Frequency and Orthographical Similarity Ratings for Kannada Words

Muruli Manikanta

Abstract: Reading is a complex cognitive process, and the role of script characteristics in reading is of great interest in psycholinguistic research. However, in a multilingual society such as India, researchers often find it difficult to find suitable material in local languages that could be used in research. This study focuses on Kannada, an alphasyllabic script language, to prepare a list of words with a similar frequency and high orthographic similarity that could be used in future studies. A total of 120 words were initially prepared by the researcher. Five native and proficient Kannada speakers participated as the raters. They rated the words on the frequency and orthographic similarity. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation were used for data analysis. Results showed that the selected Kannada words were similar in frequency and orthographic similarity. The inter-rater reliability was significant. The list could be used for specific research that requires such stimuli.

Keywords: Frequency, Orthographical similarity, Inter-rater reliability, Word Reading