Eye Movements in Reading the Texts of Different Functional Styles: Evidence from Russian

Abstract

This study is one of the first eye-tracking experiment on Russian language material, checking out if the functional text style is among the readability categories and if it influences the effect of reading perspective. In Experiment participants (30 native speakers of Russian) read three texts on different topics each written in a different functional style. Questionnaires and retelling the texts were additionally used to collect data on text comprehension and accessibility. We suggest that the following eye-tracking data can be informative when we need to evaluate text readability: amplitude of saccades, number of regressions, fixation duration while searching for an answer in the text. The results indicate that the text on the same topic is easier read if it is written in a publicistic style than in a scientific style. There were no significant differences in eye-tracking data between texts written in publicistic style and colloquial style.

Appendix

• 1. Texts (in Russian)

Text 1 (scientific)

Groza ́ - atmosfernoye yavleniye, pri kotorom vnutri oblakov ili mezhdu oblakom i zemnoy poverkhnost’yu voznikayut elektricheskiye razryady — molnii, soprovozhdayemyye gromom. Kak pravilo, groza obrazuyetsya v moshchnykh kuchevo-dozhdevykh oblakakh i svyazana s livnevym dozhdem, gradom i shkval’nym usileniyem vetra. Po usloviyam razvitiya grozy razdelyayutsya na vnutrimassovyye i frontal’nyye. Vnutrimassovyye grozy nad materikom voznikayut v rezul’tate mestnogo progrevaniya vozdukha ot zemnoy poverkhnosti, chto privodit k razvitiyu v nèm voskhodyashchikh tokov mestnoy konvektsii i k obrazovaniyu moshchnykh kuchevo-dozhdevykh oblakov. Poetomu vnutrimassovyye grozy nad sushey razvivayutsya preimushchestvenno v poslepoludennyye chasy. Nad morem grozy voznikayut vsledstviye razvitiya konvektsii v kholodnykh vozdushnykh massakh, kotoryye dvizhutsya v nizkiye shiroty nad tèploy vodnoy poverkhnost’yu, poetomu v dannom sluchaye nekotoryy maksimum v sutochnom khode imeyet mesto v nochnyye chasy. Pri groze sostoyaniye atmosfery neustoychivo, poetomu mozhno ozhidat’ poyavleniya effektivnykh metodov upravleniya grozami, osnovannykh na regulirovanii toy ili inoy gruppy protsessov, formiruyushchikh grozy (Tables 9 and 10).

Table 9 Distribution of texts according to the protocols

Table 10 Eye movement averaged values of the texts

Text 2 (publicistic)

Detki rastut ochen’ bystro. I vot uzhe laskovaya devochka-printsessa, obnimavshaya mamu po 20 raz v den’, nachinayet khamit’, krichat’ i stanovitsya skrytnoy. Ne vse mamy byvayut gotovy k takomu rezkomu izmeneniyu v lyubimykh detyakh. V otnosheniyakh mezhdu nimi voznikayet khaos, negativ i neponimaniye. Vozmozhno li sokhranit’ khoroshiye otnosheniya s rebenkom-podrostkom? Osnovnoye, chto stoit ponyat’ i prinyat’ mame: podrostkovyy period — eto otrezok vremeni, kogda rebenok nachinayet vzroslet’, no vzroslym yeshche ne yavlyayetsya. I, kak lyuboy drugoy promezhutok vremeni, on zakonchitsya i proydet bezvozvratno. V podrostkovyy period yest’ svoi polozhitel’nyye momenty. Eto vremya, kogda mozhno nauchit’ svoikh detey byt’ vzroslymi: v povedenii, myshlenii, vospriyatii okruzhayushchey deystvitel’nosti. Da, oni soprotivlyayutsya nravoucheniyam, no zato khorosho berut primer so svoikh roditeley. Kak nikogda, dlya vzroslykh stanovitsya aktual’nym sovet: « Ne vospityvayte detey, vospityvayte sebya. Vse ravno oni budut pokhozhimi na vas » . Samokontrol’ i samodistsiplina — vot o chem, v pervuyu ochered’, dolzhna pozabotit’sya mama.

Text 3 (colloquial)

Avtomobil’ - eto chlen sem’i. Yego nuzhno kormit’, poit’, obuvat’, odevat’, myt’, ukhazhivat’, lechit’, sledit’, okhranyat’ i t.d., i t.p. A on, kak lyubimoye domashneye zhivotnoye, budet sluzhit’ vam veroy i pravdoy, poka vy yego ne prodadite ili ne razob’yete. Funtsionala u avto tozhe massa: i tebe vnedorozhnik, legkovushka bol’shaya i malen’kaya, moshchnaya i ne ochen’, sportivnyye i dazhe raketa “zemlya-vozdukh”. YA inogda assotsiiruyu raznyye avtomobili s porodami sobak. Tak vot, inogda mashina i byvayet skoreye dvornyagoy, no ona gotova otklikat’sya na lyuboy tvoy impul’s nastol’ko, naskol’ko mozhno ot neè etogo ozhidat’. A byvayet, chto samyy dorogoy i « porodistyy » chetyrekhkolesyy drug sdykhayet na pervoy yame. YA v silu vozrasta i temperamenta vybral Opel’ Astra OPS, dlya goroda - vpolne. Vizhu yeye i nikak naradovat’sya ne mogu, kak rebenok na lyubimuyu igrushku. A dlya derevni - u otchima Patriot, svoyu zhalko po etim dorogam dolbit’.

