Abstract

This study investigated the hypothesis that the main component character which contributes more to the whole-word meaning is used as an access code in reading. Grade 1, 3, and 5 readers were asked to read aloud two-character Chinese compound words (modifier, supplement, and coordinative words) with four patterns of component character frequency (high-high, high-low, low-high, and low-low). Results showed that the main component character effect was present for all three types of word structures, and the use of the main component character as a reading strategy was found in grade 3 and 5 children in their reading. It was proposed that representations of low-frequency Chinese compounds are stored in morphologically decomposed form and that word structure information has a role in the processing of compound words.

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