Hye K. Pae

University of Cincinnati | UC · School of Education

This open access volume reveals the hidden power of the script we read in and how it shapes and drives our minds, ways of thinking, and cultures. Expanding on the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (i.e., the idea that language affects the way we think), this volume proposes the “Script Relativity Hypothesis” (i.e., the idea that the script in which...

The Korean writing system has the flexibility of writing horizontally and vertically as well as two syllabic formats that cannot be found in any other alphabetic script. Consolidating these two characteristics, this study investigated the differential extractions of visual information from the mutilated stimuli of the two syllabic formats of CVC sy...

While the theoretical models of morphological processing in Roman alphabets indicate prelexical activation, a model established in Korean suggests postlexical activation. To extend the model of Korean morphological processing, this study examined within-scriptal (Hangul-Hangul prime-target pairs) and cross-scriptal (Hanja-Hangul prime-target pairs)...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to apply the Rasch model to an analysis of the psychometric properties of the PPVT-III Form A items with struggling adult readers. METHODS: The PPVT-IIIA was administered to 229 African-American adults whose isolated word reading skills were between third and fifth grades. Conformity of the adults' performance on...

This study investigates how learners of English process adjectival participles in both attributive and predicative positions within sentences in order to identify whether difficulties associated with participles stem from learner-specific or English-specific characteristics. A Chinese-speaking group and a mixed language group participated in Study...

A phrase-frame (p-frame) is a multi-word sequence with a one-word variable within the sequence (e.g., it is * to). P-frames are important components of language production and can demonstrate phraseological patterning. This study examined p-frames retrieved from one learner business emails corpus (1,413 texts based on the Education First-Cambridge...

Linguistic relativity today: Language, mind, society, and the foundations of Linguistic Anthropology Marcel Danesi (2021) New York: Routledge. Pp. 172. ISBN 9780367431730 (hbk) ISBN 9780367431723 (pbk) ISBN 9781003001669 (eBook)

The purpose of this paper is to extend the linguistic relativity hypothesis (i.e., the language we speak affects the way we think) to a script relativity hypothesis (i.e., the script in which we read influences our thought). Based on the rich body of knowledge in the science of reading that shows the effects of literacy on our cognitive processes,...

This study examined how the typological characteristics of the first language (L1) affect the motion-path formulation of motion events in English as a second language (L2) among native speakers of Chinese, Korean, and English, and discussed their pedagogical implications for multi-word verb use. Sixty-one university students participated in an elic...

This chapter examines how Chinese learners of English formulate verbal phrases in expository writing using a learner corpus. Among 1,541 extracted overpassivised cases, the misuse of unaccusative verbs accounted for 45%, followed by transitive verbs (24%) and copular be verbs (19%), all of which were higher than that of unergative verbs (10%). The...

Lexical bundles are frequently recurring word sequences (e.g. as can be seen) that function as building blocks of discourse. This corpus-based study examined the use of four-word lexical bundles in business emails written by three groups of writers: intermediate business English learners, advanced business English learners, and working professional...

Collocations play an important role in L2 learners’ fluent and idiomatic language production. Previous studies using a frequency-based approach to studying collocations underscored the potential to use association measures for distinguishing L2 writing proficiency. However, studies in this line have largely neglected the syntactic relation of words...

This corpus-based study investigated phrase frames (i.e., recurring multi-word units with a variable slot; e.g., if you * any [need, have, require]) in business emails. Results indicated that phrase frames could serve as a means to express decorum and formality in email communication. Phrase frames can facilitate business English learning.

This study examined tripartite dichotomous script specificity in word recognition of Hangul, including syllabic types (CV vs. CVC syllables), syllabic formats (horizontal vs. vertical), and reading directions (horizontal vs. vertical). Adult readers (Mage = 21.6) participated in standard lexical decision tasks in two experiments. Experiment 1 (n =...

