Cover not available
Part of
Translation in Transition: Between cognition, computing and technology
Edited by Arnt Lykke Jakobsen and Bartolomé Mesa-Lao
[Benjamins Translation Library 133] 2017
► pp. 107–134

Chapter 4
Translation, post-editing and directionality

A study of effort in the Chinese-Portuguese language pair

| Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
| Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
| Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
| Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
| University of Macau
| University of Macau
| University of Macau
| Universidade de Évora
| Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
| Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

Translation process research has focused on alphabetic scripts in post-editing and translation tasks from the second language (L2) into the mother tongue (L1). This chapter approaches translation and post-editing tasks involving Chinese, which has a logographic script, in combination with Portuguese. The aim is to compare task type (translation and post-editing) and directionality (L2-L1 and L1-L2) focusing on cognitive and temporal measures of effort. Eye-tracking and key-logging data were collected from 18 Chinese professional translators in four consecutive translation/post-editing sessions. The results point to a significant impact of directionality and task type on virtually all cognitive measures investigated by means of a linear mixed-effect regression model. However, directionality and task type had no significant impact on total task time.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Review of literature
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Equipment and analysis tools
    • 3.2Participants
    • 3.3Data quality
    • 3.4The experimental texts
    • 3.5Task execution
    • 3.6Data processing
    • 3.7Data analysis
  • 4.Results and discussion
  • 5.Final remarks
  • Appendix
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 30 September 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.133.04lou
References
Alves, Fabio, Adriana Pagano, and Igor Antônio Lourenço da Silva
2014 “Effortful Text Production in Translation: A Study of Grammatical (De)Metaphorization Drawing on Product and Process Data.” Translation and Interpreting Studies 7 (1): 24–51.Google Scholar
AuTema-PostEd Group
2013 “Post-Editing and Translating in the Chinese-Portuguese Language Pair: Preliminary Results of an Eye-Tracking and Key-Logging Study.” Oral Communication at XI Congresso Internacional da ABRAPT e V Congresso Internacional de Tradutores . Florianópolis, September 23–26.
Balling, Laura, and Michael Carl
2014 “Production Time Across Language and Tasks: A Large-Scale Analysis Using the CRITT Translation Process Database.” In The Development of Translation Competence: Theories and Methodologies from Psycholinguistics and Cognitive Science, ed. by John Schwieter, and Aline Ferreira, 239–268. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholar Publishing.Google Scholar
Bates, Douglas, Martin Maechler, and Ben Bolker
2014 “lme4: Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using Eigen and S4. R Package Version 3.0.2.” CRAN. 2014. Available at [URL] (Accessed on June 10, 2014).Google Scholar
Buchweitz, Augusto, and Fabio Alves
2006 “Cognitive Adaptation in Translation: an Interface between Language Direction, Time, and Recursiveness in Target Text Production.” Letras de Hoje 41: 241–272.Google Scholar
Carl, Michael
2012a “Translog-II: A Program for Recording User Activity Data for Empirical Reading and Writing Research.” Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Language Resource and Evaluation , 4108–4122. Istanbul: European Language Resources Association, 2012a.
