Modelling Writing-to-Dictation in Chinese

The dual route framework suggested that the conversion of phonological codes into orthographic codes in the writing process can be achieved via the lexical and non-lexical routes. The current study investigated the cognitive mechanisms involved in the lexical route by examining the factors that predicted the response times (RTs) of Chinese writing- to-dictation. A total of 26 participants (age between 22 to 24 years) were recruited. They were tested individually in a quiet room using a writing-to-dictation on 400 randomly ordered traditional Chinese phonetic compound characters. Results of linear mixed effect modeling showed that character frequency (CF), interactions between CF and semantic transparency of semantic radicals, imageability (IMG), homophone density and phonetic regularity significantly predicted writing-to-dictation RT. Overall, the results indicated a relatively more important lexical-semantic component and a less important non-semantic component in Chinese writing. It also supported the significance of semantic radicals in the lexical-semantic processing in Chinese writing.