The Influence of Expertise in Simultaneous Interpreting on Non-Verbal Executive Processes

Abstract

This study aimed to explore non-verbal executive processes in simultaneous interpreters. Simultaneous interpreters, bilinguals without any training in simultaneous interpreting, and control monolinguals performed the Wisconsin card sorting task (WCST; Experiment 1) and the Simon task (Experiment 2). Performance on WCST was thought to index cognitive flexibility while Simon task performance was considered an index of inhibitory processes. Simultaneous interpreters outperformed bilinguals and monolinguals on the WCST by showing reduced number of attempts to infer the rule, few errors, and few previous-category perseverations. However, simultaneous interpreters presented Simon effects similar to those found in bilinguals and monolinguals. Together, these results suggest that experience in interpreting is associated with changes in control processes required to perform interpreting tasks.

Language switching in picture naming: What asymmetric switch costs (do not) tell us about inhibition in bilingual speech planning

“…In cued switching paradigms, there is some indication that the daily experience of language switching may impact asymmetries, such that participants who frequently switch languages in their daily lives show reduced switch costs (e.g., Prior & Gollan, 2011;Christoffels et al, 2007). Evidence from simultaneous interpreters further suggests that language experience influences control processes (e.g., Ibá ñ ez, Macizo, & Bajo, 2010;Yudes, Macizo, & Bajo, 2011). We also now know that codeswitching is grammatical and that the cost of codeswitching is small relative to what might be predicted and in comparison to cued language switching (e.g., Chan, Chau, & Hoosain, 1983;Dussias, 2003;Guzzardo Tamargo, 2012;Moreno, Federmeier, & Kutas, 2002).…”

Brain functional plasticity associated with the emergence of expertise in extreme language control

“…Evidence points towards advantages on working memory (Christoffels et al, 2006;Daró and Fabbro, 1994;Fabbro and Daró, 1995;Kopke and Nespoulous, 2006;Stavrakaki et al, 2012;Yudes et al, 2011Yudes et al, , 2012, and on some aspects of cognitive control, such as cognitive flexibility (Yudes et al, 2011). Little work exists on linguistic-processing differences between interpreters and non-interpreter multilinguals, although one EEG study has reported different cross-linguistic semantic priming effects in professional interpreters comparing to proficiency-matched L2 speakers (Elmer et al, 2010).…”

Contributions of second language proficiency and interpreting experience to cognitive control differences among young adult bilinguals

“…Interpreting training, with this higher demand, may thus enhance the efficiency of language control and eventually transfers to non-verbal tasks. Yudes, Macizo, and Bajo (2011) found that professional simultaneous interpreters outperformed control bilinguals and monolinguals in the cognitive control function of mental flexibility. In their study, a Simon task (which tested inhibition) and a Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) (which tested shifting) were adopted.…”