European vs. Chinese/Japanese Alphabets

When a student is struggling with their native language, the thought of learning a whole new set of vocabulary and grammar rules can seem daunting. However, when it comes to dyslexia, not all languages are the same. Unlike European languages, Chinese and Japanese use pictorial alphabets that represent entire words or phrases rather than individual sounds. Pictorial characters are more visual and require less phoneme processing than English. This use of memorization is a skill that many dyslexics are more accustomed to when dealing with their native language, than other learners, and so the adjustment can be easier for them.

Japanese makes use of three different alphabets. The first two alphabets are hiragana and katakana. These, much like the Latin alphabet, are read phonetically to create sounds. For example, か is read as “ka.” This is different than English, where each letter makes a sound and syllables consist of a combination of letters to create different sounds. Katakana uses the same sounds as hiragana, but with slightly different characters, and is used to differentiate foreign loan words.

Kanji, on the other hand, is made up of Chinese characters, which use pictographic symbols to convey entire words and concepts. Kanji and Chinese characters require a different type of brain activity than the kana alphabets do.

木

The Japanese kanji for “tree” vaguely resembles a tree with branches

森

The Kanji for forest compounds on the tree kanji and consists of three symbols meaning, tree, much like a forest is a collection of trees.

While learning to read and write Japanese or Chinese won’t improve a student’s ability to do the same in English, it is a great way to build confidence in students who may feel behind their peers. Being able to adjust to a task that’s considered challenging by many also helps give students a unique skill set that can help them stand out among the crowd in a very positive way.

Japanese can be particularly appealing to younger learners due to the vast array of cartoon and video game content that could serve as learning sources or even as an incentive to learn the language. It’s also worth noting that understanding how dyslexics approach languages like these, can help educators better understand how to effectively communicate learning material to their students.