TITLE:
Recognition of Japanese Phonographic Kana (Hiragana) and Logographic Kanji Characters by Passive Finger Tracing
AUTHORS:
Hikari Yamashita
KEYWORDS:
Japanese Reading; Laterality; Kana; Kanji; Finger Tracing
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.3,
March
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: The
present study assessed the ability of normal Japanese adults to recognize kanji
and hiragana characters through passive finger tracing without visual cues. We
tested fifty-six right-handed Japanese university students using the left or
right hand. Participants recognized approximately 50% of 44 kanji characters,
regardless of the hand they used. The results are consistent with previous
findings in Chinese speakers. In contrast, the average correct response to the
44 hiragana was almost 80%, again irrespective of hand. The results are
discussed in terms of differential processing systems for Japanese writing and
of differential cerebral hemispheric specializations.