Chinese Two-Character Word Orthographic Processing and Adjective–Noun Collocation Comprehension in Sentence Reading

Abstract

Reading can be regarded as a combination of lexical decoding and linguistic comprehension (Hoover and Gough in Read Writ Interdiscip J 2:127–160, 1990). In Chinese sentence reading, skilled readers’ difficulties in phonological processing significantly enhance the ‘wrap-up’ effect (Li and Lin in J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 25(4):505–516, 2020). To examine how orthographic processing in Chinese two-character word recognition might interact with adjective–noun collocation (ANC) comprehension before the wrap-up effect, two experiments were conducted in the same paradigm as used by Li and Lin (J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 25(4):505–516, 2020). The sentences contained ANCs or semantically inappropriate combinations of adjectives and nouns (nANCs), the adjectives (Experiment 1) or the nouns (Experiment 2) of which were two-character words or corresponding transposed nonwords (T-nonwords). Similar results were obtained in both experiments: difficulties in T-nonword processing and in nANC comprehension collectively lengthened the reading times of the words immediately following. In conclusion, sentence reading likely contains interactions between orthographic processing and linguistic comprehension. As an indication of psycholinguistic significance, skilled readers have to use extra resources to suspend the cognitive vigilance that arises from unexpected demand in lexical decoding, in addition to their main focus of linguistic comprehension.

Appendix

• 1. 我认识前边那位漂亮的姑娘, 她是晓旭的姐姐。(I know that beautiful girl in front. She is Xiaoxu’s sister.)

• 2. 转眼间就到了炎热的夏天, 知了在树上不知疲倦地叫着。(The hot summer arrived all too soon and cicadas are chanting tirelessly in the trees.)

• 3. 武松恍惚间遇到了凶猛的老虎, 惊得出了一身汗。(Wu Song broke out in a cold sweat when he encountered a fierce tiger in a trance.)

• 4. 眼前是一片碧绿的草地, 还有各种叫不上名字的风景树。(In front of me is a piece of green grass and various scenic trees I can not call by name.)

• 5. 我继续遥望着晴朗的天空, 目送着一架架班机消失在天际。(I continued to look into the clear sky, gazing after the slowly vanishing flights.)

• 6. 小姑娘露出清澈的眼睛, 显得特别精神。(The little girl showed clear eyes and looked particularly energetic.)

• 7. 弟弟认为《百炼霸王》是一部平庸的作品, 整个故事平淡无奇。(Because of the featureless story, my younger brother considers The Master of Ragnarok as a mediocre works.)

• 8. 小华参加这次活动是出于丰厚的报酬, 而非出于兴趣。(Xiao Hua took part in the activity not out of interest, but out of bigger pay packets.)

• 9. 工厂采购了一批先进的机器, 整个车间都焕然一新。(Our factory has brought in advanced equipment, and thus gives the workshop a completely new look.)

• 10. 小明在水果店买了一斤紫色的葡萄, 打算回家榨汁喝。(Xiao Ming brought half a kilogram of purple grapes for fresh juicing.)

• 11. 一觉睡醒就到了漆黑的夜晚, 浓密的云雾遮住了满天的星斗。(It was pitch dark outside when I woke up, and the stars were covered by the dense cloud and mist.)

• 12. 这里住的多数都是富有的商人, 所以这一片被称为富人区。(Most of the residents here are wealthy businessmen, therefore, the area is called silk-stocking district.)

• 13. 小明一笑就会露出洁白的牙齿, 两颗小虎牙格外引人注目。(Xiao Ming has two small arresting canine teeth and he shows his white teeth when he smiles.)

• 14. 温州皮鞋增加了许多新颖的设计, 再次获得了人们的喜爱。(With many novel designs, Wenzhou shoes regain people’s favor.)

• 15. 我家与超市仅隔着一条宽广的马路, 购物非常方便。(Shopping is extremely convenient for me because there is only a broad road between my house and the supermarket.)

• 16. 飞机快速飞过茂密的森林, 一眨眼就看不见影子了。(The plane flitted across the dense forest and disappeared in a twinkling.)

• 17. 图画里的农民伯伯正在望着黄色的小麦, 脸上洋溢着喜悦。(The farmer in the picture looked at the golden wheat and his face was beamed with delight.)

• 18. 司马懿由于多疑的性格, 才会中了诸葛亮布设的空城计。(Because of his suspicious nature, Si Mayi was trapped by the Empty Fort Strategy laid out by Zhu Geliang.)

• 19. 学校组织了许多激烈的竞赛, 意在培养学生互相学习的能力。(By organizing many fierce competitions, the school intended to cultivate the mutual learning competence of students.)

• 20. 他们为文学发展带来了卓越的贡献, 受到了大众的一致好评。(They won great acclaim from the mass because of their outstanding contributions to literature development.)

• 21. 她脸上洋溢着灿烂的笑容, 看起来心情很好。(She looks so happy with a bright smile on her face.)

• 22. 这家公司凭借着雄厚的资金, 赢得了这场竞标。(The company became the successful tenderer for the project because of its tremendous capital.)

• 23. 这片区域现在大多都是破旧的房屋, 只有两幢高楼。(There are only two tall buildings in this area besides some broken-down houses.)

• 24. 她好像没见过这种惊险的场面, 整个人瞬间呆住了。(She was dumbfounded as if she had never witnessed the thrilling scene.)