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Updated: May 20, 2026

Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese
Published on: April 1, 2016
The processing of lexical tones by young Chinese children
Candise Y Lin1, Min Wang, Hua Shu
1Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Abstract:
The current study examined five- and seven-year-old Mandarin-speaking children's processing of lexical tones in relation to speech segments by varying onset and rime in an oddity task (onset±rime±). Results showed that children experienced more difficulty in lexical tone oddity judgment when rimes differed across monosyllables (e.g. onset+rime-) than when onsets differed (e.g. onset-rime+). This finding suggests that vowels interfere more than consonants in lexical tone processing. Seven-year-olds consistently outperformed five-year-olds, suggesting that the growth of metalinguistic awareness and literacy exposure may play a joint role in the development of lexical tone processing skills.
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