English orthography presents the reader with many different kinds of linguistic information beyond the simple sound of the word. Evidence from a variety of psycholinguistic tasks shows that both adults and children can exploit this information and this could enable them to read more efficiently. It is argued that a fast and effective writing system need not stay close to the phonemic detail of speech, and shorthand systems are given as further examples of this. Some proposals for spelling reform are briefly evaluated in the light of this evidence.
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