Activation of phonological codes before access to character meaning in written Chinese

Li Hai Tan (Corresponding Author), Rumjahn Hoosain, Witina W.T. Siok

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

92 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Two experiments examined whether the speed of activating different aspects of a word's meaning influences the time course of accessing phonology and meaning. The authors used a backward masking paradigm with Chinese materials. When targets were exposed at threshold + 14 ms, homophonic masks were observed to facilitate target identification. Semantic masks in the absence of associative relatedness to targets did not affect recognition, irrespective of target semantic vagueness. Associate masks facilitated the recognition of semantically precise but not vague targets. These findings suggest that phonological activation precedes semantic activation and the activation of associative relatedness of vague-semantic characters. The authors argue that phonological codes are accessed through a character-as-a-whole-to-sound-as-a-whole association.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)865-882
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition
Volume22
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 1996
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Language and Linguistics
  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Linguistics and Language

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