Psycholinguistic and Cognitive Inquiries into Translation and Interpreting

“This volume marks a milestone in research on the “cognitive turn” in Translation and Interpreting Studies. The background papers on the development and prospects of this research, in the context of several related disciplines, are comprehensive (and sometimes critical), and the empirical studies shed innovative light not only on the translation / interpreting process but also on cognition in general. Cognitive scientists and psycholinguists: Take note!”

“This volume presents a valuable collection of theoretical and practical perspectives on both translation and interpreting and clearly demonstrates the fruitfulness of collaboration within and beyond the disciplines.”

“This new collection of studies is a must for anyone following the latest research in the field.”

“The collection is impressive in at least three aspects: firstly, it highlights the implication of insights from psycholinguistics and cognitive psychology for TS by discussing useful theories, recent approaches (e.g., post-editing in TPR), valid experimental designs (e.g., administering task in its natural setting), and empirical findings. Secondly, it explores in depth some of the unresolved questions arising from borrowing from these neighboring disciplines, for example methodologically prioritizing control and measurability at the expense of ecological validity, an issue that was also touched upon by Miriam Shlesinger (1998) in considering the potential of the cognitive paradigm for interpreting researches. Thirdly, the intriguing and subtle cognitive process involved in translator or interpreter’s execution of tasks is considered throughout the book from different points of view, typically using multi-method approaches (e.g., key-logging, eye-tracking, screen recording, verbal
protocols, etc.). [...] Given its breadth and depth in bringing forward the interdisciplinarity of the field, the volume is a welcome resource for researchers, practitioners, trainers and students engaged in the area of translation or interpreting. Readers can be enlightened as to the main concerns and approaches at the interface but also be alerted to possible drawbacks.”

“This book undoubtedly provides an invaluable source of information on current issues in translation and interpreting from psycholinguistic and cognitive domains. Along with state-of-the art chapters, it offers new experimental designs that have been developed drawing on a variety of methodologies such as eye tracking, key logging, screen recording, retrospective protocols, and post-editing machine translation. The original investigations, which can be scrutinized in future studies, add important insights and contributions to the field of translation process research.”

“This well-written book provides a welcome and valuable addition to the academic field of TS by combining psycholinguistics and cognitive science. The book may be expected to prove useful to students and researchers of translation. Therefore, we highly recommend this book.”

“The volume is a welcome and important contribution to cognitive T&I studies. It includes two highly authoritative survey articles and several contributions with interesting new methods and theoretical approaches. [...] There is no doubt that with its focus on the contribution of cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics (more of the former than of the latter), the volume has the potential to influence research in the area considerably.”