2019.11.06 Dr. Peng Gang

Associate Professor

Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience

Dept. of Chinese and Bilingual Studies

The Polytechnic University of Hong Kong

Profile

Sinogram and the Brain 漢字與大腦

The two most distinct features of the Chinese language are the use of lexical tones in its spoken form and sinograms, i.e., Chinese characters, in its written form. In this talk, I will report three aspects of sinogram processing based on our previous studies. 1. Firstly, I will discuss the sub-lexical processing of semantic radicals of sinograms which are themselves free standing sinograms, and the interaction and time course of sub-lexical processing by using the technique of event-related potentials. 2. Secondly, I will discuss the issue of hemispheric lateralization of signogram processing, and elaborate the Composition–Age model which seemingly accommodates most lateralization studies of sinogram reading. 3. Finally, I am going to discuss the influence of reading experience (simplified vs. traditional sinograms) on the sensitivity of distinguishing non-sinograms from sinograms.