Cover not available
Article published In:
Babel
Vol. 65:4 (2019) ► pp.519–537

A duet and/or a concerto?

Simultaneous interpreters’ working memory and interpreting expertise

| Beijing Foreign Studies University
| Liaoning Shihua University

Working memory and interpreting expertise are generally acknowledged as two essential factors that affect the interpreting process. With reference to the compensation model, the independent influences model, and the rich-get-richer model proposed in cognitive psychology concerning the interplay between working memory and domain expertise, this experimental study, by varying the delivery speed of the source speech, examines the interplay between working memory and interpreting expertise in the setting of simultaneous interpreting. This study finds that (1) working memory and interpreting expertise can each have a positive impact on simultaneous interpreting quality; (2) other factors being equal, interpreting expertise can have a greater impact on simultaneous interpreting than working memory, and when the interpreting task proves more challenging, interpreting expertise can help relieve the pressure triggered by inadequate working memory; (3) working memory and interpreting expertise function differently in simultaneous interpreting in different stages: for beginner interpreting students, working memory’s contribution to the quality of simultaneous interpreting is more prominent, while for advanced interpreting students, interpreting expertise plays a more direct and prominent role, and the composite influence of working memory and interpreting expertise on simultaneous interpreting performance is weakened due to the increasing impact of other factors.