Text 4 (colloquial)

Ya rodila syna, kogda mne bylo 24 goda. Ya schitayu, chto toropit’sya ne stoit, mozhno pozhit’ dlya sebya, razvlekat’sya, letom otdykhat’ na more - yesli pozvolyayut finansy. Za neskol’ko let mozhno nakopit’ opredelennuyu summu na prilichnoye pridannoye rebenku, vozmozhno, platnyye rody i platnoye nablyudeniye rebenka do goda - ne nado begat’ v polikliniku i stoyat’ v ocheredyakh, vrach sam priyedet na dom: polovinu infektsiy, v tom chisle i takuyu., chto my chut’ ne popali v bol’nitsu, poluchili v poliklinike. Chto kasayetsya ucheby, ya by vnachale zakonchila institut, zachem sozdavat’ sebe problemy - a vdrug gestoz ili yeshche kakiye-to problemy, i kak uchit’sya? Da i kogda roditsya rebenok, problem men’she ne budet. A tak, zakonchite institut, ustroites’ na rabotu, porabotayete, a tam mozhno i v dekret ukhodit’. Vazhny yeshche i otnosheniya s Vashim drugom, ya vnachale by raspisalas’, a uzhe potom beremenela, zachem potom nuzhny problemy.

Text 5 (publicistic)

Prezhde chem otpravit’sya na progulku za gorod, uznayte prognoz pogody. Yesli, soglasno etomu prognozu, ozhidayetsya groza, voz’mite s soboy zont ili plashch iz nepromokayemogo materiala. Dukhota — eto vernyy priznak priblizhayushcheysya grozy. Samoye opasnoye v grozu — nakhodit’sya ryadom s metallicheskimi ogradami, na smotrovykh bashnyakh i okhotnich’ikh vyshkakh. Vo vremya grozy ni v koyem sluchaye ne prikasaytes’ k lyubym metallicheskim predmetam i ne lozhites’ na zemlyu! Pri pervykh priznakakh nachinayushcheysya grozy postaraytes’ spryatat’sya v mashine ili v lyubom ukrytii: palatke, shalashe, izbe, zdanii s molniyeotvodom. Yesli takoy vozmozhnosti u vas net, i vy vynuzhdeny ostavat’sya na otkrytoy mestnosti, spryach’tes’ v kanave ili lozhbine, skrestiv nogi. Izbav’tes’ ot lyubykh metallicheskikh predmetov: perelozhite ikh v ryukzak i otodvin’te yego v storonu.Yesli groza zastala vas v lesu, izbegayte otdel’no stoyashchikh i ochen’ vysokikh derev’yev. Luchshe vsego pryatat’sya v kustakh ili pod nevysokimi berèzami i klènami. Sosna, topol’, yel’ i dub — « lyubimyye » derev’ya molniy.

Text 6 (scientific)

Avtomobil’ - sredstvo peredvizheniya, kotoroye vpervyye poyavilos’ v XIX-m v. Pervyye avtomobili privodilis’ v dvizheniye parom, no eta konstruktsiya ne imela uspekha. Po suti, vek avtomobilya nachalsya s vvedeniya v deystviye ekipazhey s benzinovymi dvigatelyami GotlibaDaymlera i Karla Bentsa (1885-86). Dvigateli vnutrennego sgoraniya dlya etikh ekipazhey byli izobreteny yeshche ran’she neskol’kimi inzhenerami, prezhde vsego, Nikolausom Otto (1876). Do nastoyashchego vremeni osnovnyye komponenty avtomobilya ostalis’ neizmennymi. Imeyetsya korpus (rama), k kotoromu prikreplyayutsya takiye komponenty, kak dvigatel’ ili istochnik energii, sistema peredach, privodyashchaya v dvizheniye kolesa, rul’, tormoza, i sistema podveski, kotoryye sluzhat dlya upravleniya avtomobilem, ostanovok i podderzhki korpusa. Pervyye avtomobili sobiralis’ nemnogimi znatokami-mekhanikami, no sovremennoye massovoye proizvodstvo nachalos’ v nachale 1900-kh gg. s deyatel’nosti Genri Forda i R. E. Oldsa v SSHA. Na bol’shinstve sovremennykh avtomobil’nykh zavodov vse chasti konstruktsii soyedinyayutsya vmeste na sborochnykh konveyyerakh. Pered otpravkoy na prodazhu gotovyy avtomobil’ podvergayetsya ispytaniyu.

