1887
Volume 11, Issue 2
  • ISSN 1932-2798
  • E-ISSN: 1876-2700
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Abstract

Anecdotally, interpreters report experiencing self-talk before, during, and after assignments; however, this inner dialogue has neither been confirmed nor described in the literature. Prior studies suggest that guided self-talk can boost performance in learning and human performance activities. It follows that self-talk may also affect interpreting performance, either positively or negatively. In this study, reports of self-talk of American Sign Language-English interpreters were examined for the following characteristics: frequency, valence, overtness, self-determination, motivation, and function. Participants (N = 445) responded to online survey questions about the experience of self-talk in their interpreting work. For , more than half of the respondents reported experiencing self-talk between 1–5 times during their work. Regarding , 62% of respondents reported a mix of positive and negative self-talk about their performance. For , 62% reported talking (or signing) aloud in isolated settings about their work experiences. Regarding , nearly half of the respondents (48%) reported self-talk as a mix of conscious and unconscious thoughts. Eighty-nine percent of the respondents reported using self-talk for , but 65% reported their self-talk was actually de-motivational at times. The most frequently reported of self-talk was to improve interpreting. The findings offer a rich description of self-talk by American Sign Language-English interpreters. We suggest that more information about self-talk during interpretation may lead to greater self-awareness of the role of this phenomenon in working practitioners, as well as offer insights for the instruction of student interpreters.

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/content/journals/10.1075/tis.11.2.03mad
2016-07-22
2025-02-10
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): American Sign Language; inner speech; interpreter; interpreter education; self-talk
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