To understand constructs underpinning L2 production, this study investigated how native speakers (mean age = 26.61) of Chinese (n = 29), Korean (n = 23), and English (n = 28) formulated spoken narratives in English and how functional factors were related to the linguistic richness of narratives under the framework of thinking for speaking. To ident...

Learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) tend to swap the two characters within a coordinative compound word in verbal identification and written production. This mixed methods study not only investigated how CFL learners identified intercharacter orthographic and semantic relationships within two-morpheme coordinative compound words, but al...

This study examined how lexical properties, such as word frequency, word length, and morphological features, affect the word recognition of Korean Hangul among adult readers. Ninety-four native Korean students performed a lexical decision task on disyllabic and trisyllabic words and nonwords. Results of cross-classified and hierarchical linear mode...

This chapter reviews the evolution of the linguistic relativity hypothesis and how it was dismissed. The opponents of linguistic relativity misinterpreted the hypothesis itself and research results. With new interpretations and more scientific research findings, the hypothesis has gained rekindled interest in recent years. Empirical evidence for li...

This chapter discusses the new trend of co-use of words and images in digitally-mediated text as well as its impact on our cognition. The function of the left and right hemispheres of the brain is first reviewed. Next, how images are processed, compared to words, is reviewed. Reading words recruits different neural networks than those of “reading”...

This chapter discusses the characteristics of the alphabet as a writing system. It first describes the classifications of writing systems and the criteria for an ideal writing system, including representability, producibility, and interpretability. The alphabet is considered to be a more efficient writing system than Chinese characters in that it t...

This chapter reviews how written signs first emerged and developed into systematic writing systems. The first sign system appeared to fulfill accounting purposes for the preservation of private properties in antiquity. Initial written signs, including plain tallies, complex tokens, and tokens in clay envelopes, are reviewed. Written signs before th...

This chapter briefly reviews language as a cultural tool and claims written language or script to be the influential force that runs cognition and culture. As an extension of the linguistic relativity hypothesis, script relativity is considered to be the engines and underpinnings of our cognition, everyday problem-solving strategies, and overarchin...

This chapter reviews the cultural aspects of the East and the West. A wide range of differences between the East and the West is discussed in terms of the extrinsic and intrinsic differences. The extrinsic differences comprise architecture, the mode of clothing, everyday practices, and language and script, while the intrinsic differences consist of...

This chapter begins with the discussions of what language is and the relationship between spoken language and written language, along with the early view of language-is-speech in linguistics as well as a written-language bias . A series of questions are posed and answered, covering whether we think differently according to the language we speak, wh...

Using the universal grammar of reading and the system accommodation hypothesis (Perfetti, 2003) as theoretical frameworks, this chapter reviews a wide range of linguistic evidence that supports script relativity . Universality and specificity found according to script features are discussed with respect to the operating principle (alphabet vs. logo...

The three East-Asian scripts—Chinese (characters and Pinyin), Japanese (multi-scripts), and Korean (alphabetic Hangul)—are discussed. Under each script, a brief historical account of the given writing system, the key features of the script, and the strengths and weaknesses as a script are described. The commonalities and differences among the three...

This chapter discusses the consequences of reading in terms of the reading brain. As a holistic view of the mind’s software, the ecosystem of reading is used as a theoretical framework, which includes microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. The ecological system of reading particularly focuses on the reader’s mind as the microsystem an...

This chapter reviews a vast amount of neuroimaging studies of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean in comparison to L2 English, using the neuonral recycling hypothesis (Dehaene, 2009) and the (writing) system accommodation hypothesis (Perfetti & Liu, 2005) as theoretical frameworks. In order to understand the basic brain network associated with reading, t...

This chapter discusses reading on screen and in print, as the emergence of digital age has transformed our reading and attention. Digital reading reshapes the concept of reading with the use of various forms of social media that are full of acronyms and emoticons or emoji. Advantages and disadvantages of reading on screen and in print are reviewed....

