Academic literature on the topic 'Simultaneous interpreters'

Abstract An experimental study was conducted to examine whether simultaneous interpreters are affected by the speaker’s emotions. To this end, two measures of emotion were used: galvanic skin response (GSR) as a marker of emotional arousal, and SUPIN – the Polish adaptation of PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). A group of interpreters with Polish as their A language and English as their B language (N = 20) took part in the experiment. They were asked to simultaneously interpret two speeches (recordings accompanied by video) from Polish into English: a neutral speech and an emotional speech. The results show that the interpreters are indeed affected by the speaker’s emotions, which is reflected in both a greater galvanic skin response and higher SUPIN scores for the emotional speech, when compared to the neutral speech and baseline values. The results may shed new light on the importance of emotion processing in simultaneous interpreting.

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This study examines the cognitive nature of Korean–English conference interpreters by analyzing the creativity scores of professional interpreters and interpreter students and exploring the cause of the differences between them. Design/methodology/approach: We conducted the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) on professional interpreters and interpreter students. The main scores and sub scores of the two groups were compared and analyzed. The quantitative results were complemented by selective in-depth interviews. Data and analysis: Forty-five subjects (21 professional interpreters and 24 interpreter students) participated in the study. The data from the TTCT main and subordinate scores were obtained. An independent t-test between the two groups was conducted. The creative style scores were compared to explain the differences between the two groups. Findings/conclusions: Contrary to our expectations, the creative verbal scores of the professional interpreters were significantly lower than the interpreter students’ scores. We also found other distinct differences between the two groups regarding several aspects of creativity including styles. We speculate that the different creative scores may reflect the impact that many years of professional interpretation experience have had on the cognition of the conference interpreters. Originality: The current study is a first attempt to explore the creative scores of professional interpreters and interpreter students with an analysis of the implications of the cognitive aspects of Korean–English conference interpreters. Significance/implications: Our study suggests that the difference in the creative scores of professional interpreters and interpreter students may be key to understanding the unique cognitive features of Korean–English conference interpreters. We surmise that the involvement of particular functions of the brain together with the professional experience of the interpreters caused the difference.

Over the past five years our research has focused on cognitive issues in simultaneous interpreting: the role of working memory, robustness of cognitive processes, simultaneity of language processes, and the emerging role of long-term working memory (LT-WM) in the development of expertise in interpreting. With new technologies playing an increasingly important role in the interpreter’s work environment and with speaking speeds far exceeding the recommended 120 words per minute we need to ask ourselves just how adaptable an interpreter’s cognitive functions are to what is widely perceived as “cognitive overload”. This contribution will discuss several studies on various aspects of cognitive functioning in simultaneous interpreters and try to shed some light on the “plasticity” of the interpreter’s “brain” and on how a professional interpreter who has achieved a high level of expertise can actually circumvent a number of common cognitive constraints. This contribution argues, however, that even at the highest level of skill constraints do operate and interfere with high-quality performance.

Abstract This article examines real-time simultaneous interpretation (SI) and delayed SI, recorded speeches broadcast on TV through SI. The results showed that interpreters’ factors in two modes of SI had a high correlation thus showing that interpreters use a similar strategy when the speakers’ variables are identical. As expected, the quality of delayed SI was higher than that of live SI due to longer pauses, EVS and Korean sentences in live SI than those of delayed SI. Thus it was found that the quality of incoming sentences deteriorates when interpreters spend more time than allowed on a sentence. Interpreters in delayed SI, thanks to their strong sense of anticipation, produced a high quality SI by following the proper strategy. This implies that securing scripts in advance or obtaining a detailed outline by the interpreter is key to ensuring a quality SI.

