Phonological Deviations Produced By Dyslexic Adolescent in Indonesian Language
Abstract
Despite Indonesian’s transparent orthography and frequent reading exposure, dyslexic students continue to experience reading impairments into adolescence. This study aimed to analyse the phonological deviations observed during dyslexic adolescents’ reading activities in an inclusive school in Surabaya. This qualitative study involved face-to-face reading tests using a corpus-informed instrument comprising 180 phonologically selected keywords arranged into 55 sentences, administered to two adolescent participants with dyslexia. Of 55 total errors, 33 were phonological; most outputs were non-words (20/33). Feature-changing was the predominant process (16/33), typically preserving at least one feature (often place of articulation), consistent with subtle but systematic sub-lexical grapheme–phoneme mapping weaknesses. Vulnerabilities clustered around velar segments (/k, g, ŋ, x/) and high-load contexts—consonant clusters (e.g., /st/, /tr/), digraphs (<ng>, <kh>), and vowel/consonant sequences—often managed via epenthesis (e.g., schwa insertion in /st/, /ŋ/→/ŋg/) or deletion (e.g., coda /k/). Some patterns (e.g., /v/→/f/, /ʃ/→/s/, schwa in /st/) aligned with Javanese phonotactics, while others (e.g., certain velar substitutions) were not L1-explainable, underscoring a core phonological-decoding deficit. Findings indicate that, even after years of literacy exposure, phonological decoding remains the major handicap for Indonesian-speaking dyslexic adolescents; assessments and interventions should therefore target sub-lexical mapping in clusters, digraphs, codas, and velars, while accounting for local phonotactic influences.
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Valdois, S., Peyrin, C., Lassus-Sangosse, D., Lallier, M., Démonet, J.-F., & Kandel, S. (2014). Dyslexia in a French–Spanish bilingual girl: Behavioural and neural modulations following a visual attention span intervention. Cortex, 53(Supplement C), 120–145. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2013.11.006
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Andriani, S., & Elhefni, E. (2015). Pembelajaran Membaca Permulaan Melalui Metode Eja Bagi Siswa Berkesulitan Membaca (Disleksia) (Studi Kasus Mata Pelajaran Bahasa Indonesia Di Kelas Iii Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Quraniah Viii Palembang). JIP Jurnal Ilmiah PGMI, 1(1), 151–179. https://doi.org/10.19109/jip.v1i1.521
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Bellocchi, S., Muneaux, M., Bastien-Toniazzo, M., & Ducrot, S. (2013). I can read it in your eyes: What eye movements tell us about visuo-attentional processes in developmental dyslexia. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34(1), 452–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2012.09.002
Bonifacci, P., & Tobia, V. (2016). Crossing barriers: Profiles of reading and comprehension skills in early and late bilinguals, poor comprehenders, reading impaired, and typically developing children. Learning and Individual Differences, 47, 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.12.013
Bose, A., Colangelo, A., & Buchanan, L. (2011). Effect of phonetic complexity on word reading and repetition in deep dyslexia. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 24(4), 435–444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroling.2011.01.004
Bruck, M., & Treiman, R. (1990). Phonological awareness and spelling in normal children and dyslexics: The case of initial consonant clusters. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 50(1), 156–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0965(90)90037-9
Cavalli, E., Colé, P., Leloup, G., Poracchia-George, F., Sprenger-Charolles, L., & El Ahmadi, A. (2018). Screening for Dyslexia in French-Speaking University Students: An Evaluation of the Detection Accuracy of the Alouette Test. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 51(3), 268–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219417704637
Cavalli, E., Duncan, L. G., Elbro, C., El Ahmadi, A., & Colé, P. (2017). Phonemic—Morphemic dissociation in university students with dyslexia: an index of reading compensation? Annals of Dyslexia, 67(1), 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-016-0138-y
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications Inc.
Davenport, M., & Hannahs, S. J. (2005). Introducing Phonetics and Phonology (2nd ed.). Hodder Arnold.
de Groot, A. M. B. (2013). Reading. In F. Grosjean & P. Li (Eds.), The Psycholinguistics of Bilingualism (pp. 74–91). Wiley-Blackwell.
Démonet, J.-F., Taylor, M. J., & Chaix, Y. (2004). Developmental dyslexia. The Lancet, 363(9419), 1451–1460. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16106-0
Elbro, C., Nielsen, I., & Petersen, D. K. (1994). Part III The Adult Poor Reader: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions. Annals of Dyslexia, 44, 203–226.
