Cognates as lexical choices in translation: Interference in space-constrained environments

This article approaches the issue of lexical choices in translation that result from the presence of cognates. It analyzes methodological issues regarding cognate production in translation tasks carried out in technical contexts. Specifically, we studied the presence of cognates as a lexical manifestation of interference (Toury 1995), concentrating on cognates as part of phraseological and terminological units. We report on empirical data on cognate production by advanced students of translation working from English into Spanish in reduced-segments and space-constrained contexts. Additionally, we studied advanced learners of Spanish’s production in an experimental task.