Showing papers in "Interpreting in 2014"

Simultaneous interpreting and working memory executive control

Abstract: Working memory is a complex cognitive component responsible for maintenance of information during processing Interpreting research has so far focused on working memory capacity rather than on the central executive functions In the study described here, 28 professional interpreters completed a battery of four central executive tasks and three simultaneous interpretations (from English into Czech or Dutch ‘A’) The results show that: (a) certain measurable features of simultaneous interpreting are related to the central executive functions of working memory; (b) one working memory function (inhibition of distractors) seems to be related to interpreting experience, while the others (automatic response inhibition, updating, attention switching) do not; (c) the relationship between working memory and simultaneous interpreting is such that different working memory functions predict different sub-processes in simultaneous interpreting, in complex patterns The conclusions of this study are data-driven, but in line with the current literature More specifically, the findings support those accounts of simultaneous interpreting which emphasize attentional control as an important component of the simultaneous interpreting process

Testing aptitude for interpreting: The predictive value of oral paraphrasing, with synonyms and coherence as assessment parameters

Abstract: This longitudinal study on the predictive value of ‘simultaneous’ Italian-to-Italian oral paraphrasing as an aptitude test for interpreting was conducted on 64 conference interpreting students at the University of Bologna (Forli). All students completed their course with Italian as their ‘A’ language, having passed the entrance examination (which included a paraphrase test, recorded for evaluation) during the period 2004–2006. Using paraphrase as a pre-interpreting aptitude test in a smaller sample, Russo and Pippa (2004) found a significant correlation between course outcome measures (average interpreting exam mark and number of exam sessions needed to pass all interpreting exams) and two of the evaluation parameters for paraphrasing: ‘synonymic substitution’ (use of synonyms and equivalent expressions) and ‘loss of coherence’. The present study examined whether, in a different setting, these two parameters and the students’ actual admission test mark for paraphrase/recall testing correlated with the same outcome measures. Ability to use synonyms showed the highest validity in relation to the number of interpreting exam sessions, correctly classifying 48 out of 64 students (75%) as ‘slow’ (> 6 sessions: test sensitivity = 80%) or ‘fast’ (≤ 6 sessions: test specificity = 71%). Results thus indicate that an oral ‘real time’ paraphrasing test can help identify such prerequisites of effective interpreting as mental flexibility and expressive ability.

Sign language interpreters and burnout: The effects of perfectionism, perceived stress, and coping resources

Abstract: The multidimensional construct of perfectionism is well studied as it relates to coping with stress and burnout (Childs & Stoeber 2012; Flett & Hewitt 2002). Bontempo and Napier (2011) identify the personality trait of conscientiousness, which includes perfectionistic traits, as beneficial to an interpreter’s job performance. In contrast, several studies suggest that constructs related to maladaptive perfectionistic traits play a role in the development of burnout among interpreters, although perfectionism has not been explicitly identified or used as a research variable (Qin et al. 2008). These studies identify key components of both adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism in the assessment of stress-related outcomes, thereby laying the groundwork for a more focused study on the particular role of perfectionism among interpreters who experience burnout. The current study evaluated the relationship between perfectionism, perceived stress, coping resources and burnout in a sample of sign language interpreters. The results provided support for the mediating role of perceived stress in the association of maladaptive perfectionism and burnout within the sample. Coping resources did not serve as a moderator between perfectionism variables and burnout, or as a moderated mediator between perfectionism variables and perceived stress. The implications of these findings for sign language interpreters are discussed.

Breaking news: Sign language interpreters on television during natural disasters.

Abstract: Flood, cyclone and earthquake disasters in Australia and New Zealand in 2011 brought sign language interpreters into the media spotlight in these countries. Their inclusion in television broadcasts to communicate emergency-related information was unprecedented in both countries, and attracted strong responses from Deaf viewers and the general public. Drawing on retrospective interviews with two New Zealand interpreters and one Australian interpreter, this report explains how interpreters came to be included in the broadcasts, and identifies the specific demands they encountered when working in the context of a civil emergency. Impacts of, and responses to, the interpreted coverage are also noted.

Putting interpreting admissions exams to the test: The MA KD Germersheim Project

Abstract: With increasing numbers of students wishing to become conference interpreters, but limited capacities in most university degree programs, accurate admission testing is an important means of predicting an applicant’s chances of completing the program successfully This article focuses on three aptitude tests for simultaneous interpretation: Pochhacker’s SynCloze test; Chabasse’s cognitive shadowing test; and Timarova’s personalized cloze test The test battery was administered at the start of the 2009/2010 academic year to students beginning the two-year Master’s program in conference interpreting (MA KD) at Germersheim Correlations between test performance and subsequent exam grades at the end of the second semester were examined for all three tests Given the large number of applicants each year, practical feasibility of the tests was taken into consideration with a view to scheduling the format and content of the entrance exam for the 2012/2013 academic year In this perspective, cognitive shadowing was identified as the most useful test under the existing time constraints

Orality and authenticity in an interpreter-mediated defendant's examination: a Case study from the Belgian Assize Court.

