Interpreting - Volume 24, Issue 2, 2022

Abstract

This article investigates explicitation as an indicator of individual interpreters’ style in the outputs of professional interpreters working for the European Parliament. The material used for the study is a sub-corpus of target texts by 12 interpreters extracted from a larger bi-directional parallel corpus of plenary contributions with the aid of voice recognition software. Interpretations from English into Polish and vice versa have been annotated manually for various explicitating shifts, ranging from cohesion-related additions and specifications to more extensive pragmatically oriented amplifications. Our initial hypothesis holds that interpreters working for the Polish Language Unit, who regularly cooperate and as a result acquire similar linguistic habits, are expected to display limited variety in their explicitating styles. The results do not confirm this assumption. The interpreters in our sample differ substantially in their explicitating styles, especially regarding frequency and consistency. This finding precludes any convergence due to their status as members of the same community of practice.

Abstract

In this article, errors and repairs in a corpus of English news broadcasts interpreted simultaneously into South African Sign Language are explored from a psycholinguistic perspective according to Levelt’s (1989) cognitive levels (comprehension, conceptualisation, formulation, morphological encoding and articulation). Breaking away from traditional perspectives, the study offers a novel approach to empirical research into sign(ed) language interpreting, with applications relevant to spoken-language interpreting. Most slips involved lemma selection, followed by slips in articulation and conceptualisation (syntactic planning). Significantly fewer errors in comprehension compared to production indicate that professional interpreters have excellent listening skills, although reconceptualising is sometimes problematic. The interpreters mainly repaired incorrect lemma selection and reception errors that resulted in mistranslations, suggesting the existence of a true/false error-detection mechanism, with little attention being paid to other forms of error, possibly owing to time and cognitive pressures. Errors do not increase over time, which suggests cognitive overload rather than fatigue as their cause.

Abstract

Remote interpreting has traditionally been the less preferred option when compared to face-to-face interpreting. But the recent pandemic has shifted the landscape, making remote interpreting the default in many, if not most, settings. Improved videoconferencing technologies have facilitated this transition. The main question is whether remote interpreting has any impact on interpreter performance, including interpreting accuracy. This article presents the results of an experimental study that compared the performance of 103 qualified interpreters in three language combinations (English + Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish) in three conditions (face-to-face vs video remote vs audio remote interpreting) in the context of simulated police interviews. The interpreters’ preferences and perceptions were elicited and analysed, and their performance assessed by independent trained raters using detailed marking criteria. The results showed no significant differences between face-to-face and video interpreting, but significant decrements in audio remote interpreting performance. More than one-third of the interpreters perceived remote interpreting as being more difficult due to technological challenges. No differences emerged between the language groups on any measure.

Abstract

The aim of this research was to compare the quality of language services and of linguistic evidence obtained in UK police interviews and US police interrogations with suspects, witnesses and victims who speak little or no English and have to communicate via an interpreter. This is the first study of its kind based on substantial real-life data from both jurisdictions, which rely on different types of service provision. The data were annotated using NVivo 12 software and the methodology included a quantitative analysis of miscommunication instances that arise as a result of cross-linguistic or cross-cultural contrasts and a qualitative analysis of the interpreting standards and information details recorded in official transcripts. It was discovered that both countries exhibit some advantageous features in their language service provision. although both also have shortcomings that should be responded to and remedied. The US data reveal that the transcripts there are more detailed and more informative, and are produced bilingually and verbatim; this is not the case in the UK context. However, the use of non-professional interpreters in the US, unlike in the UK, where professional interpreters are employed, is shown to be highly problematic. The article concludes with a summary of empirical insights that can be used to improve evidence-gathering, access to justice in multilingual contexts, policy development and the training of law-enforcement and language professionals around the world.

Abstract

This study explores the validity of a battery of interpreting aptitude tests comprising the SynCloze test, the Negative Affectivity Scale and the Inventory of Learning Styles in predicting the interpreting performance of Chinese interpreting trainees. The aptitude test battery was conducted at the beginning of the first semester for 68 post-graduate interpreting students in four Chinese interpreter training programs. English-Chinese (E-C) and Chinese-English (C-E) consecutive interpreting (CI) tests that measure the interpreting proficiency of the participants were conducted at the end of the semester. The results of the correlation and regression analysis indicated that the SynCloze test enjoyed statistically significant predictive power for both directions of CI and that its predictive power was stronger for C-E CI (β = 0.70) than for E-C CI (β = 0.48); negative affectivity was found to be a statistically significant predictor for E-C CI (β = −0.21) but not for C-E CI. Neither the meaning-directed nor the reproduction-directed learning style could predict interpreting performance. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to interpreter selection and training.

This article reviews Interpreters and war crimes978-0-367-55749-2