Translation, Cognition & Behavior - Current Issue

This corpus-based study examines the effect of syntactic complexity in the source language on simultaneous interpreters’ cognitive load and stress. Previous studies show contrasting results regarding the source text syntax and cognitive load in interpreting, while the link between syntactic complexity and interpreters’ stress remains unexplored. Our research aims to fill this gap by measuring cognitive load through filled and silent pauses, and stress through fundamental frequency. We evaluated syntactic complexity by calculating dependency distance, i.e., the number of words between syntactically dependent elements. We used PINC, the Polish Interpreting Corpus (Chmiel et al. 2022), as our dataset. We found that higher syntactic complexity in the source text increases stress and cognitive load among interpreters. Additionally, when interpreters produce complex syntax themselves, their stress increases. The study provides empirical evidence for simplification in interpreting and shows that syntactic complexity in interpreters’ own output does not necessarily lead to increased cognitive load.

Multimodal research in communication and translation studies is increasingly recognized, yet it remains incompletely explored. Leveraging computational linguistics with both Praat for acoustic analysis and the OpenPose and Rapid Annotator tools for visual analysis, this study delves into the intricate dynamics of the expressive construction thank God, providing a comprehensive examination of both visual and acoustic dimensions. Our objective is to uncover nuanced patterns of multimodal communication embedded within this expression and their implications for Translation and Interpreting. Through an analysis of linguistic features and co-speech gestures present in thank God, we aim to deepen our comprehension of how meaning crisscrosses modalities. Our findings underscore the necessity of a multimodal approach in language studies, emphasizing the requisite to preserve emotional and contextual nuances. The analysis unveils the phonological relevance of the duration of the construction’s second vowel, a key factor for translation. Additionally, data reveals a correlation between the emotion of relief and gestures executed with both hands closer to the chest. Overall, these findings contribute to advancing both multimodal communication research and translation studies, shedding light on the role of multimodal analysis in understanding language and translation dynamics, particularly in the context of constructions like thank God.

This paper presents a conceptual replication of Kruger et al.’s (2017a) study, investigating the utility of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) indicators as objective measurements of psychological immersion in subtitled audiovisual products. The study employed a quasi-experimental design in ten participants viewing video clips with and without subtitles, while their physiological responses were monitored. Results suggest lower arousal levels in both conditions compared to baseline, with statistically significant differences observed in mean HR, mean RR, and RMSSD for the subtitles condition. While most inferential tests did not yield significant outcomes, descriptive trends indicate decreased arousal relative to the baseline. They also show increased arousal throughout the clip for most indicators and opposing trends for Mean HR, RMSSD and LF/HF between the two conditions. Methodological suggestions include using multiple data points for HR and HRV analysis, exploring ultra short-term measurements, selecting self-contained clips for viewing, and considering post-task baselines for a more accurate resting state representation. Despite limitations due to the small sample size, this study underscores the potential of HR and HRV as measures of immersion in translated audiovisual products, emphasising the need for larger sample sizes in future research to enhance statistical power and generalizability.

In the last decades, Cognitive Translation Studies (CTIS) have witnessed a growing expansion of Audio Description (AD), with emphasis on experimental studies examining the psychological factors that influence the creation and reception of AD. While most studies have focused on the creation phase of AD, recent reception research has explored emotions, immersion, and presence in the context of AD. A study by Rojo et al. (2021) investigated the impact of AD on the reception of porn, comparing the psychophysiological response of sighted participants watching audiovisual content with blind and sighted participants listening to AD without images. The results indicated no significant differences in physiological and subjective responses. The present study aims at providing further evidence on the participants’ emotional response by analyzing their facial expressions using the FaceReader software (Noldus Information Technology). Unlike cardiac and cortisol responses, the analysis of the participants’ facial expressions reveals some intriguing differences between the groups that point to some emotional differences in the reception of porn.

Moral cognition is an emerging field investigating the cognitive underpinnings of moral judgement and moral decision-making. Of particular interest for Cognitive Translation and Interpreting Studies (CTIS) is the impact of the use of a foreign language on the cognitive processes associated with moral decision making, what has been labeled “Foreign Language Effect” (FLE). Using a second language has been reported to reduce decision-making biases, doing away with framing effects in risk aversion settings. At the same time, moral dilemmas posed in a second language prompt more utilitarian responses than when presented in the subjects’ native tongues. These results beg the following question for the CTIS scholar: does language mediation training mitigate the FLE? This paper reports on an exploratory study investigating the impact of language mediation training on the FLE. Drawing from Costa et al. (2014), 1st and 4th year, bilingual students in a Translation and Interpreting degree are presented with the trolley dilemma both in their L1, L2, and L3. Initial results seem to indicate that language mediation training might have an impact on the FLE. However, the limitations of the study suggest the need for further exploration of the intersection between language mediation training and the FLE.

Psychometrics involves the indirect measurement of latent constructs, including aspects of cognition and emotion, and Likert-type scales are a common tool to operationalize and quantify these constructs. One threat to the psychometric properties of such scales is the administration of surveys across multiple languages, which presupposes the translation of the survey instruments. While multiple recommendations exist on best practices in translation, implementation does not always satisfy such guidelines. This article employs Monte Carlo simulation to explore the potential effects of translation on survey measurement and psychometric properties. Three possible challenges are explored, namely ambiguity, shift in valence, and issues with negation. These translation effects are statistically modeled as increased variance, change in skewness, and reverse coding, respectively. Additionally, the simulation examines the value of multi-item scales over single-item measurement. Overall, the results illustrate how survey translation can impact exploratory factor analysis and reliability of measurement.