Word Comprehension and Naming: An Analysis of English and Japanese Orthographies

Abstract

A Japanese version of the Stroop test was used to study interference effects produced by conflicting color words written in Kanji, a logographic orthography, and in Kana, a phonetic orthography. Words written in Kanji produced more Stroop interference than words written in Kana, even though words written in Kana were named faster. In another experiment, English readers indicated the spatial location of stimuli in the presence of conflicting arrows or words (e.g., the word left in the right position). Conflicting arrows (i.e., logographic symbols) produced more interference than conflicting words, yet words were named faster. In a Japanese version of the same task, subjects experienced the most difficulty when conflicting Kanji words were presented. But again, words written in Kana were named faster than words written in Kanji. Thus for both Japanese and English readers, logographic symbols were identified faster than phonetic symbols, yet phonetic symbols were named faster than logographic symbols. The findings demonstrate that by varying orthography, it is possible to dissociate word comprehension from word naming.

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