Cover not available

Article In: Interpreting: Online-First Articles

Auditory short-term memory advantages in interpreting

Verbal and nonverbal evidence

 | Zhejiang University | Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
 | Zhejiang University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
The present study investigated the association between interpreting training and short-term memory (STM) performance and the specific modality of potential STM advantages conferred by interpreting training. Three groups of Chinese–English bilinguals stratified by their interpreting training experience (ITE), namely, the More-ITE, Less-ITE and No-ITE groups, completed verbal STM tasks (digit span and word span tasks) and nonverbal STM tasks (pure-tone and luminance probe recognition tasks) between auditory and visual modalities. The findings show that the More-ITE group significantly outperformed the other two groups in auditory verbal and nonverbal STM tasks. Furthermore, only the More-ITE group demonstrated better performance in the auditory modality than in the visual modality. Correlation analysis confirmed a positive association between interpreting training hours and auditory STM performance. Taken together, these findings suggest that interpreting training is associated with enhanced verbal and nonverbal STM performance, with training-related benefits being most pronounced in the auditory modality.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Interpreters’ STM advantage: Verbal or nonverbal?
    • 1.2Interpreters’ STM advantage: Modality-specific or modality-general?
    • 1.3The present study
  • 2.Method
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Tasks and procedure
      • 2.2.1Verbal STM tasks
      • 2.2.2Nonverbal STM tasks
      • 2.2.3Procedure
    • 2.3Data analysis
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Verbal STM tasks in auditory and visual modalities
    • 3.2Nonverbal STM tasks in auditory and visual modalities
    • 3.3Correlations between interpreting training hours and STM performance
  • 4.Discussion
    • 4.1Better verbal and nonverbal STM associated with interpreting training
    • 4.2STM advantage primarily in the auditory modality
  • 5.Limitations
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Author queries
  • References
References (96)
References
(2017). Phonetics, phonology and interpreting. In K. Malmkjaer (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of translation studies and linguistics. London: Routledge, 64–76. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Aizenman, A. M., Gold, J. M. & Sekuler, R. (2018). Multisensory Integration in Short-term Memory: Musicians do Rock. Neuroscience 389, 141–151. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alderson-Day, B. & Fernyhough, C. (2015). Inner speech: Development, cognitive functions, phenomenology, and neurobiology. Psychological Bulletin 141 (5), 931–965. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Atkinson, R. C. & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. Spence & J. Spence (Eds.), Psychology of Learning and Motivation. New York: Academic Press, 89–195.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Babcock, L., Capizzi, M., Arbula, S. & Vallesi, A. (2017). Short-term memory improvement after simultaneous interpretation training. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement 1, 254–267. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Babcock, L. & Vallesi, A. (2017). Are simultaneous interpreters expert bilinguals, unique bilinguals, or both? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 20 (2), 403–417. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baddeley, A. D. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences 4 (11), 417–423. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2003). Working memory: Looking back and looking forward. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 4 (10), 829–839. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2021). Developing the concept of working memory: The role of neuropsychology. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 36 (6), 861–873. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baddeley, A. D. & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation 8, 47–89. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bajo, M. T., Padilla, P. & Padilla, F. (2000). Comprehension processes in simultaneous interpreting. In A. Chesterman, N. Gallardo & Y. Gambier (Eds.), Translation in context. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Braun, S., Davitti, E. & Slater, C. (2020). ‘It’s like being in bubbles’: affordances and challenges of virtual learning environments for collaborative learning in interpreter education. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 14 (3), 259–278. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Broś, K., Czarnocka, K., Mołczanow, J. & Szupica-Pyrzanowska, M. (2025). The role of expertise in coping with accents during simultaneous interpreting. Interpreting 27 (1), 52–86. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Burgoyne, A. P., Tsukahara, J. S., Mashburn, C. A., Pak, R. & Engle, R. W. (2023). Nature and measurement of attention control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 152 (8), 2369–2402. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chmiel, A. (2018). In search of the working memory advantage in conference interpreting — Training, experience and task effects. International Journal of Bilingualism 22 (3), 371–384. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Christoffels, I. K. & de Groot, A. M. B. (2005). Simultaneous interpreting: A cognitive perspective. In J. F. Kroll & A. M. B. de Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches. New York: Oxford University Press, 454–479.