Semantic processing of Chinese characters by advanced L2 Chinese learners: A comparison between alphabetic language, Japanese and Korean speakers

The influence of learners' native language backgrounds on the learning and teaching of Chinese as a second language (L2) has received extensive attention (for a review, see Chai & Bao, 2023). Focusing on L2 Chinese character learning, this study investigated the semantic processing of Chinese characters among advanced L2 Chinese learners using different writing systems in their native languages. A semantic categorization task adapted from Ma et al. (2016) was administered to 180 participants, including 45 speakers of alphabetic languages (e.g., English, Russian, Turkmen) using the sound-based writing system, 45 Japanese speakers employing both sound-based and meaning-based writing systems, 45 Korean speakers predominantly using the sound-based writing system and rarely using the meaning-based system, and 45 native Chinese speakers. The participants were required to judge whether a target character preceded by a prime character could represent a living thing. The primes and targets were categorized into five relationships: (1) orthographically similar (e.g., 东-车), (2) homophonic (e.g., 加-家), (3) phonologically similar (e.g., 办-慢), (4) semantically related (e.g., 笔-纸), and (5) unrelated control (e.g., 力-火). Three different Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA) conditions, 60ms, 150ms, and 300ms, were designed to elicit the time course of orthographic, phonological, and semantic activation. The results indicate that alphabetic and Korean learners activated the phonological and semantic information simultaneously, adopting a dual-route processing mechanism. Conversely, like native Chinese speakers, Japanese learners activated semantics directly from orthography without phonological activation, exhibiting a direct-route processing mechanism. The findings reveal that the orthographic distance between L2 Chinese learners' writing systems in their native languages and the Chinese writing system affects their Chinese character processing mechanisms, shedding light on L2 Chinese character teaching and learning.