This study examined the effects of the speaker's face and accent on second language (L2) speech perception. Forty-two Chinese speakers of English immersed in the L2 environment were instructed to perform a cross-modal semantic judgement task. They saw an Asian or Caucasian face on the screen and heard word pairs in L2 in a native English accent or...

Chinese coordinative compound words are common and unique in inter-character semantic and orthographic relationships. This study explored the inter-character orthographic similarity effects on the recognition of transparent two-morpheme coordinative compound words. Seventy-two native Chinese readers participated in a lexical decision task. The find...

The Korean Hangul writing system conforms to the alphabetic principle to the extent that its graphs (i.e., its minimal orthographic components) represent phonemes, but it differs from the standard convention of alphabetic orthography by configuring its syllables as blocks. This paper describes the orthographic, phonological, and morphological chara...

Given the well-documented consonant primacy established in Roman script, this study examined the role of consonants and vowels in lexical decision of Korean Hangul among skilled Korean readers in order to identify whether the salient role of consonants over vowels would be script-universal or script-specific. Three experiments were carried out to i...

Cross-linguistic influences have been well documented in English as a second language (L2) acquisition. First language (L1) influences on the acquisition of L2 English verbal phrases are worth more investigation, considering the difficulty of mastering English post-verbal prepositions, adverbs, and particles for Chinese native speakers. This study...

This book provides readers with a unique array of scholarly reflections on the writing systems of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean in relation to reading processes and data-driven interpretations of cross-language transfer. Distinctively broad in scope, topics addressed in this volume include word reading with respect to orthographic, phonological, mo...

This chapter describes the realm of writing systems, scripts, and orthographies focusing on three East-Asian languages – Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. With the operational definitions of basic terms, it identifies the visual resemblances in square blocks as the essential feature underlying commonalities among the three scripts as well as the inter...

This chapter reviews the development of the Korean script, Hangul, from its birth to linguistic and psycholinguistic implications for word reading. It first discusses the language family and the structure of the Korean oral language. Given that the emergence of the script is unlike most scripts or writing systems, it next overviews the invention ba...

This study investigated cross-linguistic influences of the Korean script’s syllabic format on L2 English word reading. A total of 103 college students participated in two naming experiments in Korea and the U.S. Experiment 1 used Korean graphemes presented in both block (i.e., Hangul printing convention) and left-to-right linear (i.e., English prin...

There have been conflicting results in the literature regarding the dominant linguistic unit (body-coda units vs. onset-rime units) in reading Korean Hangul. In an attempt to resolve the contradictory views between the phonotactic constraint (support for body-coda) and the universal rime bias (support for onset-rime) in reading, this chapter examin...

This study examined how native speakers of Korean extracted letter-feature information from mutilated texts (i.e., top-half and bottom-half ), compared to native speakers of Chinese and English. Hypothesized were (1) the upper-part saliency and (2) L1 script effects on L2 reading. A computer-based naming test was administered. Results showed eminen...

Shell noun (SN) use in learner writing has been studied in terms of SN choices and SN pattern choices, but less so in terms of SN-pattern co-selection (i.e. which patterns are used with which SNs). This study examined English SN choices and their preferred lexicogrammatical patterns in argumentative essays by speakers of Turkish and Japanese in ord...

This study identified robust predictors of expressive skills in academic English as a foreign language. The participants were 92 Korean-speaking learners of English. The field test of the Pearson Test of English Academic was used as a secondary data analysis. Four communicative skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) and six enabling lin...

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between mothers’ self-efficacy beliefs, their preschool children’s home learning environments, and literacy skills. A sample of 112 mother–child dyads was recruited from Head Start centers in rural and urban communities. The measures included maternal self-efficacy and maternal perceptions of c...

While evidence shows that consonants play a primary role over vowels in reading Roman script, it remains unclear whether this primacy extends to reading non-Roman script. This study investigated the role of vowels in L2 English word reading among native Korean readers. Seventy six Korean- and English-speaking adults read words in a naming test. Sti...