2012b “The CRITT TPR-DB 1.0: A Database for Empirical Human Translation Process Research." In Proceedings of the AMTA 2012 Workshop on Post-Editing Technology and Practice (WTPT 2012), ed. by Sharon O’Brien, Michel Simard, and Lucia Specia, 9–18. Stroudsburg: Association for Machine Translation in the Americas (AMTA).Google Scholar
Carl, Michael, Moritz Schaeffer, and Srinivas Bangalore
2016 “The CRITT Translation Process Research Database.” In New Directions in Empirical Translation Process Research: Exploring the CRITT TPR-DB, ed. by Michael Carl, Srinivas Bangalore, and Moritz Schaeffer, 9–54. Cham: Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carl, Michael, and Arnt Lykke Jakobsen
2009 “Towards Statistical Modelling of Translator's Activity Data.” International Journal of Speech Technology 12 (4): 125–138. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carl, Michael, and Barbara Dragsted
2012 “Inside the Monitor Model: Process of Default and Challenged Translation Production.” Translation: Corpora, Computation, Cognition (Special Issue on the Crossroads Between Contrastive Linguistics, Translation Studies and Machine Translation) 2 (1): 127–145.Google Scholar
Carl, Michael, Barbara Dragsted, Jakob Elming, Daniel Hardt, and Arnt Lykke Jakobsen
2011 “The Process of Post-Editing: A Pilot Study.” Copenhagen Studies in Language 41: 131–142.Google Scholar
Carl, Michael, Silke Gutermuth, and Silvia Hansen-Schirra
2015 “Post-Editing Machine Translation: Eiciency, Strategies, and Revision Processes in Professional Translation Settings.” In Psycholinguistic and Cognitive Inquiries into Translation and Interpreting, ed. by Aline Ferreira, and John Schwieter, 145–174. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chang, Vincent Chieh-Ying
2009 Testing Applicability of Eye-Tracking and fMRI to Translation and Interpreting Studies: An Investigation into Directionality. London: Unpublished PhD thesis, Imperial College London.Google Scholar
Čulo, Oliver, Silke Gutermuth, Silvia Hansen-Schirra, and Jean Nitzke
2014 “The Influence of Post-Editing on Translation Strategies.” In Post-Editing of Machine Translation, ed. by Sharon O'Brien, Laura Winther Balling, Michael Carl, Michel Simard, and Lucia Specia, 200–218. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Elming, Jakob, Laura Winther Balling, and Michael Carl
2014 “Investigating User Behaviour in Post-Editing and Translation using the CasMaCat Workbench.” In Post-Editing of Machine Translation, ed. by Sharon O'Brien, Laura Winther Balling, Michael Carl, Michael Simard, and Lucia Specia, 147–169. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Ericsson, K. Anders
2006 “An Introduction to Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance: Its Development, Organization, and Content.” In The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance, ed. by K. Anders Ericsson, Neil Charness, Paul J. Feltovich, and Robert R. Hoffman, 3–20. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Escaleira, Lurdes
2013 “Mercado de Trabalho da Tradução Português-Chinês, em Macau.” Administração 102 (4): 1115–1136.Google Scholar
Ferreira, Aline
2014 “Analyzing Recursiveness Patterns and Retrospective Protocols of Professional Translators in L1 and L2 Translation Tasks.” Translation and Interpreting Studies 9 (1): 109–127. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2010 Direcionalidade em Tradução: Uma Investigação do Processamento Cognitivo de Tradutores Profissionais em Tradução Direta e Inversa no Par Linguístico Inglês-Português. Belo Horizonte: Unpublished MA Thesis.Google Scholar
Ferreira, Aline, John Wayne Schwieter, Alexandra Gottardo, and Jefferey Jones
2016 “Cognitive effort in direct and inverse translation performance: insight from eye-tracking technology.” Cadernos de Tradução 36 (3): 60–80. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
García-Yebra, Valentín
1983 En Torno a la Traducción. Madrid: Gredos.Google Scholar
Huang, Chih-Chieh
2011 Tracking Eye Movements in Sight Translation – The Comprehension Process in Interpreting 視譯閱讀理解歷程之眼動研究. Taipei: Unpublished Thesis, National Taiwan Normal University.Google Scholar
Huang, Jin, and Akshay Minocha
2014 “Cognitive Process of Revision: The Behaviours and the Motivations Behind.” Oral communication at Translation in Transition: Between Cognition, Computing and Technology . Copenhagen, January 30–31.
Hunziker Heeb, Andrea
2015 “Does Professional Translation into L2 Involve More Effort than into L1?” Oral communication at 4th Translation Process Research Workshop . Las Palmas, January 15–17.