Abstract In psycholinguistics there is an agreement that self-monitoring is part of the speech production system, it serves the repair of speech errors and disfluencies occurring during the process of speech production. During simultaneous interpreting, where source language speech perception and target language speech production happen simultaneously, the analysis of self-monitoring is of particular importance. In our study we compare self-monitoring processes in the target language texts, interpreted from English into Hungarian, of professional interpreters and trainee interpreters. We examine the frequency of incidence of error – type disfluencies, the editing phase of self-repairs, the frequency of incidence of disfluencies, and the editing phases of repetitions and restarts. Although our data have revealed considerable individual differences between interpreters, some tendencies can be detected. In general, differences can be detected in self-monitoring between professional and trainee interpreters. When compared to data about self-monitoring processes in spontaneous, monolingual Hungarian speech, we can state that there were far fewer phenomena connected to self-monitoring in the target language output of simultaneous interpreters than in monolingual Hungarian texts.

The glossary is considered an important, if not indispensable, component in the professional practice of interpreting. However, insufficient attention has been given to it in interpreting studies. This research project aims to study the general practice of professional interpreters in relation to the glossary. Two surveys were conducted, in 2010: a pilot study, using a printed questionnaire distributed to interpreters at a UN conference, followed by a large-scale survey which was conducted through an online survey service and completed by nearly 500 interpreters (mostly AIIC members). Results of both surveys are discussed, and a comparison is made between staff and freelance interpreters. These findings should contribute to a better understanding of how professional interpreters prepare, manage and use glossaries. The study could also have useful implications for training, both for interpreting students and for qualified interpreters.

Abstract In an attempt to bring together information about simultaneous interpretation, on the one hand, and cerebral dominance, on the other, this study examines the relative proficiency of interpreters when processing information received through one ear or the other as opposed to two ears. Eighteen subjects (professional interpreters and interpretation students) simultaneously interpreted spoken passages from L2 to Ll: one passage was presented to the interpreters' left ear, one to their right ear, and one to both ears. Results indicated that interpreters performed significantly better when the message was presented to one ear or the other rather than to both ears. Furthermore, there was evidence suggesting that the left-ear-to-right-hemisphere route yielded the best performance. The results are discussed in terms of the nature of the tasks involved during simultaneous interpretation as well as cerebral dominance among bilingual individuals.

Recent neuroimaging research has suggested that interpreters and non-interpreters elicit different brain activation patterns during simultaneous language translation. However, whether these two groups have different functional connectivity during such a task, and how the neural coupling is among brain subregions, are still not well understood. In this study, we recruited Mandarin (L1)/English (L2) interpreters and non-interpreter bilinguals, whom we asked to perform simultaneous language translation and reading tasks. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to collect cortical brain data for participants during each task, using 68 channels that covered the prefrontal cortex and the bilateral perisylvian regions. Our findings revealed both interpreter and non-interpreter groups recruited the right dorsolateral prefrontal hub when completing the simultaneous language translation tasks. We also found different functional connectivity between the groups. The interpreter group was characterized by information exchange between the frontal cortex and Wernicke’s area. In comparison, the non-interpreter group revealed neural coupling between the frontal cortex and Broca’s area. These findings indicate expertise modulates functional connectivity, possibly because of more developed cognitive skills associated with executive functions in interpreters.

This paper investigates the phenomenon of repairs in simultaneous interpreting. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the paper combines research carried out in psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics on speech production with studies in the pragmatics of speech reception. A principally qualitative method is used in the analysis of a trilingual corpus (English/French/German) of eight professional conference interpreters recorded at four different international conferences. This paper presents eight examples from English into two different A languages: French (5 examples) and German (3 examples). Levelt’s (1983, 1989) nomenclature of repairs in spontaneous speech is slightly amended in order to take the simultaneous interpreting process into account. The results show that interpreters not only repair errors, but take time to attend to their outputs for different reasons. The limited quantitative analysis shows a discrepancy between interpreters. The various dimensions of repair mechanisms highlighted in this paper give us some insights into the interpreter’s mind at work, or the interpreter’s deployment of processing capacities and decision-making processes.