Keywords: working memory, interpreting expertise, simultaneous interpreting, roles and impacts
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Experiment
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Experimental design
    • 2.3Experimental environment and materials
      • 2.3.1Experimental environment and equipment
      • 2.3.2Experimental materials
        • 2.3.2.1WM
        • 2.3.2.2IE
        • 2.3.2.3SI quality
        • 2.3.2.4Control variable
    • 2.4Procedure
      • 2.4.1Control variable measurement
      • 2.4.2Independent variable and dependent variable measurement
    • 2.5Data analysis
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1WM capacity test
    • 3.2IE
    • 3.3SI quality
      • 3.3.1The correlation between WM and IE (see Table 6)
      • 3.3.2The correlation between WM / IE and SI quality
      • 3.3.3Main effect of WM and IE on SI quality
        • 3.3.3.1In the case of slow source language delivery
        • 3.3.3.2In the case of fast source language delivery
      • 3.3.4Linear regression analysis of the effect of WM and IE on SI quality
  • 4.Discussion
    • 4.1The relationship between WM and IE
    • 4.2The roles of WM and IE in SI
    • 4.3WM’s and IE’s effect in different stages
    • 4.4Complex factors behind interpreting quality
    • 4.5Three models about WM and domain expertise
    • 4.6Implications
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 30 August 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00107.yu
References
Baddeley, Alan
2000 “The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory?” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 4 (11): 417–423. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bajo, María Teresa; Francisca Padilla; and Presentación Padilla
2000 “Comprehension processes in simultaneous interpreting”. In Translation in Context, ed. by Chesterman, Andrew; Natividad Gallardo San Salvador; and Yves Gambier, 127–142. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Christoffels, Ingrid K.; and Annette M. B. de Groot
2005 “Simultaneous interpreting: A cognitive perspective”. In Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches, ed. by Kroll, Judith F.; and Annette M. B. de Groot, 454–479. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Christoffels, Ingrid K.; Annette M. B. de Groot; and Judith F. Kroll
2006 “Memory and language skills in simultaneous interpreters: The role of expertise and language proficiency”. Journal of Memory and Language 54 (3): 324–345. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Conway, Andrew R. A. et al.
2002 “A latent variable analysis of working memory capacity, short-term memory capacity, processing speed, and general fluid intelligence”. Intelligence 30 (2):163–183. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Daneman, Meredyth; and Patricia A. Carpenter
1980 “Individual differences in working memory and reading”. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 19 (4): 455–466. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
de Groot, Annette M. B.
2000 “A complex-skill approach to translation and interpreting”. In Tapping and mapping the processes of translation and interpreting: Outlooks on empirical research, ed. by Tirkkonen-Condit, Sonja; and Riitta Jääskeläinen, 53–70. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gile, Daniel
2009 Basic concepts and models for interpreter and translator training. Revised edition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hambrick, David Z.; and Randall W. Engle
2002 “Effects of domain knowledge, working memory capacity, and age on cognitive performance: An investigation of the knowledge-is-power hypothesis”. Cognitive psychology 44 (4): 339–387. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hambrick, David Z.; and Frederick L. Oswald
2005 “Does domain knowledge moderate involvement of working memory capacity in higher-level cognition? A test of three models”. Journal of memory and language 52 (3): 377–397. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kurz, Ingrid
2001 “Conference interpreting: Quality in the ears of the user”. Meta: journal des traducteurs/Meta: Translators’ Journal 46 (2): 394–409. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Liu, Minhua; Diane L. Schallert; and Patrick J. Carroll
2004 “Working memory and expertise in simultaneous interpreting”. Interpreting 6 (1): 19–42. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lu, Zongyi; and Peng Danling
2002 Discourse comprehension. Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press.Google Scholar
Miyake, Akira; Marcel Adam Just; and Patricia A. Carpenter
1994 “Working memory constraints on the resolution of lexical ambiguity: Maintaining multiple representations in neutral contexts”. Journal of Memory and Language 33 (2): 175. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Moser-Mercer, Barbara et al.
1997 “Skill components in simultaneous interpreting”. In Conference interpreting: Current trends in research, ed. by Gambier, Yves; Daniel Gile; and Christopher Taylor, 133–148. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Moser-Mercer, Barbara
2000 “Simultaneous interpreting: Cognitive potential and limitations”. Interpreting 5 (2): 83–94. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Moser-Mercer, Barbara et al.
2000 “Searching to define expertise in interpreting”. In Language processing and simultaneous interpreting: Interdisciplinary perspectives, ed. by Dimitrova, Birgitta Englund; and Kenneth Hylyenstam, 107–132. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Malley, J. Michael; and Anna Uhl Chamot
1990 Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Padilla, P.; Bajo, M. T.; Cañas, J. J.; and Padilla, F.
1995 “Cognitive processes of memory in simultaneous interpretation”. In Topics in interpreting research, ed. by Kääntämisen ja Tulkkauksen Keskus; and Jorma Tommola, 61–71. Turku: University of Turku, Centre for Translation and Interpreting.Google Scholar
Pöchhacker, Franz
2004 Introducing interpreting studies. London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Setton, Robin
1999 Simultaneous interpretation: A cognitive-pragmatic analysis. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Timarová, Šarka
2015 “Working memory”. In Routledge encyclopedia of interpreting studies, ed. by Franz Pöchhacker, 443–446. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Tiselius, Elisabet
2015 “Expertise”. In Routledge encyclopedia of interpreting studies, ed. by Franz Pöchhacker, 152–155. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Wang, Kefei
2004 Bilingual comparative corpus: Construction and application. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Google Scholar
Wang, Xiaoyan
2003 “The characteristics of interpreting and interpreting pedagogy”. Chinese Translators Journal 24 (6): 56–58.Google Scholar
Wang, Xinhong
2004 “The extra-linguistic factors in simultaneous interpreting”. Chinese Translators Journal 25 (6): 61–63.Google Scholar
Yang, Xiaohu
2009 “A review of experimental research in working memory and simultaneous interpreting”. Foreign Language Learning Theory and Practice 11:77–83.Google Scholar
Zhang, Wei
2008 “A study of the effect of simultaneous interpreting on working memory’s growth potential”. Modern Foreign Languages 41: 423–430.Google Scholar
2011 Cognitive research into interpreting: Relationship between simultaneous and working memory. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Google Scholar
Zhong, Weihe
2003 “Interpreters’ knowledge structure and interpreting course setting”. Chinese Translators Journal 24 (4): 63–65.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Özkan, Deniz, Ena Hodzik & Ebru Diriker
2023. Simultaneous interpreting experience enhances the use of case markers for prediction in Turkish. Interpreting. International Journal of Research and Practice in Interpreting 25:2 ► pp. 186 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 28 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.