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Recognizing two dialects in one written form: A Stroop study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2024

Junru Wu Open the ORCID record for Junru Wu [Opens in a new window] ,
Vincent J. van Heuven Open the ORCID record for Vincent J. van Heuven [Opens in a new window] ,
Niels O. Schiller Open the ORCID record for Niels O. Schiller [Opens in a new window]  and
Yiya Chen Open the ORCID record for Yiya Chen [Opens in a new window]
Junru Wu*
Affiliation:
Lab of Language Cognition and Evolution, Dept. Chinese Language and Literature, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden, Netherlands Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
Vincent J. van Heuven
Affiliation:
Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden, Netherlands Dept. Applied Linguistics, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary
Niels O. Schiller
Affiliation:
Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden, Netherlands Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands Department of Linguistics and Translation (LT), School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS), City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Yiya Chen
Affiliation:
Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden, Netherlands Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
*
Author for correspondence: Junru Wu; Email: jrwu@zhwx.ecnu.edu.cn
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Abstract

This study aims to examine the influence of dialectal experience on logographic visual word recognition. Two groups of Chinese monolectals and three groups of Chinese bi-dialectals performed Stroop color-naming in Standard Chinese (SC), and two of the bi-dialectal groups also in their regional dialects. The participant groups differed in dialectal experiences. The ink-character relation was manipulated in semantics, segments, and tones separately, as congruent, competing, or different, yielding ten Stroop conditions for comparison. All the groups showed Stroop interference for the conditions of segmental competition, as well as evidence for semantic activation by the characters. Bi-dialectal experience, even receptive, could benefit conflict resolution in the Stroop task. Chinese characters can automatically activate words in both dialects. Comparing naming in Standard Chinese and naming in the bi-dialectals’ regional dialects, still, a regional-dialect disadvantage suggests that the activation is biased with literacy and lexico-specific inter-dialectal relations.

Keywords

Chinesebi-dialectismlogographic visual word recognitionStroop effect

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Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , November 2024 , pp. 845 - 861
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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This article has earned badges for transparent research practices: Open Data and Open Materials. For details see the Data Availability Statement.

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