The Effect of Length on Word Recognition (in Reading): The Case of Arabic // تأثير طول الكلمة على دقة القراءة: العربية كدراسة حالة

Abstract

In this study, two experiments were conducted to assess the role of word length in visual word recognition. In Experiment 1 two lists of Arabic three and five letter words were used in a print word-reading task which measured accuracy and reading time. In Experiment 2, three, four and five letter words were displayed in the center of fixation on a screen in a naming task measuring accuracy and naming time. In reading, two contrasting processes have been suggested: the holistic process and the analytical process. According to the holistic process, the recognition of a word is determined by its global features and configuration. Consequently, reading consists of the simultaneous processing of all the letters of a word in parallel. In contrast, according to the analytical process, reading is a sequential screening of all the letters within a particular word. Length effect—that is, short words are recognized more rapidly and accurately than long words—is the signature of analytical processing of the non-lexical route due to its seriality which is caused by assembled phonology. The results of both experiments revealed that the average reading time of Arabic words from paper and screen was affected by word length, reflecting certain analytical processes and the activation of a non-lexical route, in which letters are processed sequentially.