Chinese characters are logographic. They differ from the English alphabet system and produce the distinguishing features of Chinese reading. This paper introduces some recent discoveries made by Chinese psychologists about Chinese reading, neuropsychological differences between Chinese and English reading, and strategies for comprehending Chinese sentences. Two methods of teaching Chinese characters, concentration recognition and dispersion recognition, are also discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bates, E. , McNew, S., McWhinney, B., Derescovi, A. & Smith, S. (1982) Functional constraints on sentence processing: a cross-linguistic study. Cognition, 11(3), 245-298.
2.
Guo Kejiao , Feng Yaoqing & Dai Chaonan (1982) Pathological changes in the depths of left temporal lobe of the brain and language handicap. Information on Psychological Sciences, 19, 1-6.
3.
Hatta, T. (1976) Asynchrony of lateral onset as a factor in differences in visual fields. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 42, 163-166.
4.
Hatta, T. (1977) Recognition of Japanese kanji in the left and right visual fields. Neuro-psychologia, 15,685-688.
5.
Huang, Y.L. & Jones, B. (1980) Naming and discrimination of Chinese ideograms presented in the right and left visual fields. Neuropsychologia, 18(77),703-706.
6.
Li Xintian (1981) [Organization of activity by the cooperative cerebral hemisphere: observations of higher cognitive ability in a hemispherectomized patient fourteen years postsurgery.]Acta Psychologica Sinica, 2.
7.
Miao Xiaochun (1982) The strategies for Chinese sentence comprehension. Information on Psychological Sciences, 20, 9-14.
8.
Tzeng, O.J.L. & Hung, D.L. (1981) Linguistic determinism: a written language perspective. In O.J.L. Tzeng & H. Singer (Ed.) Perception of Pring: Reading Research in Experimental Psychology. pp. 237-253. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
9.
Tzeng, O.J.L. , Hung, D.L., Cotton, B. & Wang, W.S.Y. (1979) Visual lateralization effect in reading Chinese characters. Nature, 282,499-501.