title: Inserting spaces before and after words affects word processing differently in Chinese: Evidence from eye movements.
abstract: Unlike in English, there are no spaces between printed words in Chinese. In this study, we explored how inserting a space before or after a word affects the processing of that word in Chinese reading. Native Chinese readers' eye movements were monitored as they read sentences with different presentation conditions. The results show that inserting a space after a word facilitates its processing, but inserting a space before a word does not show this effect and inhibits the processing of that word in some cases. Our results are consistent with the prediction of a word segmentation and recognition model in Chinese Li et al., 2009, Cognit. Psychol., 58, 525. Additionally, we found that a space guides the initial landing position on the word: the initial landing position was further away from the space that inserted into the text, whether it was before or after a word.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Pingping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xingshan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People; D032882:Comprehension; D003463:Cues; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D011932:Reading; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D014956:Writing