Abstract
The morpho-syllabic Japanese writing system consists of the phonetic scripts of hiragana and katakana, the logographic kanji derived from Chinese characters and the less well researched romaji based on the Roman alphabet. In four experiments we investigated the speed with which Japanese college students read, named, and transcribed romaji as compared with hiragana. We examined these college students’ proficiency in transcribing isolated words in Experiments 1 and 2, their oral reading speeds at the text level in Experiment 3, and naming latencies for syllables in Experiment 4. The results taken together showed that while transcription speed was almost comparable between romaji and hiragana, reading speed was much slower in romaji than in hiragana. It is suggested that this dissociation can arise mainly from differential reading and writing experiences in romaji among Japanese people. Both theoretical and practical implications are drawn for the future of romaji as the putative fourth script in the Japanese writing system.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
F. Coulmas (1989) The writing systems of the world Basil Blackwell Oxford
F. Coulmas (2001) Literacy in Japan: Kanji, kana, romaji, and bits D.R. Olson N. Torrance (Eds) The making of literate societies Blackwell Oxford 101–120
L.B. Feldman M. Turvey (1980) ArticleTitleWords written in kana are named faster than the same words written in kanji Language and Speech 23 141–147
P.J. Glover G.D.A. Brown (1994) Measuring spelling production times: Methodology and tests of a model G.D.A. Brown N.C. Ellis (Eds) Handbook of spelling: Theory, process and intervention John Wiley Chichester 179–190
J.R. Hanley J. Kay (1996) ArticleTitleReading speed in pure alexia Neuropsychologia 34 1165–1174 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0028-3932(96)00039-5 Occurrence Handle8951827
T. Hatta (2001) Reading non-alphabetic scripts: The Japanese writing system N.J. Smelser P.B. Baltes (Eds) International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences, Vol. 19 Elsevier Amsterdam 12797–12800
O. Hayashi (Eds) (1982) Zusetsu nihongo. [Japanese in tables and graphs] Kadokawa Tokyo
R.B. Katz (1986) ArticleTitlePhonological deficiencies in children with reading disability: Evidence from an object naming task Cognition 22 225–257 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0010-0277(86)90016-8 Occurrence Handle3720262
J. Kess T. Miyamoto (1999) The Japanese mental lexicon John Benjamins Philadelphia
H. Kubozono (1989) ArticleTitleThe mora and syllable structure in Japanese: Evidence from speech errors Language and Speech 32 249–278
C.K. Leong N. Nitta J. Yamada (2003) Phonological analysis abilities of Chinese and Japanese children learning to read R.M. Joshi C.K. Leong B.L.J. Kaczmarek (Eds) Literacy acquisition: The role of phonology, morphology and orthography IOS Press Amsterdam 25–48
V. Mann (1986) ArticleTitlePhonological awareness: The role of reading experience Cognition 24 65–92 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0010-0277(86)90005-3 Occurrence Handle3791922
K. Patterson J. Kay (1982) ArticleTitleLetter-by-letter reading: Psychological descriptions of neurologial (sic) syndrome Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 34A 411–441
B. Saint-Jacques (1987) ArticleTitleThe Roman alphabet in the Japanese writing system Visible Language 21 88–105
M.J. Snowling (1981) ArticleTitlePhonemic deficits in developmental dyslexia Psychological Reseach 43 219–234 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00309831
K. Tamaoka Y. Terao (2004) ArticleTitleMora of syllable? Which unit do Japanese use in naming visually presented stimuli? Applied Psycholinguistics 25 1–27 Occurrence Handle10.1017/S0142716404001018
T. Umesao (1987) Asu no nihongo no tame ni [For tomorrow’s Japanese] Kumon Tokyo
J.M. Unger (1987) The fifth generation fallacy: Why Japan is betting its future on artificial intelligence Oxford University Press New York
J.M. Unger (1992) Literacy and script reform in occupation Japan: Reading between the lines Oxford University Press New York
J.M. Unger (2004) Ideogram: Chinese characters and the myth disembodied meaning University of Hawaii Press Honolulu
N. Warner T. Arai (2001) ArticleTitleJapanese mora-timing: A review Phonetica 58 1–25 Occurrence Handle10.1159/000028486 Occurrence Handle11096367
M. Wolf H. Goodglass (1986) ArticleTitleDyslexia, dysphonia and lexical retrieval: A longitudinal investigation Brain and Language 28 154–168 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0093-934X(86)90098-2 Occurrence Handle3719295
J. Yamada (1992) ArticleTitleWhy are kana words named faster than kanji words? Brain and Language 43 682–693 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0093-934X(92)90090-2 Occurrence Handle1483197
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yamada, J., Leong, C.K. Differential Reading, Naming, and Transcribing Speeds of Japanese Romaji and Hiragana. Read Writ 18, 303–323 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-005-3356-y
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-005-3356-y