Abstract
The present study investigated the role of sounds in reading kanji, by asking native fluent readers of Japanese to read Japanese texts. By providing data on fluent readers' behaviors, this study indicated the ideal reading behaviors that nonnative learners may wish to acquire. The assumption is that if speech is crucial for fluent readers to comprehend Japanese texts, then the same must be true for nonnative readers. If this is indeed the case, then it makes sense to emphasize spoken over written Japanese in teaching, at least initially, and one way to do so is by using romaji. In the experiment reported in the present study, six Japanese newspaper articles were used. The articles contained homophonic and nonhomophonic kanji errors. By using an eye-tracking methodology, the number of fixations and fixation duration were measured on the kanji errors. The results showed that fluent Japanese readers noticed more nonhomophonic errors than homophonic errors, and when they noticed, they were more distracted by nonhomophonic errors than homophonic errors. The distraction felt by the readers was clearly reflected in their eye movements. The results from the present study demonstrated that speech plays a crucial role for fluent readers to comprehend Japanese texts. They support, therefore, the application of the primacy of speech in teaching Japanese as a foreign language, and the use of romaji as a useful tool for transcribing Japanese speech at the beginning level.