Hvelplund, Kristian T
2011 Allocation of Cognitive Resources in Translation: An Eye-Tracking and Key-Logging Study. Published PhD Thesis. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School.Google Scholar
Hyönä, Jukka, Robert F. Lorch Jr., and Mick Rinck
2003 “Eye Movements Measures to Study Global Text Processing.” In In The Mind's Eye: Cognitive and Applied Aspects of Eye Movement Research, ed. by Ralph Radach, Jukka Hyönä, and Heiner Deubel, 313–334. Amsterdam: North-Holland. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jakobsen, Arnt L
2003 “Effects of think aloud on translation speed, revision, and segmentation.” In Triangulating translation, ed. by Fabio Alves, 69–96. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2011 “Tracking Translators' Keystrokes and Eye Movements with Translog.” In Methods and Strategies of Process Research. Integrative Approaches in Translation Studies, ed. by Cecilia Alvstad, Adelina Hild, and Elisabet Tiselius, 37–55. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kamari, Elahe
2015 “Translation Directionality: An Eye Tracking Study.” Oral communication at ICLL 2015: 18th International Conference on Linguistics and Languages . Cape Town, November 05–06.
Kelly, Dorothy, Anne Martin, Marie-Luise Nobs, Dolorès Sanchez, and Catherine Way
2003 “Reflexiones en Torno a Algunos Conceptos Básicos.” In La direccionalidad en Traducción e Interpretación. Perspectivas Teóricas, Profesionales y Didácticas, ed. by Dorothy Kelly, Anne Martin, Marie-Luise Nobs, Dolorès Sanchez, and Catherine Way, 33–41. Granada: Atrio.Google Scholar
Krings, Hans P
2001 Repairing Texts: Emirical Investigations of Machine Translation Post-Editing Processes. Translated by Geoffrey S. Koby, Gregory M. Shreve, Katja Mischerikow, and Sarah Litzer. Kent: Kent State University Press.Google Scholar
Ladmiral, Jean-René
1979 Théorèmes pour la Traduction. Paris: Didier.Google Scholar
Li, Xingjian
2010 现代汉语规范词典 [Modern Standard Chinese Dictionary]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Google Scholar
Mesa-Lao, Bartolomé
2014 “Gaze Behaviour on Source Texts: An Exploratory Study Comparing Translation and Post-Editing.” In Post-Editing of Machine Translation, ed. by Sharon O'Brien, Laura Winther Balling, Michael Carl, Michel Simard, and Lucia Specia. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Newmark, Peter
1981 Approaches to Translation. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
O'Brien, Sharon, Laura Winther Balling, Michael Carl, Michael Simard, and Lucia Specia
2014 Post-Editing of Machine Translation. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Publishing Scholars.Google Scholar
PACTE
2009 “Results of the Validation of the PACTE Translation Competence Model: Acceptability and Decision-Making.” Across Language and Cultures 10 (2): 207–230. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2011 “Results of the Validation of the PACTE Translation Competence Model: Translation Problems and Translation Competence.” In Methods and Strategies of Process Research: Integrative Approaches in Translation Studies, ed. by Cecilia Alvstad, Adelina Hild, and Elisabet Tiselius, 317–343. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2014 “First Results of PACTE Group's Experimental Research on Translation Competence Acquisition: The Acquisition of Declarative Knowledge of Translation.” MonTI Special Issue – Minding Translation, 85–115.Google Scholar
Pagano, Adriana, and Igor da Silva
2010 “Text Segmentation and Task Representation as Indicators of Translator's Performance: Insights from Translation Process Research.” In Proceedings of the First International Conference on Translation and Interpretation, 117–122. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University.Google Scholar
Pavlović, Nataša, and Kristian Jensen
2009 “Eye Tracking Translation Directionality.” In Translation Research Projects 2, ed. by Anthony Pym, and Alexander Perekrestenko, 93–109. Tarragona: Intercultural Studies Group.Google Scholar
Pokorn, Nike
2005 Challenging the Traditional Axioms: Translation into a Non-Mother Tongue. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rayner, Keith
1998 “Eye Movements in Reading and Information Processing.” Psychological Bulletin, 372–422. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schmaltz, Marcia
2013 “Apresentação: Panorama da Tradução entre as Línguas Chinesa e Portuguesa.” Cadernos de Literatura em Tradução 14: 13–21.Google Scholar
2012 “English-Chinese Manual and Post-Ed Translation Process: A Comparative Pilot Study.” Oral communication at International Workshop on Expertise in Translation and Post-Editing – Research and Application . Copenhagen, August 17–18.
