Hemispheric processing of Chinese hànzì and English words: A lateralized lexical decision study

• Main Authors: Douglas Whitman, Lee Wurm, Erin Holcomb, Zhenni Wang, Jo Fu Liao, Sarah A. Van Dyke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2016-12-01
• Series: Cogent Psychology
• Subjects: semantic priming; laterality; hemisphere; bilingual translation; chinese hànzì
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2015.1135862

We presented orthographic English words or Chinese logographic hànzì primes to either the left or right visual fields followed by a semantically related target to the opposite visual field. Chinese hànzì primed English words in both hemispheres but English required right-hemisphere involvement to prime hànzì symbols. This study suggests that Chinese hànzì and English word translation recruits both hemispheres. Our results are consistent with the conclusion that the two cortical hemispheres maintain parallel, but different, representations of hànzì, just as has been shown with English words.