Abstract
Cognitive models of language processing in English are founded on norms for word properties, but their universality is now being explored across different writing scripts and subject groups. Although Chinese characters are popular for this comparative work, their salient properties remain ill defined or poorly controlled. We describe how norms for semantic and phonetic regularity in Mandarin can be calibrated on a regional basis. The rating data that we present from China, Singapore, and Taiwan also illustrate why the diversity of both oral and written forms of Chinese should be considered in future empirical work.
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This work was funded by the National University of Singapore (RP391/0067) and the Shaw Foundation. We are grateful to Hua Shu (China), S. Y. Tiang (Taiwan), Ming Lee Yong, Leh Woon Mok, Joy Ping P’ing, and Olivia Wee May Ling (Singapore) for their help with data collection and to Max Coltheart, Dan-ling Peng, Arthur Jacobs, Catherine McBride-Chang, Xiang Dong Jia, and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on earlier versions.
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Rickard Liow, S.J., Tng, S.K. & Lee, C.L. Chinese characters: Semantic and phonetic regularity norms for China, Singapore, and Taiwan. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 31, 155–177 (1999). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207706
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207706