Journal | EL.LE
Journal issue | 12 | 1 | 2023
Research Article | From Italian to Russian with the Superpower of Intercomprehension
From Italian to Russian with the Superpower of Intercomprehension
Inference in Graphical Decoding Across Different Alphabets
Abstract
Intercomprehension is the ability to understand a language that is related to an already familiar one. It is based on the activation of previous knowledge and cognitive strategies, such as inference. In this article, we claim that intercomprehensive reasoning can also be applied across European linguistic families. We argue that by creating didactic materials based on the fundamentals of the intercomprehensive approach, it is possible to leverage the students’ natural ability for intercomprehension when approaching a completely unfamiliar language of Europe. In particular, we study if inference can be applied to graphical decoding of familiar and authentic words in an unfamiliar European language with a different alphabet. A small-scale empirical study conducted in Rome with Italian speakers shows that they were able to autonomously decipher the Russian alphabet through a specifically created task.
Submitted: May 24, 2022 | Accepted: March 1, 2023 | Published May 22, 2023 | Language: en
Keywords Plurilingualism • Intercomprehension • Multilingualism • Inference • Graphical decoding
Copyright © 2023 Anna Ilina. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/ELLE/2280-6792/2023/01/003