Text 7 (scientific)

V psikhologicheskoy literature polemika vokrug problemy « materinskogo instinkta » (opyat’ zhe bez analiza samogo ponyatiya « instinkt ») razgorelas’ vo vtoroy polovine XX stoletiya. Odni issledovateli utverzhdali primat sotsial’nykh faktorov v formirovanii materinskogo otnosheniya, drugiye priderzhivalas’ ubezhdeniya, chto materinskaya privyazannost’ podchinyayetsya vo mnogom tem zhe vrozhdennym mekhanizmam, kotoryye rodnyat chelovecheskiy vid s zhivotnymi. Rol’ biologicheskikh faktorov v formirovanii materinskogo otnosheniya obsuzhdayetsya v etologicheskikh issledovaniyakh. Imprinting i privyazannost’ pervonachal’no rassmatrivalis’ kak prisposobitel’nyy mekhanizm vida, uvelichivayushchiy shansy vyzhivaniya. Deystvitel’no dlya rebenka ustanovleniye i podderzhaniye kontakta s mater’yu yavlyayetsya vital’noy zadachey. Issledovaniya pokazyvayut, chto psikhosomaticheskoye ravnovesiye rebenka tesno svyazano s vzaimodeystviyem rebenka i materi. Khronicheskaya nekhvatka privyazannosti privodit u rebenka k nervnoy anoreksii, rvote, bessonnitse, chastomu srygivaniyu, oslableniyu immunnoy sistemy. Naprotiv, tesnyy telesnyy kontakt sposobstvuyet chuvstvu bezopasnosti i privodit k umen’sheniyu strakha i trevogi. Dzh. Boulbi schital privyazannost’ pervichno spetsificheskoy sistemoy, smysl kotoroy v podderzhanii vzaimodeystviya mezhdu mater’yu i mladentsem.

Text 8 (publicistic)

Avtomobil’. Kakoye eto priyatnoye slovo, tak kak ono oznachayet sredstvo peredvizheniya, kotoroye uprostilo chelovecheskuyu zhizn’. A ved’ mnogo let nazad takogo chuda tekhniki ne bylo dazhe v pomine. Lyudi spokoyno sebe khodili peshkom i yezdili na loshadyakh . No vot v dalekom 1885 godu GotlibDaymler izobrèl i zapatentoval dvigatel’, a Karl Fridrikh Bents usovershenstvoval yego i zapatentoval avtomobil’. S tekh por zhizn’ lyudey izmenilas’. S kazhdym godom razvivalos’ avtomobilestroyeniye, izobretalis’ vse luchshiye i luchshiye avtomobili, oni usovershenstvovalis’ i dopolnyalis’. Segodnya eto uzhe ne prosto mashiny, a nastoyashchiye shedevry, kotoryye imeyut kazhdaya svoyu izyuminku v dizayne, v nachinke i tak daleye. Lyudi pokupayut sebe avto, chtoby idti v nogu so vremenem, chtoby sozdat’ sebe komfort, chtoby oshchutit’ sebya «belym» chelovekom. Pozvolit’ sebe kupit’ avtomobil’ mozhet kazhdyy chelovek, glavnoye k etomu nuzhno stremit’sya. Ved’ ne obyazatel’no pokupat’ novuyu, doroguyu marku avto, mozhno kupit’ srednyuyu, i ne obyazatel’no novuyu, no, chtoby ona byla na khodu.

Text 9 (colloquial)

Groza doma - fignya, dazhe yesli eto odnoetazhnyy derevenskiy dom. Sovershenno ne strashno, prosto krasivo. A vot groza na prirode… Vot eto real’no strashnovato: vrode kak pod bombèzhkoy, i v printsipe izvestno, chto, yesli dolbanèt v samoye blizhaysheye derevo, mozhet i ubit’. No, po moim nablyudeniyam, vsem absolyutno po figu. Boleye togo, kogda kupayus’ na dache, vizhu, chto lyudi pri priblizhenii grozy nikuda osobo ne toropyatsya, i dazhe umudryayutsya perezhdat’ sil’nuyu grozu pryamo na lugu. Eto uzhe prosto povedeniye kamikadze, no… lyudi u nas khrabryye… Let desyat’ nazad byla u babuli v derevne. Leto, byli na senokose, tut tuchi i grom. Bystren’ko sobralis’ i domoy. Po puti dozhd’ nas zastal. Koroche, vbezhali domoy, tol’ko po komnatam razbrelis’ pereodet’sya, tut babusya orèt: vsem stoyat’, ne dvigaytes’ i ne dyshite. Ya zamerla telom, a bashkoy kruchu, lyubopytno vsè-taki. Smotryu - sharovaya molniya. Koroche, pokruzhilas’ ona po zalu i v pol. V obshchem, opasnoye eto delo…