Korean reading speed: Effects of print size and retinal eccentricity

Abstract

Evaluating the effects of print size and retinal eccentricity on reading speed is important for identifying the constraints faced by people with central-field loss. Previous work on English reading showed that 1) reading speed increases with print size until a critical print size (CPS) is reached, and then remains constant at a maximum reading speed (MRS), and 2) as eccentricity increases, MRS decreases and CPS increases. Here we extend this work to Korean, a language with more complex orthography. We recruited 6 Korean native speakers (mean age = 22) and measured their reading speed in central vision (0°) and peripheral vision (10° in the lower field). 900 Korean sentences (average 8.25 words) were created with frequently-occurring beginner-level words, presented using a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) paradigm. Data for English reading were obtained from Chung, Mansfield & Legge, Vision Research, 1998, for comparison. MRS was similar for Korean and English at 0° (713 vs. 787 wpm), but decreased faster with eccentricity for Korean. CPS was larger for Korean than for English regardless of eccentricity, but increased with eccentricity similarly for both languages. From 0 to 10°, MRS decreased by a factor of 6.5 for Korean and 2.8 for English, and CPS increased by a factor of 11.7 for Korean and 10.2 for English. Korean reading speed is more affected by retinal eccentricity than English, likely due to additional within-character crowding from more complex orthography. Korean readers with central-field loss may experience more difficulty than English readers.

Late Development of Early Visual Perception: No Topology‐Priority in Peripheral Vision Until Age 10

“…In this study, however, we found that peripheral discrimination was slower than that of the central field for both TP and non-TP differences in Experiments 1 and 2. The slower processing speed in peripheral vision compared to central vision has also been reported in previous studies for both simple stimulus-onset detection and more complex reading tasks (Ando, Kida, & Oda, 2001;He, Baek, & Legge, 2018). Interestingly, when the stimulus presentation time was reduced, that is, when the task became difficult, on the contrary, we found that the response of peripheral stimuli was faster than that of central stimuli.…”

Effects of visual span on Chinese reading performance in normal peripheral vision

“…In English, young readers' RSVP reading speed showed a 2.8 to 3.7-fold decrease from central to 10 below fixation (Chung et al, 1998;Yu, Cheung, Chung & Legge, 2006). In contrast, a factor of 6.5 decline in reading speed at 10 inferior visual field was found in Korean (Hangul), which shares a similar configuration to Chinese reading (He, Baek & Legge, 2018). The slower Chinese RSVP reading speed at central vision (~ 510 cpm vs. 787 and 713 wpm in English and Korean reading) might be one reason explaining the less significant decline in reading speed at peripheral vision.…”

“…However, further study on a larger sample size is required to confirm the effect of eccentricity on Chinese reading speed. Furthermore, the current Chinese RSVP reading speed was examined using character-by-character presentation rather than word-byword presentation as in the English (Chung et al, 1998;Yu et al, 2006) and Korean studies (He et al, 2018), because Chinese characters can stand alone as a meaningful word.…”

Effects of visual span on Chinese reading performance in normal peripheral vision

“…In English, young readers' RSVP reading speed showed a 2.8 to 3.7-fold decrease from central to 10 inferior vision (Chung et al, 1998, Yu, Cheung, Chung & Legge, 2006. In contrast, a factor of 6.5 decline in reading speed at 10 inferior vision was found in Korean (Hangul), which shares similar configuration as Chinese when reading (He, Baek & Legge, 2018). The slower Chinese RSVP reading speed at central vision (~ 510 cpm vs. 787 and 713 wpm in English and Korean reading) might be one reason explaining the less significant decline in reading speed at peripheral vision.…”