[The effect of script frequency on semantic processing of Kanji and Kana words].
To examine the effect of script type and/or script frequency on the semantic access to words, 34 undergraduates were required to category decision for each word presented tachistoscopically. Three classes of words were used as stimuli; Kana words with low Kana script frequency (Kana-Low), Kana words with high Kana script frequency (Kana-High), and Kanji words with high Kanji script frequency (Kanji). Mean decision latency for Kana-High was shorter than that for Kana-Low, while there was no difference of latency between Kana-High and Kanji. These results show that the speed of semantic access depends on script frequency rather than script type.
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D011601:Psychophysics; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D011932:Reading; D012660:Semantics