Reading unspaced text is not easy: comments on the implications of Epelboim et al.'s (1994) study for models of eye movement control in reading.
Epelboim, Booth, and Steinman [1994 Vision Research, 34, 1735-1766] recently published an article in this journal in which they argued that "unspaced text is relatively easy to read" (p. 1760). From this they concluded that the spaces between words "are relatively unimportant for guiding reading eye movements" (p. 1760). We have serious reservations concerning these conclusions. In this letter we argue that (1) reading unspaced text is not easy for most readers and (2) there are more diagnostic ways to examine the role of spacing. We also comment on the implications for models of eye movements in reading.
Rayner
K
K
Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 01003, USA. rayner/psych.umass.edu
Pollatsek
A
A
D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D011932:Reading; D012438:Saccades