Recombinative Reading and cross-modal transfer in the Braille Alphabet

we assessed whether establishing the minimal relations between syllables in latin alphabet and visual braille alphabet could lead to the emergence of recombinative reading involving untrained verbal forms across the two symbolic systems. Seven adults participated, all proficient readers of the latin alphabet but with no prior experience with Braille. Using three sets of five syllables, we taught participants to select visual Braille syllables (D) in the presence of printed latin syllables (C), in a matching to the sample procedure. Following training, we tested for the emergence of recombinative relations between new latin and braille syllable combinations (C’-D’) and for cross-modal transfer to tactile Braille (C-E). After completing all three syllable sets, participants were tested for textual Braille reading (D’‘-B’‘) and braille reading with comprehension (D’‘-A’‘). Across participants, training 15 syllabic relations led to the emergence of 72 new conditional relations: 60 reflecting novel recombinations of trained syllables and 12 reflecting the integration of braille words with their corresponding sounds and images. These results suggest the formation of functional stimulus classes that span visual, tactile, and verbal modalities, highlighting the role of recombinative processes in the acquisition of reading repertoires across different alphabets.