Connect the same region or bridge the different region

: Effect of Japanese script on categorization

Abstract

The modern Japanese writing system consists of different scripts, including Kanji and Katakana, which differ greatly in appearance and in customary usage. We examined how different Japanese scripts affected a categorization task. Native Japanese participants were presented with three Japanese prefecture or city names written in Kanji or Katakana and were asked to choose the two prefectures or cities that they thought belonged to the same group. Results of experiments showed that categorization performance was affected by the script in which the city names were represented.