Interpreting - Volume 16, Issue 2, 2014

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.