The Effect of Semantic Radical Deformation on Abstract Semantic Radical Identity Representations: A Comparative Study of L1 speakers and L2 Learners.

Semantic radicals provide information on semantic categories and play a crucial role in the decoding and reading of Chinese characters for both native and non-native speakers. However, existing research has not sufficiently examined the representation of abstract semantic radical identity and has overlooked the degree of deformation as a factor. This study uses a masked-priming semantic judgement task (Experiment 1) and a same-different judgement task (Experiment 2) to investigate how the deformation degree of semantic radicals affects the Chinese learners' abstract representations of these radicals. Results from Experiment 1 indicate that for native speakers, the reaction time under identity prime is faster than that under control prime regardless of the degree of deformation. In contrast, second language learners only exhibit this advantage when the deformation degree is low, with no significant difference when the deformation degree is high, suggesting that deformation degree affects abstract semantic radical identity representations of L2 learners. Experiment 2 found inhibition effects under identity conditions for both native speakers and L2 learners, showing that both groups have mastered semantic radicals with a high deformation degree. These results indicate that the experimental task influences the results and that L2 learners are more affected by the task. Understanding the impact of semantic radical deformation on learners' abstract representational abilities helps teachers to adjust their pedagogical strategies in order to provide more precise guidance and recommendations for Chinese character instruction.