Vol.:(0123456789)Reading and Writing (2019) 32:1911–1926https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9930-x1 Read sideways or not: vertical saccade advantage in sentence readingMing Yan1 · Jinger Pan2 · Wenshuo Chang3 · Reinhold Kliegl4AbstractDuring the reading of alphabetic scripts and scene perception, eye movements are programmed more efficiently in horizontal direction than in vertical direction. We propose that such a directional advantage may be due the overwhelming reading experience in the horizontal direction. Writing orientation is highly flexible for Tra-ditional Chinese sentences. We compare horizontal and vertical eye movements dur-ing reading of such sentences and provide first evidence of a text-orientation effect on eye-movement control during reading. In addition to equivalent reading speed in both directions, more fine-grained analyses demonstrate a tradeoff between longer fixation durations and better fixation locations in vertical than in horizontal reading. Our results suggest that with extensive reading experience, Traditional Chinese read-ers can generate saccades more efficiently in vertical than in horizontal direction.Keywords Chinese · Eye movement · Reading · Text orientationIntroductionEye movement in reading involves dynamic decisions about where to fix-ate next and when to move the eyes (e.g., Brysbaert, Drieghe, & Vitu, 2005; Vainio, Hyönä, & Pajunen, 2009). Theories and computational models on eye Data and R scripts used in the current study are available at the Potsdam Mind Research Repository upon the acceptance of the paper (http://read.psych .uni-potsd am.de/PMR2/), or from the corresponding author on reasonable request. * Jinger Pan jpan@eduhk.hk1 Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR, China2 Department of Psychology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR, China3 School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China4 Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
