The Nature of Dongba Script as Seen Through Categorization Comparisons Among Dongba Characters, Pictures, and Chinese Characters: Evidence from Behavioral and Eye-Movement Research
This study uses behavioral and eye-tracking methods to determine the linguistic nature of Dongba script by comparing categorization (living vs. non-living) of Dongba simple characters, Dongba compound characters, corresponding pictures, and corresponding Chinese characters, among Han Chinese participants who had and had not studied Dongba script. Dongba compound characters were hardest to categorize across every measure -- reaction time, error rate, fixation count, fixation duration, and saccade amplitude -- harder than Dongba simple characters, which were in turn harder than pictures and Chinese characters. Prior learning slowed but reduced errors in compound-character categorization, and lowered error rates for simple characters, reflecting automatic activation of meaning and 'pronunciation' once learned. The authors conclude Dongba simple characters function like picture-writing, while compound characters -- built from pictographic semantic and phonetic components -- function as a logographic-phonetic script resembling Chinese characters, placing Dongba script overall at a stage transitioning between the two.
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