Effects of word spacing on reading Chinese text from a video display terminal
Effects of word spacing on reading Chinese text from a video display terminal
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DOI：
10.2466/pms.90.1.81-92
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发表时间：
2000-02-01
影响因子：
1.6
通讯作者：
Huang, KC
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hsu, SH;Huang, KC
本研究考察了汉语文本中词语间距设计的效果，无论是使用“单词”而不是“字符”作为呈现单元，都将有助于从视频显示终端进行阅读。实验结果表明，诺德间距的主效应显著影响被试的阅读时间和正确回答问题的数量。受试者在半字间距或全字间距的文本上花费的时间比常规类型（无字间距）少。我们还发现，正确回答的问题的数量与半字符间距的刺激显着大于与全字符间距的刺激，而两者都小于与常规类型的刺激。其他变量，如文本难度和显示控制也有显着的影响。我们的研究结果表明，在中文文本中的最佳字间距应大于在传统的布局，小于整字间距。显然，在中文文本中，使用“词”作为表示单位比没有任何明确词边界的传统布局更有利。字间距的设计可能有利于阅读困难或不熟悉的材料，并进一步适用于紧急情况下或在阅读模棱两可的句子。
This study investigated the effects of designing space between words in Chinese text, i.e., whether using a "word" instead of a "character" as a presentation unit, will facilitate the performance of reading from a video display terminal. Experimental results indicated that the main effect of nord spacing significantly affected the reading time and the number of questions answered correctly. Subjects spent less time on the text with half-character word spacing or with whole-character word spacing than with conventional type (without word spacing). We also discovered that the number of questions answered correctly for stimuli with half-character spacing is significantly greater than that for stimuli with whole-character spacing, while both are smaller than for stimuli with conventional type. The additional variables, such as text difficulty and display control have significant effects as well. Our results suggested that the optimal word spacing in Chinese text should be greater than that in the traditional layout and less than a whole-character spacing. Apparently, in Chinese text, using a "word" as a presentation unit is more favorable than the traditional layouts that do not have any explicit word boundaries. The word spacing design may benefit in reading difficult or unfamiliar materials and further apply in emergency situations or in reading ambiguous sentences.