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Christoffels, I. K., de Groot, A. M. B. & Kroll, J. F. (2006). Memory and language skills in simultaneous interpreters: The role of expertise and language proficiency. Journal of Memory and Language 54 (3), 324–345. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cohen, M. A., Evans, K. K., Horowitz, T. S. & Wolfe, J. M. (2011). Auditory and visual memory in musicians and nonmusicians. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 18 (3), 586–591. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Colina, S. (2024). Interpreting phonetics and phonology. In C. D. Mellinger (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of interpreting and cognition. London: Routledge, 135–150. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Conway, A. R., Kane, M. J., Bunting, M. F., Hambrick, D. Z., Wilhelm, O. & Engle, R. W. (2005). Working memory span tasks: A methodological review and user’s guide. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 12 (5), 769–786. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cowan, N. (1984). On short and long auditory stores. Psychological Bulletin 96 (2), 341–370. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 24 (1), 87–185. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008). What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory? Progress in Brain Research 169, 323–338. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Crowder, R. G. (1976). Principles of learning and memory. Hove: Psychology Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Darò, V. & Fabbro, F. (1994). Verbal memory during simultaneous interpretation: Effects of phonological interference. Applied Linguistics 15, 365–381. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Bruin, A. & Martin, C. D. (2022). Perro or txakur? Bilingual language choice during production is influenced by personal preferences and external primes. Cognition 222, 104995. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Diedenhofen, B. & Musch, J. (2015). Cocor: A comprehensive solution for the statistical comparison of correlations. PLoS ONE 10 (4), e0121945. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dong, Y. (2023). The unique bilingual profile of translators and interpreters. In A. Ferreira & J. W. Schwieter (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of translation, interpreting, and bilingualism. London: Routledge, 11–26. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dong, Y. & Li, P. (2020). Attentional control in interpreting: A model of language control and processing control. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 23 (4), 716–728. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dong, Y. & Liu, Y. (2016). Classes in translating and interpreting produce differential gains in switching and updating. Frontiers in Psychology 7, 1297. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dong, Y., Liu, Y. & Cai, R. (2018). How does consecutive interpreting training influence working memory: A longitudinal study of potential links between the two. Frontiers in Psychology 9 (1), 8–13. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dong, Y. & Zhong, F. (2019). The intense bilingual experience of interpreting and its neurocognitive consequences. In J. Schwieter (Ed.), The Handbook of the neuroscience of multilingualism. Wiley-Blackwell, 685–700. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernyhough, C. & Borghi, A. M. (2023). Inner speech as language process and cognitive tool. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 27 (12), 1180–1193. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Geranpayeh, A. (2003). A quick view of the English Quick Placement Test. Research Notes 12, 8–10.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ghiselli, S. (2022). Working memory tasks in interpreting studies. A meta-analysis. Translation, Cognition & Behavior 5 (1), 50–83. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gile, D. (1997/2002). Conference interpreting as a cognitive management problem. In F. Pöchhacker & M. Shlesinger (Eds.), The interpreting studies reader. London: Routledge, 162–176.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1999). Variability in the perception of fidelity in simultaneous interpretation. HERMES — Journal of Language and Communication in Business 12 (22), 51–79. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2017). Testing the Effort Models’ tightrope hypothesis in simultaneous interpreting — A contribution. HERMES — Journal of Language and Communication in Business 12 (23), 153–172. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2021). The effort models of interpreting as a didactic construct. In R. Muñoz Martín, S. Sun, & D. Li (Eds.), Advances in cognitive translation studies. Springer, 139–160. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Golubock, J. L. & Janata, P. (2013). Keeping timbre in mind: Working memory for complex sounds that can’t be verbalized. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance 39 (2), 399–412. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hirel, C., Nighoghossian, N., Lévêque, Y., Hannoun, S., Fornoni, L., Daligault, S., Bouchet, P., Jung, J., Tillmann, B. & Caclin, A. (2017). Verbal and musical short-term memory: Variety of auditory disorders after stroke. Brain and Cognition 113, 10–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hitch, G. J., Allen, R. J. & Baddeley, A. D. (2025). The multicomponent model of working memory fifty years on. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 78 (2), 222–239. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Injoque-Ricle, I., Barreyro, J. P., Formoso, J. & Jaichenco, V. I. (2015). Expertise, working memory and articulatory suppression effect: Their relation with simultaneous interpreting performance. Advances in Cognitive Psychology 11 (2), 56–63. