Disambiguating Effects of Syllable Position and Neighborhood Size: Contributions of Hanja During Sino-Korean Processing

A language’s writing system offers a complex lens through which to explore its lexicon. Korean’s bi-scriptal lexicon comprising its native script Hangul and Chinese Hanja, enables a unique window into what is and is not permissible in the language, as well as a chance to investigate how properties of the written form are reflected in the mental representation of the language. Through a novel priming paradigm, we investigated the effects of Hanja on visual word recognition in Hangul. In particular, we examined the effects of neighborhood size and syllable position of individual Sino-Korean morphemes. Although Hangul is the primary script, literate native Korean speakers are sensitive to the effects of Hanja; they are confronted with a lexicon written primarily in one (Hangul), but deeply influenced by another that is much less visible and commonly used (Hanja). We show that the contributions of Hanja are simply part and parcel of Sino-Korean lexical processing despite the asymmetry in use.