This closing chapter briefly summarizes research findings on the processes of word reading in three East-Asian orthographies (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) and calls for theoretical and practical attention related to word reading among speakers of these unique languages. Based on the analyses of and reflections on studies of the three orthographie...

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between parents’ home literacy practices and the literacy skills of young children at risk for reading difficulties. Participants included 198 kindergarten and first-grade students and their parents. Children were enrolled in two Title I schools in an urban setting. Parents completed the Stonyb...

Comparisons of the effects of typical and atypical typeface on reading performance among readers of different linguistic backgrounds may yield new insights into the psychology of word recognition. A total of 143 adults (i.e., 50 Chinese, 55 Koreans, 38 native English speakers) participated in the study that involved two computer-based naming tests....

This study examined how native speakers of Spanish formulated sentences in English as a second language (L2) when randomly ordered words were orally presented. Participants included 206 adult literacy students (70 native Spanish speakers and 136 native English speakers) whose word reading equivalency was at third- through fifth-grade levels. The Wo...

This study examined relationships among metacognitive skills, including inference, summarizing skills, fluency and memory, listening, and academic reading in English as a foreign language (FL). As a secondary analysis of the field test of the Pearson Test of English Academic, a total of 585 nonnative speakers’ academic language and reading skills w...

Given that children’s sociocultural backgrounds and home activities influence many aspects of their cognitive, affective, and reading development, this study examined the role of family literacy contexts, including home language use, parental language skills, literacy practices, and demographic characteristics, in heritage language reading acquisit...

The Stroop Color-Word Test involves a dynamic interplay between reading and executive functioning that elicits intuitions of word reading automaticity. One such intuition is that strong reading skills (i.e., more automatized word reading) play a disruptive role within the test, contributing to Stroop interference. However, evidence has accumulated...

Children from different backgrounds have disparate access to cultural capital, which may influence their academic success. The purpose of this study was to examine the links between family background, home literacy experiences, and emergent literacy skills among preschoolers enrolled in Head Start programmes. The background characteristics studied...

This study examined lexical processing in English by native speakers of Korean and Chinese, compared to that of native speakers of English, using normal, alternated, and inverse fonts. Sixty four adult students participated in a lexical decision task. The findings demonstrated similarities and differences in accuracy and latency among the three L1...

This study investigated the role of item formats in the performance of 206 nonnative speakers of English on expressive skills (i.e., speaking and writing). Test scores were drawn from the field test of the Pearson Test of English Academic for Chinese, French, Hebrew, and Korean native speakers. Four item formats, including multiple-choice questions...

This study examined expressive vocabulary and its relationship to reading skills for 232 native English-speaking adults who read between the third- and fifth-grade levels. The Boston Naming Test (BNT; Kaplan, Goodglass, & Weintraub, 2001) was used to measure expressive vocabulary. Participants scored lower than the normative sample of adults on all...

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between receptive and expressive language skills characterized by the performance of nonnative speakers (NNSs) of English in the academic context. Test scores of 585 adult NNSs were selected from Form 2 of the Pearson Test of English Academic’s field-test database. A correlated two-factor mo...

This study investigated the tendency of overpassivization of unaccusative verbs by Korean learners of English as a foreign language (FL). Sixty Korean native college students participated in the study, along with 17 English-speaking counterparts serving as a comparison group. Consistent with the findings of previous research, this study found Korea...

Multiple traits of language proficiency as well as test method effects were concurrently analyzed to investigate interrelations of construct validity, convergent validity, and discriminant validity using multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) matrices. A total of 585 test takers' scores were derived from the field test of the Pearson Test of English Academi...

This study examines the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IIIB (PPVT-IIIB) performance of 130 adults identified as struggling readers, in comparison to 175 third-grade children. Response patterns to the items on the PPVT-IIIB by these two groups were investigated, focusing on items, semantic categories, and lexical features, including word length, wo...

The aim of this study was to apply Rasch modeling to an examination of the psychometric properties of the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic). Analyzed were 140 test-takers' scores derived from the PTE Academic database. The mean age of the participants was 26.45 (SD = 5.82), ranging from 17 to 46. Conformity of the participants' perfor...

