This study investigates the cues prompting topic transitions in Japanese and Chinese conversational contexts, aiming to reveal cross-linguistic differences in conversational dynamics. Adopting an experimental approach, participants judged topic transitions while listening to conversational recordings. The results demonstrated that question expressions, new information, laughter, and silence had a statistically significant effect on perceptions of topic transitions in both linguistic settings. Additionally, discourse markers were found to have a statistically significant effect on the perceptions of topic transitions in Chinese conversations, while backchannel cues (aizuchi) were found to negatively affect the perceptions of topic transitions in Japanese conversations. The study underscores that topic transitions in Japanese conversations tend to unfold gradually and are less explicitly marked. In contrast, topic transitions in Chinese conversations are generally marked by periods of silence or the use of explicit discourse markers.

This study investigates the effects of spelling-sound relationship measures on response times using lexical decision data from non-native speakers. Little data is available on the effect of these measures on non-native speakers. This study investigated two types of measures: Spelling-sound consistency measures and information-theoretic measures. The consistency analysis yielded a feedback consistency and a feedforward consistency effect whose direction was reversed compared to previous studies on native speakers. Information-theoretical measures yielded no reliable significant effects. These results suggest a stronger influence of orthography in non-native processing and raise questions about what is measured by the information-theoretical measures.