The exploration of the effects of word frequency and word length on Korean word recognition

초록

Because a word is the basic unit of language processing, studies of the word recognition processing and the variables that contribute to word recognition processing are very important. Word frequency and word length are recognized as important factors on word recognition. This study examined the effects of those two variables on the Korean word recognition processing. In Experiment 1, two types of Hangul words, pure Hangul words and Hangul words with Hanja counterparts, were used to explore the frequency effects. A frequency effect was not observed for Hangul words with Hanja counterparts. In Experiment 2, the word length was manipulated to determine if the word length effect appears in Hangul words. Contrary to the expectation, one syllable words were processed more slowly than two syllable words. The possible explanations for these results and future research directions are discussed.

키워드