Eliza, N., Auzar, & Charlina. (2016). Loudness Student Reading Ability Dyslexia. Jurnal Online Mahasiswa Bidang Keguruan Dan Ilmu Pendidikan, 3(2), 1–12.
Field, J. (2003). Psycholinguistics: A Resource Book for Students. Routledge.
Gagliano, A., Ciuffo, M., Ingrassia, M., Ghidoni, E., Angelini, D., Benedetto, L., Germanò, E., & Stella, G. (2015). Silent reading fluency: Implications for the assessment of adults with developmental dyslexia. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 37(9), 972–980. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2015.1072498
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Jap, B. A. J., Borleffs, E., & Maassen, B. A. M. (2017). Towards identifying dyslexia in Standard Indonesian: the development of a reading assessment battery. Reading and Writing, 30(8), 1729–1751. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-017-9748-y
Kien, K., Chung, H., & Ho, C. S. (2010). Second Language Learning Difficulties in Chinese Children With Dyslexia : What Are the Reading-Related Cognitive Skills That Contribute to English and Chinese Word Reading ? Journal of Learn, 43(3), 195–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219409345018
Lallier, M., Valdois, S., Lassus-Sangosse, D., Prado, C., & Kandel, S. (2014). Impact of orthographic transparency on typical and atypical reading development: Evidence in French-Spanish bilingual children. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(5), 1177–1190. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2014.01.021
Landerl, K., Ramus, F., Moll, K., Lyytinen, H., Leppänen, P. H. T., Lohvansuu, K., O’Donovan, M., Williams, J., Bartling, J., Bruder, J., Kunze, S., Neuhoff, N., Tõth, D., Honbolygõ, F., Csépe, V., Bogliotti, C., Iannuzzi, S., Chaix, Y., Démonet, J. F., … Schulte-Körne, G. (2013). Predictors of developmental dyslexia in European orthographies with varying complexity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 54(6), 686–694. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12029
Martin, J., Colé, P., Leuwers, C., Casalis, S., Zorman, M., & Sprenger-Charolles, L. (2010). Reading in French-speaking adults with dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 60(2), 238–264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-010-0043-8
McNamara, D. S., & Kendeou, P. (2017). Translating advances in reading comprehension research to educational practice. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(1 SE-Articles), 33–46. https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/212
Nawangsari, N. A. F. (2008). Identifikasi dan Model Intervensi Gangguan Kesulitan Belajar pada Siswa Sekolah Dasar di Surabaya.
Ramus, F. (2001). Outstanding Questions about Phonological Processing in Dyslexia. Dyslexia, 7(4), 197–216. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.205
Sanders, M. (2001). Understanding Dyslexia and Reading Process: A guide for Educators and Parents. Allyn and Bacon.
Shaywitz, S. E., Fletcher, J. M., Holahan, J. M., Shneider, A. E., Marchione, K. E., Stuebing, K. K., Francis, D. J., Pugh, K. R., & Shaywitz, B. A. (1999). Persistence of Dyslexia: The Connecticut Longitudinal Study at Adolescence. Pediatrics, 104(6), 1351–1359. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.104.6.1351
Treiman, R. (1989). The internal structure of the syllable. In G. N. Carlson & M. K. Tanenhaus (Eds.), Linguistic structure in language processing (pp. 27–52). Kluwer Academic Publisher.
Undheim, A. M. (2009). Need for Evaluating. Dyslexia, 15(4), 291–303. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.384
Valdois, S., Peyrin, C., Lassus-Sangosse, D., Lallier, M., Démonet, J.-F., & Kandel, S. (2014). Dyslexia in a French–Spanish bilingual girl: Behavioural and neural modulations following a visual attention span intervention. Cortex, 53(Supplement C), 120–145. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2013.11.006
Winskel, H., & Widjaja, V. (2007). Phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and literacy development in Indonesian beginner readers and spellers. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28(1), 23–45. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716407070026
Published
2025-11-06
How to Cite
KIRANA, Angkita Wasito; SYUKRI, Masitha Achmad; ENDRIASTUTI, Annysa.
Phonological Deviations Produced By Dyslexic Adolescent in Indonesian Language.
EDUCATION AND LINGUISTICS KNOWLEDGE JOURNAL, [S.l.], v. 7, n. 2, p. 1-17, nov. 2025.
ISSN 2686-1860.
Available at: <https://ejournal.uniska-kediri.ac.id/index.php/EDULINK/article/view/8074>. Date accessed: 23 jan. 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.32503/edulink.v7i2.8074.
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Articles
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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9166-6040
