The two researchers are convinced that the brains of dyslexics store an improper and unreliable representation of phoneme sounds.

ECONOMIST: The cat sat on the tam | The

This would mean that special teaching techniques (including ones that will help to solve the phoneme-analysis problem) could be applied immediately.

ECONOMIST: Dyslexia

Again, although the programme can lead to considerable improvements in both phoneme discrimination and reading ability, the way that this comes about is unknown.

ECONOMIST: The cat sat on the tam | The

The study also found that the pattern of phoneme usage globally mirrors the pattern of human genetic diversity, which also declined as modern humans set up colonies elsewhere.

WSJ: Study Points to a Single, Original Language for All Humans

The game, called Fast ForWord, is meant to improve phoneme recognition by stretching out and accentuating each sound, much as mothers do when they talk baby-talk, until the child's ear becomes more attuned to the different phonemes.

ECONOMIST: The cat sat on the tam | The