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Isham, W. P. (2000). Phonological interference in interpreters of spoken-languages: An issue of storage or process? In B. Englund Dimitrova & K. Hyltenstam (Eds.), Language processing and simultaneous interpreting. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 133–149. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jeong, E. & Ryu, H. (2016). Nonverbal auditory working memory: Can music indicate the capacity? Brain and Cognition 105, 9–21. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jones, D. M., Macken, W. J. & Harries, C. (1997). Disruption of short-term recognition memory for tones: Streaming or interference? The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. A, Human Experimental Psychology 50 (2), 337–357. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lad, M., Billig, A. J., Kumar, S. & Griffiths, T. D. (2022). A specific relationship between musical sophistication and auditory working memory. Scientific Reports 12 (1), 3517. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, D., Cowan, N. & Saults, J. S. (2012). Estimating working memory capacity for lists of nonverbal sounds. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics 75, 145–160. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, P., Zhang, F., Yu, A. & Zhao, X. (2019). Language History Questionnaire (LHQ3): An enhanced tool for assessing multilingual experience. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 23 (5), 938–944. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liu, M. (2019). In search of a cognitive model for interpreting expertise. In Z. Wen, P. Skehan, A. Biedroń, S. Li & R. L. Sparks (Eds.), Language aptitude: Advancing theory, testing, research and practice. London: Routledge, 299–315. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liu, M., Kurz, I., Moser-Mercer, B. & Shlesinger, M. (2020). The interpreter’s aging: A unique story of multilingual cognitive decline? Translation, Cognition & Behavior 3 (2), 287–310. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liu, M., Schallert, D. L. & Carroll, P. J. (2004). Working memory and expertise in simultaneous interpreting. Interpreting 6 (1), 19–42. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marks, L. E. (1987). On cross-modal similarity: Auditory–visual interactions in speeded discrimination. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human perception and performance 13 (3), 384–394. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McKeown, D. & Mercer, T. (2012). Short-term forgetting without interference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory & Cognition 38 (4), 1057–1068. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mellinger, C. D. & Hanson, T. A. (2019). Meta-analyses of simultaneous interpreting and working memory. Interpreting 21 (2), 165–195. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mondor, T. A. & Morin, S. R. (2004). Primacy, recency, and suffix effects in auditory short-term memory for pure tones: Evidence from a probe recognition paradigm. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology 58 (3), 206–219. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Morales, J., Padilla, F., Gómez-Ariza, C. J. & Bajo, M. T. (2015). Simultaneous interpretation selectively influences working memory and attentional networks. Acta Psychologica 155, 82–91. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moser-Mercer, B. (2023). Working memory in simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. In A. Ferreira & J. W. Schwieter (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of translation, interpreting, and bilingualism. London: Routledge, 129–144. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nees, M. A. (2016). Have we forgotten auditory sensory memory? Retention intervals in studies of nonverbal auditory working memory. Frontiers in Psychology 7, 1892. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Neisser, U. (1967). Cognitive psychology. New York: Meredith Publishing Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nour, S., Struys, E. & Stengers, H. (2020). Adaptive control in interpreters: Assessing the impact of training and experience on working memory. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 23 (4), 1–8. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Padilla, P., Bajo, M. T., Cañas, J. J. & Padilla, F. (1995). Cognitive processes of memory in simultaneous interpretation. In J. Tommola (Ed.), Topics in interpreting research. Turku: University of Turku Centre for Translation and Interpreting, 61–71.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pak, R., McLaughlin, A. C. & Engle, R. (2023). The relevance of attention control, not working memory, in human factors. Human Factors 66 (5), 1321–1332. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pavlicek, M. & Pöchhacker, F. (2002). Humour in simultaneous conference interpreting. The Translator 8 (2), 385–400. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rossi, E., Iniesta, A. & Nakamura, M. (2023). Age, bilingualism, and cognition in translators and interpreters. In A. Ferreira & J. W. Schwieter (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of translation, interpreting, and bilingualism. London: Routledge, 243–259. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rouder, J. N., Morey, R. D., Morey, C. C. & Cowan, N. (2011). How to measure working memory capacity in the change detection paradigm. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 18 (2), 324–330. