Article published in:
Interdisciplinarity in Translation and Interpreting Process Research
Edited by Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow, Susanne Göpferich and Sharon O'Brien
[Benjamins Current Topics 72] 2015
► pp. 109–126

Investigating the conceptual-procedural distinction in the translation process

A relevance-theoretic analysis of micro and macro translation units

| Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
| Federal University of Ouro Preto, Brazil
This chapter draws on relevance theory (Sperber and Wilson 1986/1995) and its application to translation (Gutt 2000) to investigate processing effort in translation in relation to two different types of encodings, namely conceptual and procedural encodings (Blakemore 2002; Wilson 2011). Building on the experimental paradigm of data triangulation in translation process research (Alves 2003; Jakobsen 2005), it analyses the translation processes of eight professional translators when performing a direct and an inverse translation task. The analysis focuses on the number and types of encodings found in micro/macro translation units (Alves and Vale 2009; 2011). Results suggest that processing effort in translation is greater in instances of procedural than conceptual encodings.
Keywords: conceptual and procedural encodings, micro/macro translation units, processing effort in translation, relevance theory, translation process research
Published online: 11 June 2015
https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.72.09alv
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Jakobsen, Arnt Lykke
2017.  In The Handbook of Translation and Cognition, ► pp. 19 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 21 november 2021. 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.

References

References

Alves, Fabio
1995 Zwischen Schweigen und Sprechen: Wie bildet sich eine transkulturelle Brücke? Hamburg: Dr. Kovac.Google Scholar
(ed) 2003 Triangulating Translation: Perspectives in Process Oriented Research [Benjamins Translation Library, 41]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2007 “Cognitive Effort and Contextual Effect in Translation: A Relevance-Theoretic Approach.” Journal of Translation Studies 10 (1): 18–35.Google Scholar
Alves, Fabio, and José Luiz Gonçalves
2003 “A Relevance Theory Approach to the Investigation of Inferential Processes in Translation.” In Triangulating Translation: Perspectives in Process Oriented Research, ed. by Fabio Alves, 3–24. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Alves, Fabio, Adriana Pagano, and Igor Silva
2009 “A New Window on Translators’ Cognitive Activity: Methodological Issues in the Combined Use of Eye Tracking, Key Logging and Retrospective Protocols.” In Methodology, Technology and Innovation in Translation Process Research. A Tribute to Arnt Lykke Jakobsen, ed. by Inger Mees, Fabio Alves, and Susanne Göpferich, 267–291. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur.Google Scholar
Alves, Fabio, and Daniel Vale
2009 “Probing the Unit of Translation in Time: Aspects of the Design and Development of a Web Application for Storing, Annotating, and Querying Translation Process Data.” Across Languages and Cultures 10 (2): 251–273. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2011 “On Drafting and Revision in Translation: A Corpus Linguistics Oriented Analysis of Translation Process Data.” TC3. Translation: Corpora, Computation and Cognition 1 (1): 105–122.Google Scholar
Blakemore, Diane
1987 Semantic Constraints on Relevance. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
2002 Relevance and Linguistic Meaning: The Semantics and Pragmatics of Discourse Markers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Dragsted, Barbara
2005 “Segmentation in Translation. Differences Across Levels of Expertise and Difficulty.” Target 17 (1): 49–70. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Elman, Jeffrey L., Elizabeth A. Bates, Mark H. Johnson, Annette Karmiloff-Smith, Domenico Parisi, and Kim Plunkett
1996 Rethinking Innateness: A Connectionist Perspective on Development. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Gutt, Ernst-August
1998 “Relevance and Effort: A Paper for Discussion.” Paper presented at the II Relevance Theory Workshop , 8–10 September 1998, University of Luton.
2000 Translation and Relevance: Cognition and Context, 2nd ed. Manchester: St Jerome.Google Scholar
Jakobsen, Arnt
2005 “Investigating Expert Translators’ Processing Knowledge.” In Knowledge Systems and Translation, ed. by Helle V. Dam, Jan Engberg, and Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast, 173–189. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, Astrid
2001 The Effects of Time on Cognitive Processes and Strategies in Translation. Copenhagen: Working Papers in LSP.Google Scholar
Königs, Frank
1987 “Was beim Übersetzen passiert: theoretische Aspekte, empirische Befunde und praktische Konsequenzen.” Die neueren Sprachen 2: 162–185.Google Scholar
PACTE
2008 “First Results of a Translation Competence Experiment: ‘Knowledge of Translation’ and ‘Efficacy of the Translation Process’.” In Translator and Interpreter Training. Issues, Methods and Debates, ed. by John Kearns, 104–126. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Scardamalia, Marlene, and Carl Bereiter
1991 “Literate Expertise.” In Toward a General Theory of Expertise, ed. by Karl-Anders Ericsson, and John Smith, 172–194. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Shreve, Gregory
2006 “The Deliberate Practice: Translation and Expertise.” Journal of Translation Studies 9 (1): 27–42.Google Scholar
Sperber, Dan, and Deirdre Wilson
1986/1995 Relevance: Communication and Cognition, 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Taboada, Maite, and William C. Mann
2006 “Rhetorical Structure Theory: Looking Back and Moving Ahead.” Discourse Studies 8 (3): 423–459. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, Deirdre, and Dan Sperber
1993 “Linguistic Form and Relevance.” Lingua 90: 1–25. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, Deirdre
2011 “The Conceptual-Procedural Distinction: Past, Present, and Future.” In Procedural Meaning: Problems and Perspectives, ed. by Victoria Escandell-Vidal, Manuel Leonetti, and Aoife Ahern, 3–28. London: Emerald Group. CrossrefGoogle Scholar