derivational morphology. Particular consideration is given to factors such as the prevalence and productivity of morphological systems within the spoken language, the utility of morphemic units in reading the written language, and exposure to school instruction about derivational morphology. Finally, models of reading development that might encompass these aspects of morphological processing are discussed.
