ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some universals that are true of all writing systems and some specific writing systems in the world today. The universals are acculturation, phonology, mapping, and word recognition. Acculturation means acquiring a language-dependent network of codes in a Linguistic Infrastructure. Phonological awareness is part of the Linguistic Infrastructure needed in order to read, although it may be involved in different ways depending on the writing system. Spoken language units map onto written language units. The mapping details differ for each language and its writing system. Successful reading depends on the rapid and automatic recognition of words. Mapping details between the graphemes used and the unit of language represented in the writing can be transparent or opaque. Some of the different types of writing systems are discussed: logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic. Learnability of different scripts depends on the orthographic depth of the mapping and the syllable complexity of the language. There is a brief history of English writing and an introduction to transfer, interference, and facilitation.