The linguistic relativity hypothesis (LRH; a.k.a., Whorfian hypothesis) is reconsidered with respect to second language (L2) acquisition. With ebbs and flows over time, the notion of LRH went through dismissal and resurgence in linguistics, psychology, and anthropology. Empirical evidence gleaned from the pseudo-linguistic domains, such as color ca...

A number of English words have multiple meanings and are ambiguous due to irregular one-to-many mappings of spelling/sound to meaning. This study examined the role of polysemous words, including homographs, heteronyms, and homophones, in reading fluency and comprehension in young English-Korean and Korean-English dual-language learners in the U.S....

English, as a global language, has become a powerful social, linguistic, and economic agent. As the most commonly spoken second language in the world, this positioning imposes high demands for effective training of teachers of English as L2 or a foreign language. The advancement of technology has created an ever-shrinking “global village,” increasi...

This study examined the respective contribution of verbal working memory, which was operationalized as immediate digit and sentence recall, to bilingual children’s reading fluency and comprehension in the first language (L1) and second language (L2). Fifty children from two international sites took part in this study: One group was English-Korean b...

This study measured the effectiveness of various instructional approaches on the reading outcomes of 198 adults who read single words at the 3.0 through 5.9 grade equivalency levels. The students were randomly assigned to one of the following interventions: Decoding and Fluency; Decoding, Comprehension, and Fluency; Decoding, Comprehension, Fluency...

This article supplies a critical overview of Korean with respect to writing system, orthography, phonology, and morphology as well as the role of vowels for the purpose of clarifying inconsistently used terms in the literature. An inaccurate terminology may plague interpretations and conclusions drawn from research studies. The Korean writing syste...

A need exists for culturally valid and reliable developmental assessment tools for children with disabilities that are able to accommodate multiple languages. One way in which this goal can be achieved is through test translations. The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the use of translations of select developmental assessment instru...

Phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatised naming (RAN) skills in relation to reading acquisition were examined using two languages, one with a deep orthography (English) and the other with a shallow orthography (Korean). Participants were 50 Korean American children who spoke English as a dominant language (DL) and were learning to read Kor...

Factors related to second reading acquisition and the relationship between oral and literacy skills in the first language (L1) and second language (L2) were examined. Participants were kindergarten through second grade students who speak English as L1 and sequentially acquired Korean as L2. Measures included cognitive flexibility, oral language ski...

There are not enough reading tests standardized on adults who have very low literacy skills, and therefore tests standardized on children are frequently administered. This study addressed the complexities and problems of using a test normed on children to measure the reading comprehension skills of 193 adults who read at approximately third through...

Given a lack of references directly addressing obstacles in learning English as a foreign language, the authors attempt to fill the gap by identifying specific grammatical points that are particularly difficult for Korean English language learners (ELLs) to conceptualize. In connection with the first language (L1) characteristics and dual-language...

Limited research has examined the skills of children with a reading disability (RD) and children with RD and a mathematics disability (MD). Even less research has examined the phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatized naming (RAN) skills in these two groups of children and how these skills relate to reading and math achievement. Additionall...

This study examined the role of semantic flexibility measured using a wide range of vocabulary skills and oral language proficiency in L2 reading acquisition. Eighty four children participated in the study from two international sites. The contrast provided insights into the respective contributions of Korean and English oral and reading skills to...

The functional role of orthography, phonology, and semantics in bilingual literacy development was examined, utilizing contrasts between a shallow orthography (Korean) and deep orthography (English). The participants consisted of two groups: (1) young Korean-native children who lived in Korea and learned English as L2 (Korean-English bilinguals) an...

This study examined the magnitude of differences in standard scores, convergent validity, and concurrent validity when an individual's performance was gauged using the revised and the normative update (Woodcock, 1998) editions of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test in which the actual test items remained identical but norms have been updated. From th...

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alabama, 1994. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-56).