da Silva, Igor A.L., Marcia Schmaltz, Fabio Alves, Adriana Pagano, Derek Wong, Lidia Chao, Ana Luísa V. Leal, Paulo Quaresma, and Caio Garcia
2015 “Translating and Post-Editing in the Chinese-Portuguese Language Pair. Insights from an Exploratory Study of Key Logging and Eye Tracking”. Translation Spaces 4 (1): 145–169. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sjørup, Annette Camilla
2013 Cognitive Effort in Metaphor Translation: An Eye Tracking and Key-Logging Study. Published PhD Thesis. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School.Google Scholar
Staub, Adrian, and Keith Rayner
2007 “Eye Movements and On-line Comprehension Processes.” In The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics, ed. by Gareth Gaskell, 327–342. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
TAUS
2010 Postediting in Practice. A TAUS Report. De Rijp: TAUS B. V.Google Scholar
Tian, Liang, Derek F. Wong, and Lidia S. Chao
2011 “Word Alignment Using GIZA++ on Windows.” In Proceedings of the Machine Translation Summit XIII, 369–372. Xiamen: Asia-Pacific Association for Machine Translation.Google Scholar
Vasconcellos, Sonia M.R., Martha M. Sorenson, and Jacqueline Leta
2007 “Scientist-Friendly Policies for Non-Native English-Speaking Authors: Timely and Welcome.” Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research 40: 743–747. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wong, Derek, and Lidia S. Chao
PCT: Portuguese-Chinese Machine Translation Systems.” Journal of Translation Studies 13 (1–2): 181–196.
Zeng, Xiaodong, Derek F. Wong, Lidia S. Chao, and Isabel Trancoso
2013 “Graph-Based Semi-Supervised Model for Joint Chinese Word Segmentation and Part-of-Speech Tagging.” Proceedings of the The 51st Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL 2013), 770–779. Sofia: Association for Computational Linguistics.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 11 other publications

Cui, Ying, Xiao Liu & Yuqin Cheng
2023. A Comparative Study on the Effort of Human Translation and Post-Editing in Relation to Text Types: An Eye-Tracking and Key-Logging Experiment. SAGE Open 13:1 ► pp. 215824402311558 ff. DOI logo
Huang, Jie & Jianhua Wang
2023. Post-editing machine translated subtitles: examining the effects of non-verbal input on student translators’ effort. Perspectives 31:4 ► pp. 620 ff. DOI logo
Hunziker Heeb, Andrea, Caroline Lehr & Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow
2021. Situated Translators: Cognitive Load and the Role of Emotions. In Advances in Cognitive Translation Studies [New Frontiers in Translation Studies, ], ► pp. 47 ff. DOI logo
Jankowiak, Katarzyna & Olha Lehka-Paul
2022. Novel metaphor translation is modulated by translation direction. Applied Psycholinguistics 43:1 ► pp. 177 ff. DOI logo
Jia, Yanfang & Sanjun Sun
2023. Man or machine? Comparing the difficulty of human translation versus neural machine translation post-editing. Perspectives 31:5 ► pp. 950 ff. DOI logo
Pietryga, Marcelina
2022. Perception of Directionality in Translation Among Students. Acta Neophilologica 1:XXIV ► pp. 87 ff. DOI logo
Stasimioti, Maria, Vilelmini Sosoni & Konstantinos Chatzitheodorou
2021. Investigating post-editing effort. Cognitive Linguistic Studies 8:2 ► pp. 378 ff. DOI logo
Wang, Yu & Ali Jalalian Daghigh
2023. Effect of text type on translation effort in human translation and neural machine translation post-editing processes: evidence from eye-tracking and keyboard-logging. Perspectives ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Whyatt, Bogusława
2022. In search of directionality effectsin the translation processand in the end product. Translation, Cognition & Behavior ► pp. 79 ff. DOI logo
Whyatt, Bogusława & Nataša Pavlović
2021. Translating languages of low diffusion: current and future avenues. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 15:2 ► pp. 141 ff. DOI logo
Whyatt, Bogusława, Olga Witczak & Ewa Tomczak
2021. Information behaviour in bidirectional translators: focus on online resources. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 15:2 ► pp. 154 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 april 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.