Predictive processing in sentence reading: Semantic prediction but not phonological facilitation in deaf readers

This study investigated whether deaf readers of English predict semantic and phonological information during sentence reading in the same way as hearing readers. Using a self-paced moving-window paradigm, we tested four groups who were matched on reading ability and English vocabulary knowledge: deaf readers without cochlear implants (CIs), deaf readers with CIs, hearing native readers of English (HN), and hearing...

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✦ The floor

Discussion

Signed responses from readers of the wire.

✦ Clinical Takeaway ✦

No actionable change for clinical audiology practice; this is a cognitive linguistics finding relevant to researchers studying reading and language processing in deaf individuals.

✦ Why It Matters ✦

Understanding how deaf readers process language differently from hearing readers has implications for literacy development, cochlear implant rehabilitation, and the design of reading-based communication tools.

✦ Key Points ✦

01Deaf readers showed semantic (meaning-based) prediction during sentence reading, similar to hearing readers.
02Deaf readers did not show phonological (sound-based) facilitation, unlike hearing readers.
03A self-paced reading paradigm was used to measure prediction during online sentence comprehension.
04Findings suggest reading prediction in deaf individuals relies on meaning rather than inner speech or sound imagery.
05Published in Cognition, a peer-reviewed cognitive science journal.

✦ Claims & Evidence ✦

ClaimEvidenceSupport

Deaf readers engage in semantic prediction during sentence reading comparably to hearing readers.

studysupported

Deaf readers do not show phonological facilitation during sentence reading, unlike hearing readers.

studysupported

✦ Research metadata ✦

PMID: 42696912
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106703.
Journal: Cognition
Publication type: research_article
Evidence level: 2b
Population: Deaf readers of English compared to hearing readers
Intervention: Self-paced reading paradigm to measure semantic and phonological prediction in sentence reading
Comparator: Hearing readers

Primary outcomes

Semantic prediction during sentence reading; Phonological facilitation during sentence reading

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