READING ALOUD FROM LOGOGRAPHIC AND ALPHABETIC TEXTS - COMPARISONS BETWEEN CHINESE AND GERMAN

The following study investigated the effect of writting systems (logog raphic vs. alphabetic) on the following study investigated the effect of writing systems (logographic vs, alphabetic) on the temporal organi zation of reading aloud. More specifically, we wished to test Perfetti and Zhang's (1995) assertion that ''the reader of an alphabetic syste m can do better at recovering the phonological form, less well at reco vering the semantic category of the word'' (p. 186f). Native speakers of Chinese and German read a semantically identical passage from texts written in their own language. The Chinese version consisted of 132 c haracters (132 syllables), the German of 80 words (also 132 syllables) . In accord with Perfetti and Zhang's position, Chinese readers articu lated significantly more slowly they also used significantly more paus es. Moreover, German renders used a set pattern of pause positions, wh ereas Chinese did not. Logographic and alphabetic determinants of read ing aloud are discussed.