Comment accède-t-on à un mot en production verbale écrite ?

The general issue addressed in the paper concerns the access to orthographic representations in written naming in adults. The processing levels engaged in written naming are briefly described. Then, we address the issue of the role of phonological codes in accessing orthographic representations. The problem is to determine whether or not phonological codes are obligatorily involved in the access to orthographic codes. We briefly provide evidence from brain-damaged patients and from normals, which suggests that phonology plays a constraining role in accessing orthographic codes. The question of the determinants of the speed of access to orthographic representations is presented and, more precisely, the influence of age of acquisition and objective word frequency. Concerning the influence of age of acquisition, we address two issues: (1) the control for cumulative frequency and the status of classical age of acquisition measures; (2) the locus/i of age of acquisition and word frequency effects.