研究方向：長期語言概念
主題：Tracking the temporal dynamics of the processing of phonetic and semantic radicals in Chinese character recognition by MEG
說明：
The majority of Chinese characters are composed of a semantic and a phonetic radical. Although pre-lexical involvement of the phonetic radical in Chinese character recognition has been established, there is little agreement on the contribution of the semantic radical. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate the temporal dynamics of the priming effect elicited by repetition of phonetic and semantic radicals in the tasks of homophone and synonym judgment, respectively. The behavioral results revealed robust priming induced by both kinds of radicals. As for the MEG results, the repetition effect of phonetic radicals was obtained in the M170, M250 and M350 components. However, the repetition effect of semantic radicals was only marginally interactive with other variables in the M170, M350 and M450 components. The present findings suggest that phonetic radicals play a predominant role in early lexical access and phonological computation of Chinese character recognition, while semantic radicals have relatively weak effect on lexical access and semantic retrieval.
主題：Sentence processing and compounding in Chinese: A naming experiment
說明：
Currently we are exploring the neural correlates of sentence processing and compounding in Chinese. To do that, we are first running a behavioral experiment comparing Chinese sentences, word lists and character lists. In the sentence condition we have the greatest constituent size, with all characters combining to form one whole constituent; we have less constituent size in the word condition, and the least in the character condition. We ask participants to read aloud Chinese characters presented one at a time on the screen. We analyze naming accuracy as well as naming latencies of the trials and of the individual characters in each condition. The preliminary data suggest that, as we expected, naming accuracy increases and naming latency decreases in accordance with increasing constituent size; that is, sentences are named more correctly than word lists, which are named more correctly than character lists. Also, naming latency of sentences is shorter than that of word lists, which is shorter than that of character lists. We are also comparing naming latencies in each condition as a function of list length. Parallel to this behavioral study, we are working on fMRI and MEG studies to gather information about the neural correlates of processing Chinese sentences and compounding.
主題：Statistical learning and visual short-term memory predict acquisition of Chinese literacy as a second language
說明：
Language acquisition is the establishment of connections between word forms, their phonations as well as their meaning. Intelligence aside, previous studies indicate that phonological processing skills (PPS) also play an important role in this process. In addition, recent studies found that statistical learning, or sensitivity to implicit statistical regularities embedded in sequential visual stimuli, also correlate with literacy performance. These findings were replicated in both alphabetic and non-alphabetic languages, which implies that PPS and statistical learning abilities are general indicators for literacy acquisition ability. Recent Japanese studies found that PPS is correlated with kana writing (an alphabetic language system) performance in Japanese children, but visual memory is correlated with kanji reading and writing (a non-alphabetic language system) performance. This suggests that different cognitive skills are required in learning to read non-alphabetic and alphabetic languages. To examine this, we recruited foreign students studying in Taiwan, aiming to explore the specific predicting factors for Chinese literacy acquisition in L2 learners.
主題：Investigation of the cognitive processes of written word production in Cangjie and Zhuyin typists
說明：
Previous studies have indicated that one of the key elements underlying Chinese reading is orthographic process. Because some studies have claimed that using Zhuyin or Pinyin typing methods, compared to handwriting, would harm children’s orthographic ability, which would then hamper their Chinese reading ability, we aimed to investigate whether Zhuyin or Pinyin typists possess worse orthographic representations than typists of other typing methods (e.g., Cangjie). Specifically, we hypothesized that the Cangjie typing method would provide Chinese readers abundant opportunities to deconstruct Chinese radicals and improve their Chinese orthographic knowledge. In the present study, we recruit Zhuyin and Cangjie typists to perform the dictation task and the written picture naming task, together with the semantic categorization task and the copy task, to examine the cognitive processes involved in these tasks of Zhuyin and Cangjie typists.