Ellis
(1982)
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First published online 14:28 30th May 2002, Copyright
Derek J. Smith (Chartered Engineer). This version [2.0 - copyright] 09:00 BST 3rd July
2018.
The
Ellis (1982) 21-Box Transcoding Model
See
firstly the supporting
commentary for the transcoding series of psycholinguistic models.
This
is an early attempt at a large scale psycholinguistic model by one of the
authors subsequently responsible for the Ellis and Young
(1988) model.
The Ellis
(1982) Model: This model is
historically important, because it has now clearly adopted the very
particular "X-shape" used by the later Ellis and Young (1988) and Kay, Lesser, and Coltheart (1992) models. Here are the key points to look for: ·
There is a
central module - termed the "cognitive system" and highlighted here
in yellow - responsible for higher cognitive processes such as thinking and
problem solving, conscious awareness, and volition. This module can be, but
by convention is not, further expanded. (In fact, this is a wise restriction,
because as soon as you open this particular black box you encounter areas of
psychology - not least consciousness studies - where there is major
philosophical disagreement and little unequivocal data.) ·
There are four
word storage modules - termed the "logogen systems" and highlighted
here in pink - arranged diagonally around the central module. [The term
"logogen" derives from Morton (1979).] ·
The model is top-to-bottom
linearly aligned, with sensory inputs descending from the apex and motor
outputs emerging from the base. This means that the various processes of
perception end halfway down the model, whilst the various motor hierarchies
begin half way up it. This contrasts with the inverted-U control hierarchy
format used in, say, Craik (1945), where the
higher cognitive processes are always shown at the apex. ·
The model
presents the hearing-speech communication channel to the left, and the
reading-writing channel to the right. The model is thus good at accounting
for "cross-over" (hence the epithet "transcoding")
between the channels, such as occurs when writing down dictated speech (input
at top left, but output at bottom right) or reading out loud (input at top
right, but output at bottom left). [Trace these routes across the diagram
with your fingertip.] ·
There are then
some important specialised bypass routes - highlighted here in red - which allow
a degree of flexibility of processing. The visual input logogen system,
for example, can if necessary bypass the cognitive system and
communicate directly with the speech output logogen system [find these
processes on the diagram and trace out the optional routes with your
fingertip]. Given that the cognitive system is (by definition) the
only place where things get understood, this particular bypass route allows
reading out loud to proceed without understanding, such as occurs when the
material itself makes no sense, or when the reader is tired or mentally
overloaded. ·
Some flowlines
- highlighted here in blue - are directed UP the page. These may generically
be referred to as "feedback" routes, and feedback is vitally
important within cognition - click here for additional
detail.
The model is also
useful because it shows how a different mental code is used at different
stages in the overall process. Most information flowlines are marked with one
of the following codes ..... ·
Acoustic
Code (ac): This is the code used in
the outer reaches of the auditory system, before discrete phonemes have been
recognised. Eg. sound
frequencies and intensities. ·
Visual Code
(vis):
This is the code used in the outer reaches of the visual system, before
discrete visual forms have been recognised. Eg. light frequencies and intensities. ·
Phonemic
Code (ph): This is the code used if
and when the process of auditory perception succeeds in detecting known
phonemes, that is to say, items from the repertoire of stable speech sounds
used within the language concerned. Eg. the sounds |puh| for the letter
"p", or |kuh| for the letter
"c", etc. For further definitions of this much debated term, click here, and to see the
full list of phonemes (the sounds and their conventionally recognised written
symbols) authorised by the International Phonetic Association - the IPA - click here.]
NB:
Activation of the lexical code is the first major stage in input-side
language processing, and will normally be followed almost immediately by
activation of a corresponding semantic code .....
NB:
Activation of the semantic code is the second major stage in input-side
language processing. The distinction between the lexical and the semantic
aspects of a word (that is to say, between the word and its
"referent") has been fundamental to psycholinguistics since the
days of Broca and Wernicke, and is seen very
clearly in the explanatory models provided by Lichtheim
(1885) and Freud (1891) (both of which are fully incorporated
into the model presently under discussion). ·
Graphemic (gr)
and Allographic (all) Codes: The graphemic code is the
code used to identify the totally abstract concept of a written letter, such
as |ay - the first letter in the alphabet|. Subvariant
forms of each grapheme - such as its upper and lower case forms - are not
yet differentiated. The allographic code is the
code used when the appropriate form of a written letter has been chosen by
the Allographic Long Term Store
(lower right). Thus for the (abstract) graphemic
code |ay - the first letter in the alphabet| we have the (not quite so
abstract) allographic alternatives upper case
"A" or lower case "a". ·
Graphic
Motor Pattern Code (gmp): This is the code issued by the Graphic Motor
Pattern Store and used to initiate the motor production of specific
allographs.
For additional
commentary, see the caption to Ellis and Young (1988). Note also that the speech output "leg"
of the diagram (lower left quadrant) has deliberately been left incomplete.
The same approach was taken in Ellis and Young (1988), and is accounted for
by the fact that Ellis was deliberately concentrating on the reading-writing
system. Other authors have specialised in the hearing-speech system, and for
an introduction to theories and models of speech production, see Smith (1997;
Chapters 5 - 7), or click here. If this diagram fails to load
automatically, it may be accessed separately at |
Redrawn from a black-and-white original in Ellis (1982:140). This version Copyright © 2010, High Tower Consultants Limited. |
References
REFERENCES FOR THE HYPERLINKED SOURCES ARE
GIVEN IN THE INDIVIDUAL SUBFILES, QV.
Ellis, A.W. (1982). Spelling and
Writing (and Reading and Speaking). In Ellis, A.W.
(Ed.), Normality and Pathology in Cognitive Functions. London:
Academic Press.
Smith, D.J. (1997). Human
Information Processing. Cardiff: UWIC. [ISBN: 1900666081]