Author
Listed:
- Benjamin Gagl
(Goethe University Frankfurt
Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA)
University of Vienna)
- Klara Gregorova
(Goethe University Frankfurt)
- Julius Golch
(Goethe University Frankfurt)
- Stefan Hawelka
(University of Salzburg)
- Jona Sassenhagen
(Goethe University Frankfurt)
- Alessandro Tavano
(Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics)
- David Poeppel
(Ernst Struengmann Institute for Neuroscience
New York University
Max-Planck-NYU Center for Language, Music, and Emotion (CLaME))
- Christian J. Fiebach
(Goethe University Frankfurt
Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA)
Goethe University Frankfurt)
Abstract
Across languages, the speech signal is characterized by a predominant modulation of the amplitude spectrum between about 4.3 and 5.5 Hz, reflecting the production and processing of linguistic information chunks (syllables and words) every ~200 ms. Interestingly, ~200 ms is also the typical duration of eye fixations during reading. Prompted by this observation, we demonstrate that German readers sample written text at ~5 Hz. A subsequent meta-analysis of 142 studies from 14 languages replicates this result and shows that sampling frequencies vary across languages between 3.9 Hz and 5.2 Hz. This variation systematically depends on the complexity of the writing systems (character-based versus alphabetic systems and orthographic transparency). Finally, we empirically demonstrate a positive correlation between speech spectrum and eye movement sampling in low-skilled non-native readers, with tentative evidence from post hoc analysis suggesting the same relationship in low-skilled native readers. On the basis of this convergent evidence, we propose that during reading, our brain’s linguistic processing systems imprint a preferred processing rate—that is, the rate of spoken language production and perception—onto the oculomotor system.
Suggested Citation
Benjamin Gagl & Klara Gregorova & Julius Golch & Stefan Hawelka & Jona Sassenhagen & Alessandro Tavano & David Poeppel & Christian J. Fiebach, 2022.
"Eye movements during text reading align with the rate of speech production,"
Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(3), pages 429-442, March.
Handle:
RePEc:nat:nathum:v:6:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1038_s41562-021-01215-4
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01215-4
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