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sala, G. & Gobet, F. (2017). Experts’ memory superiority for domain-specific random material generalizes across fields of expertise: A meta-analysis. Memory & Cognition 45 (2), 183–193. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schiller, I. S., Aspöck, L. & Schlittmeier, S. J. (2023). The impact of a speaker’s voice quality on auditory perception and cognition: A behavioral and subjective approach. Frontiers in Psychology 14, 1243249. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schneider, J. M., Hu, A., Legault, J. & Qi, Z. (2020). Measuring statistical learning across modalities and domains in school-aged children via an online platform and neuroimaging techniques. Journal of Visualized Experiments: JoVE 160, e61474. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schön, D., Magne, C. & Besson, M. (2004). The music of speech: Music training facilitates pitch processing in both music and language. Psychophysiology 41 (3), 341–349. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schulze, K. & Tillmann, B. (2013). Working memory for pitch, timbre, and words. Memory 21 (3), 377–395. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Siedenburg, K. & McAdams, S. (2016). The role of long-term familiarity and attentional maintenance in short-term memory for timbre. Memory 25 (4), 550–564. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Signorelli, T. M., Haarmann, H. J. & Obler, L. K. (2012). Working memory in simultaneous interpreters: Effects of task and age. International Journal of Bilingualism 16 (2), 198–212. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Skipper, J. I. (2022). A voice without a mouth no more: The neurobiology of language and consciousness. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 140, 104772. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Soemer, A. & Saito, S. (2015). Maintenance of auditory-nonverbal information in working memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 22 (6), 1777–1783. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Spence, C. (2011). Crossmodal correspondences: A tutorial review. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics 73 (4), 971–995. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stachowiak-Szymczak, K. (2019). Eye movements and gestures in simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. Cham: Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stavrakaki, S., Megari, K., Kosmidis, M. H., Apostolidou, M. & Takou, E. (2012). Working memory and verbal fluency in simultaneous interpreters. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 34 (6), 624–633. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Syndicate, U. C. L. E. (2001). Quick placement test. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Talamini, F., Blain, S., Ginzburg, J., Houix, O., Bouchet, P., Grassi, M., Tillmann, B. & Caclin, A. (2021). Auditory and visual short-term memory: Influence of material type, contour, and musical expertise. Psychological Research 86 (2), 421–442. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thompson, V. A. & Paivio, A. (1994). Memory for pictures and sounds: Independence of auditory and visual codes. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology 48 (3), 380–398. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tzou, Y. Z., Eslami, Z. R., Chen, H. C. & Vaid, J. (2012). Effect of language proficiency and degree of formal training in simultaneous interpreting on working memory and interpreting performance: Evidence from Mandarin–English speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism 16 (2), 213–227. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wen, H. & Dong, Y. (2019). How does interpreting experience enhance working memory and short-term memory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Cognitive Psychology 31 (3), 1–16. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Williamson, V. J., Baddeley, A. D. & Hitch, G. J. (2010). Musicians’ and nonmusicians’ short-term memory for verbal and musical sequences: Comparing phonological similarity and pitch proximity. Memory & Cognition 38 (2), 163–175. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xing, S. & Yang, J. (2023). The impact of interpreting training experience on the attentional networks and their dynamics. Brain Sciences 13 (9), 1306. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yow, W. Q. & Markman, E. M. (2011). Bilingualism and children’s use of paralinguistic cues to interpret emotion in speech. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 14 (4), 562–569. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yudes, C., Macizo, P. & Bajo, M. T. (2012). Coordinating comprehension and production in simultaneous interpreters: Evidence from the Articulatory suppression effect. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 15 (2), 329–339. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhao, H., Chen, X. & Dong, Y. (2024). Young interpreting trainees’ better adaptation to the flanker conflicting environment: An ERP study. Journal of Neurolinguistics 70, 101181. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhong, F. & Dong, Y. (2023). On the way to an interpreter advantage in coordination: Evidence from interpreting students across different training stages. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 26 (3), 610–620. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhuang, B., Liang, L. & Yang, J. (2023). When interlocutor’s face-language matching alters: An ERP study on face contexts and bilingual language control in mixed-language picture naming. Frontiers in Psychology 14, 1134635. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-dark jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-light jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold prag Twitter_Logo_Blue