Abstract: This case study examines how a court’s perception of the defendant’s socio-legal identity may be affected by interpreting. Since this perception relies largely on language, interpreters are expected to minimise their impact on the dynamics of direct communication between primary participants. The analysis focuses on an interpreter-mediated defendant’s examination, recorded in an attempted murder case tried before the Belgian Assize Court, identifying possible departures from the principles of orality and authenticity. The recordings include exchanges, not necessarily audible to the court, between the defendant and the interpreter. Our analysis shows that: (a) the participation framework (directness) of the defendant’s input is altered, while the relative inaudibility of the interaction between defendant and interpreter deprives the jury of access to authentic features of the defendant’s delivery; (b) the interpreter’s intervention may shift the defendant’s oral exposition into a different style, and hence condition the way the defendant is eventually perceived by the jury.

Interpreting in prison settings: An international overview

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of the strategies adopted by prison systems around the world to enable communication between foreign language-speaking inmates and corrections staff. Following a survey-based research design, the study targeted prison systems where the incarcerated population is at least 10% foreign-born. Information was gathered about the following issues: the legal framework ensuring communication rights of prisoners, interpretation and translation service provision, and non-mediated initiatives to overcome the language barrier. The findings show that interpreting in prison settings is still an area in the making, in terms of both professional practice and scholarly research. However, despite the paucity of legislative support and the widespread dependence on ad hoc measures and natural interpreters (mainly prisoners, and sometimes staff), a slow shift towards professionalization can be observed in some countries. These modest advances in prison interpreting seem to be taking place in countries which also pioneered — or are pioneering — the professionalization of community interpreting as a whole. This trend seems to bear very little relation to the degree of development of national prison systems, or to the proportion of foreign-born inmates in the overall prison population.

Non-native English at international conferences Perspectives from Chinese-English conference interpreters in Taiwan

Abstract: With the spread of English as a lingua franca (ELF), interpreting researchers have started to explore its effects on interpreting quality and on the conference interpreting profession as a whole. This study is based on interviews with ten professional conference interpreters working with Chinese A and English B in Taiwan. We focus on their experiences of interpreting ELF speakers, with particular reference to their three most recent international conferences, exploring how the interpreters cope with the challenges involved and how they perceive the effects of ELF on their profession. Overall, a total of 25 conferences were included in the analysis, involving 235 ELF speakers. The results provide a comprehensive picture of how Chinese–English conference interpreters in Taiwan have risen to the challenge presented by the ELF phenomenon, after years of experience in dealing with the difficulties this often involves.

The use of reported speech and the perceived neutrality of court interpreters

Abstract: A mock trial, with two-way consecutive interpreting between Cantonese and English, was used to test perceptions of a court interpreter’s neutrality when interpreting into Cantonese in reported rather than direct speech. Monolingual Cantonese speakers played the part of witnesses using the interpreter. Three groups were created: a control group (16 participants), receiving interpretation of all English utterances into Cantonese in direct speech; and two experimental groups (17 participants each). The experimental groups received interpretation with occasional switches to reported speech. These were introduced by third person pronouns (e.g., “he said”) for one group (the ‘pronoun group’), and by professional titles (e.g., “the judge said”) for the other group (the ‘title group’). Participants afterwards completed a questionnaire, assessing neutrality and alignment on a 5-point Likert scale. The title group not only perceived the interpreter to be aligned with the English speakers, but also gave a significantly different assessment of neutrality from the control group. The pronoun group perceived the interpreter to be aligned with them, but did not differ significantly from the control group in their perception of neutrality. Use of pronouns or professional titles in the reporting clauses thus affected the interpreter’s perceived neutrality differently.

Source language-related erroneous stress placement in the target language output of simultaneous interpreters

Abstract: Erroneous stress placement (ESP) in the target language is one of the salient suprasegmental features of simultaneously interpreted texts. This paper investigates the phenomenon in simultaneous interpretation from English, a free stress language, into Hungarian, a fixed stress language, the aim being to ascertain whether ESPs are related to source language features. Analysis of an experimental corpus collected for an earlier study (Bona & Bakti 2009) made it possible to identify 122 ESPs, divided into two categories: (a) related to source language features; (b) others. These categories were further divided into several subcategories. Thus, (a) included ESPs related to: (i) source language stress, with semantic correspondence between the source language and target language units concerned; (ii) source language stress, but with no semantic correspondence between the target language unit and the prosodically similar source language unit identified in relatively close proximity to it. For (b), the subcategories distinguished between ESPs related to: (iii) the phonetic target language context; (iv) translation problems; (v) individual speech characteristics. Our results provide support for the view that metrical planning and segmental planning are separate processes. Thus, successful inhibition of source language interference on the segmental level during simultaneous interpreting is not necessarily associated with suppression of suprasegmental level source language interference.

Social and private speech in an interpreted meeting of deafblind persons

Abstract: The article explores how the distinction between egocentric and social speech affects the dynamics of interpreter-mediated interaction, during a meeting among five deafblind board members in Norway. Extracts from a videotape of the meeting were analysed, with a specific focus on two sequences of exchanges involving a board member (Inger), her interpreter and the rest of the group. Inger uses Norwegian Tactile Sign Language with her interpreter, who in turn uses spoken Norwegian and Norwegian Sign Language with the rest of the group. The analysis shows that, while most of Inger’s utterances were social and oriented to the other board members, some were of a private nature and directed only to herself. The interpreter evaluated Inger’s communicative project constantly and acted accordingly, interpreting the socially oriented utterances but not the private utterances. Based on these findings, the interpreter’s performance is discussed in relation not only to professional ethics but also to monological and dialogical perspectives on language and interpreting.