British children are more likely to be dyslexic than Europeans because English is a more complex language, expert claims
- Oxford professor says English leads to more dyslexia cases than other languages
- Margaret Snowling says irregularity of English makes it hard to learn for children
- She said this means British children are more likely to be diagnosed as dyslexic
The complexity of the English language means British children are more likely to be diagnosed as dyslexic than their European counterparts, an expert claims.
Professor Margaret Snowling, of Oxford University, said that English words are comparatively irregular in the way that the letters and sounds relate.
This makes it easier to spot when a child is having difficulties and as a result, these children are more likely to be diagnosed with dyslexia, she said.
Oxford professor Margaret Snowling says English leads to more dyslexia cases than other languages, due to its irregularities (stock)
Speaking at the Hay Festival, Professor Snowling said: ‘The number of characters you have to learn and the number of characters to which you have to attach sound or meaning… will determine degrees of learning to read and hence the probability of dyslexia.’
As an example, she said the Spanish and Czech languages are more ‘regular’ and ‘consistent’ in the way ‘letters and sounds relate’ and that children from those countries are learning to read much quicker – despite the fact they typically start learning a year later than British children.
She said dyslexic children speaking these ‘more regular’ languages ‘soon learn to read accurately’ and, therefore, do not get diagnosed.
Speaking at the Hay Festival, Professor Snowling said English is more irregular in the way ‘letters and sounds relate’ than other European languages (stock)
