Predicting Fluency With Language Proficiency, Working Memory, and Directionality in Simultaneous Interpreting

Lin, Yumeng; Lv, Qianxi; Liang, Junying

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01543

Cited by 33 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…To avoid the possible cognitive resources saturation, the information retained in the focus of attention for processing should be kept as small in amount as possible. Hence, SI interpreters usually produce the output without much altering the sequence of source text elements, avoiding the increased pressure which would have been entailed by reordering the parts (Hatim and Mason, 2002; Lin et al, 2018). In this way, the chunks of information can be relieved from the focus of attention immediately after they are formulated in the target language (Liang et al, 2017; Mizuno, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Interpreting Types: Language Sequence Mirrors Cognitive Load Minimization in Interpreting Tasks

Liang

Liu

2019

Front. Psychol.

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Most interpreting theories claim that different interpreting types should involve varied processing mechanisms and procedures. However, few studies have examined their underlying differences. Even though some previous results based on quantitative approaches show that different interpreting types yield outputs of varying lexical and syntactic features, the grammatical parsing approach is limited. Language sequences that form without relying on parsing or processing with a specific linguistic approach or grammar excel other quantitative approaches at revealing the sequential behavior of language production. As a non-grammatically-bound unit of language sequences, frequency motif can visualize the local distribution of content and function words, and can also statistically classify languages and identify text types. Thus, the current research investigates the distribution, length and position-dependent properties of frequency motifs across different interpreting outputs in pursuit of the sequential generation behaviors. It is found that the distribution, the length and certain position-dependent properties of the specific language sequences differ significantly across simultaneous interpreting and consecutive interpreting output. The features of frequency motifs manifest that both interpreting output is produced in the manner that abides by the least effort principle. The current research suggests that interpreting types can be differentiated through this type of language sequential unit and offers evidence for how the different task features mediate the sequential organization of interpreting output under different demand to achieve cognitive load minimization.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Interpreting Types: Language Sequence Mirrors Cognitive Load Minimization in Interpreting Tasks

Liang

Liu

2019

Front. Psychol.

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“…Simultaneous interpretation requires extensive linguistic knowledge and cognitive resources, as interpreters must concurrently comprehend one language while producing another. It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that working memory has been identified as a major predictor of performance among this specialized population (Christoffels et al 2003;Lin et al 2018;Macnamara and Conway 2016;Tzou et al 2012). Other factors including L2 proficiency (Tzou et al 2012), translation expertise (Garcia et al 2014), and the ability to inhibit distractors (Timarová et al 2014) have also been linked to interpreting performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive and linguistic predictors of bilingual single-word translation

2020

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One of the advantages of being bilingual is the ability to translate from one language to the other. From language learners to professional interpreters, many different types of bilinguals engage in translation in their daily lives. How successful they are, however, depends on a wide range of factors. The current study aimed to identify the cognitive and linguistic variables that predict how quickly and accurately bilinguals are able to translate single words. Eighteen Chinese-English bilinguals listened to words in their second language (L2 English) and verbally translated them into their native tongue (L1 Chinese). We observed that translation performance was predicted by factors related to language background, such as second language competence and language exposure, as well as domain-general cognitive abilities, such as inhibitory control. Translation performance was additionally influenced by features of the source language, such as word frequency, neighborhood density, and bi-gram/bi-phone probability. By examining factors relating to language experience, cognitive ability, and linguistic input, we shed light on the dynamic interaction that is required among multiple variables for successful translation.

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“…One explanation for this is that working memory capacity is thought to be a predictor at comparatively lower levels of skill acquisition and plays an essential role when the skill is still not yet automatic ( Timarová et al, 2015 ). Studies relating cognitive abilities directly to fluency in interpreting have been scarce, but working memory capacity was found to predict SI fluency in trainee interpreters’ SI fluency performance in the study of Lin et al (2018) , which indicated the critical role of working memory capacity as compared with language skills in SI fluency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…It would also verify the effectiveness of including working memory capacity as a construct of cognitive fluency in interpreting research. In the field of interpreting studies, cognitive factors have been found important for interpreting performance ( Christoffels et al, 2003 ; Injoque-Ricle et al, 2015 ; Macnamara and Conway, 2016 ; Lin et al, 2018 ). Previous interpreting studies on the relationship of cognitive fluency related aspects and interpreting performance, in particular, lexical access and retrieval, cognitive control, and working memory capacity, were introduced in the following.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Predicting Power of Cognitive Fluency for the Development of Utterance Fluency in Simultaneous Interpreting

Song

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Although simultaneous interpreting (SI) is generally recognized as a highly demanding cognitive activity in nature, the role of cognitive processes in SI fluency is yet to be determined. While utterance fluency refers to the set of objectively determined oral features of utterances, cognitive fluency means the speaker’s efficient mobilization and integration of underlying cognitive processes responsible for utterance production. An investigation into the relationship of the two dimensions of fluency helps to reveal the cognitive bases of interpreting. This study explores the predicting power of cognitive fluency in the utterance fluency development of L2 (English)–L1 (Chinese) SI output of trainee interpreters. Cognitive fluency was operationalized as measures of lexical access, linguistic attention control, and working memory capacity. Measures of utterance fluency were obtained through simulated SI tasks under conditions of low and high input rates. Twenty-eight trainees interpreted two speeches, one with a high input rate and the other with a low input rate, at the beginning and end of an SI training period of 13 weeks. A bilingual corpus of the participants’ SI output was built, and indicators of SI utterance fluency were annotated systematically. Utterance fluency was indexed by the speech rate, mean length of run, phonation time ratio, mean number of silent pauses, and mean number of disfluencies. Results of analyses indicated that (1) the predicting power of cognitive fluency for SI utterance fluency development was only shown under high cognitive load over a training period of 13 weeks; (2) predictors for the development of SI utterance fluency tended to be the efficiency of cognitive processes involved in the target language production stage; and (3) the inclusion of measures of working memory capacity significantly increased the predicting power of cognitive fluency for SI utterance fluency development. This study for the first time provides evidence for the role of cognitive fluency in trainee interpreters’ SI utterance fluency development, having implications for the theoretical framework of cognitive fluency and the information processing mechanism in interpreting process, as well as for interpreter aptitude tests and interpreting pedagogy.

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Predicting Fluency With Language Proficiency, Working Memory, and Directionality in Simultaneous Interpreting

Cited by 33 publications

References 45 publications

Quantifying Interpreting Types: Language Sequence Mirrors Cognitive Load Minimization in Interpreting Tasks

Quantifying Interpreting Types: Language Sequence Mirrors Cognitive Load Minimization in Interpreting Tasks

Cognitive and linguistic predictors of bilingual single-word translation

The Predicting Power of Cognitive Fluency for the Development of Utterance Fluency in Simultaneous Interpreting

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