Cover not available
Article published In:
Translation, Cognition & Behavior
Vol. 4:2 (2021) ► pp.212–243

Translation/Interpreting psychological mechanism as embodied bilingual processing

| Huaqiao University
Based on the psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic research on bilingualism, this paper firstly discusses three fundamental models and relevant central issues involved in the bilingual processing of interpreting: the selective and non-selective feature of bilingual access and control, the serial and parallel view of bilingual processing, and the coordination view of serial and parallel procedure of bilingual information processing, with the dual purpose of explicating the bilingual processing and cognitive control mechanism in the interpreting process and paving the way for further explanation of the embodied nature of bilingual processing in interpreting from the embodied cognition perspective. Then with the two aspects of processing mechanism and neurolinguistic evidence, it elaborates how the interpreter’s embodied experience and skills in the profession, as a part of cognitive resources, play crucial roles in different levels of cognitive processing which coordinates the serial and parallel processing in the interpreting process. Lastly, this paper argues for viewing the translating process likewise as embodied bilingual processing using a brief comparison between translating and interpreting with a focus on the embodied nature of bilingual processing in their respective processes.
Keywords: interpreting, translation, bilingual processing, embodied cognition
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Bilingual processing and cognitive control in the interpreting process
    • 2.1Bilingual access and control in interpreting: Selective or non-selective?
    • 2.2Bilingual processing in interpreting: Serial view or parallel view?
    • 2.3Serial and parallel processing in interpreting: A coordination view
  • 3.The embodied bilingual processing of interpreting: Mechanism and evidence
    • 3.1The mechanism of embodied bilingual processing in interpreting
    • 3.2Neurolinguistic evidence: The coordination of LH and RH in interpreting process
  • 4.The translating process likewise as an embodied bilingual processing
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 20 December 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tcb.00059.zhu
References (103)
References
Abutalebi, J. 2008. “Neural Aspects of Second Language Representation and Language Control.” Acta Psychologica 1281: 466–478. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Alves, F., and A. Hurtado Albir. 2010. “Cognitive Approaches.” In Handbook of Translation Studies (vol. 11). Edited by Y. Gambier and L. V. Dorslaer, 28–35. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Anderson, L. 1994. “Simultaneous Interpretation: Contextual and Translational Aspects.” In Bridging the Gap: Empirical Research in Simultaneous Interpretation. Edited by S. Lambert and B. Moser-Mercer, 101–120. Amsterdam: Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, R. C., and R. M. Shiffrin. 1968. “Human Memory: A Proposed Systems and its Control Processes.” In The Psychology of Learning and Motivation: Advances in Research and Theory. Edited by K. W. Spence, 89–196. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bacigalupe, L. A. 2010. “Information Processing During Simultaneous Interpretation: A Three-Tier Approach.” Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 18(1): 39–58. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baddeley, A. D. 2000. “Working Memory and Language Processing.” In Language Processing and Simultaneous Interpreting. Edited by B. E. Dimitrova and K. Hyltenstam, 1–16. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2002. “Is Working Memory Still Working?” European Psychologist 7(2): 85–97. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bajo, M. T., F. Padilla, and P. Padilla. 2000. “Comprehension Processes in Simultaneous Interpreting.” In Translation in Context. Edited by A. Chesterman, N. G. San Salvador, and Y. Gambier, 127–142. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bell, R. T. 1991. Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Brownell, H., H. Potter, D. Michelow, and H. Gardner. 1984. “Sensitivity to Lexical Denotation and Connotation in Brain-Damaged Patients: A Double Dissociation?” Brain and Language 221: 253–261. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chemero, A. 2009. Radical Embodied Cognitive Science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Christoffels, I. K. and A. M. B. de Groot. 2005. “ Simultaneous Interpreting: A Cognitive Perspective .” In Handbook of Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic Approaches. Edited by J. Kroll, and A. M. B. De Groot, 454–479. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Clancey, W. J. 1997. Situated Cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Clark, A. 1997. Being There: Putting Brain, Body, and World Together Again. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
1999. “An Embodied Cognitive Science?” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 3(9): 345–351. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2003. Natural-Born Cyborgs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Colomé, À. 2001. “Lexical Activation In Bilinguals’ Speech Production: Language-Specific or Language-Independent?” Journal of Memory and Language 451: 721–736. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Danks, J. H. and J. Griffin. 1997. “Reading and Translation: A Psycholinguistic Approach.” In Cognitive Process in Translation and Interpreting. Edited by J. H. Danks, G. M. Shreve, S. B. Fountain and M. K. Mcbeath, 161–175. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Darò, V. 1989. “The Role of Memory and Attention in Simultaneous Interpretation: A Neurolinguistic Approach.” The Interpreters’ Newsletter 21: 50–56.Google Scholar
Darò, V., and F. Fabbro. 1994. “Verbal Memory During Simultaneous Interpretation: Effects of Phonological Interference.” Applied Linguistics 151, 365–381. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dawson, M. 2014. “Embedded and Situated Cognition.” In The Routledge Handbook of Embodied Cognition. Edited by L. Shapiro, 59–67. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
De Bot, K. 1992. “A Bilingual Processing Model: Levelt’s ‘Speaking’ Model Adapted.” Applied Linguistics 131: 1–24.Google Scholar
De Groot, A. M. B. 1997. “The Cognitive Study Of Translation And Interpretation: Three Approaches.” In Cognitive Process in Translation and Interpreting. Edited by J. H. Danks, G. M. Shreve, S. B. Fountain and M. K. Mcbeath, 25–56. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
De Groot, A. M. E. 2000. “A complex-skill approach to translation and interpreting.” In Tapping and Mapping: The Processes of Translation and Interpreting. Edited by S. Tirkkonen-Condit & R. Jääskeläinen, 53–68. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Groot, A. M. B., P. Delmaar, and S. J. Lupker. 2000. “The Processing of Interlexical Homographs in Translation Recognition and Lexical Decision: Support for Non-Selective Access to Bilingual Memory.” The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 53A (2): 397–428. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Groot, A. M. B. and I. K. Christoffels. 2006. “Language Control in Bilinguals: Monolingual Tasks and Simultaneous Interpreting.” Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 9(2): 189–201. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dong, Y. 2010. “交替传译中的语言转换心理机制: 非对称有限并行加工模型 [Language Switching in Consecutive Interpreting: Asymmetrical Limited Parallel Processing].” English Education in China 41.Google Scholar
Dong, Y. and J. Lin. 2013. “Parallel Processing of The Target Language During Source Language Comprehension in Interpreting.” Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 161: 682–692. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dong, Y. and B. Wang. 2013. “口译过程的两段论解读——以一般语言理解和产出为参照 [General vs. interpretation-specific language comprehension and production: A two-stage account of the interpreting process].” Chinese Translators Journal 11: 19–24.Google Scholar
Fabbro, F., and L. Gran. 1994. “Neurological and Neuropsychological Aspects of Polyglossia and Simultaneous Interpretation.” In Bridging the Gap: Empirical Research in Simultaneous Interpretation. Edited by S. Lambert, and B. Moser-Mercer, 273–317. Amsterdam: Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 1997. “Neurolinguistic Aspects of Simultaneous Interpretation.” In Conference Interpreting: Current Trends in Research. Edited by Y. Gambier, D. Gile, and C. Taylor, 9–28. Amsterdam: Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fabbro, F., and V. Daro. 1994. “Delayed Auditory Feedback in Polyglot Simultaneous Interpreters.” Brain and Language 481: 309–319. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fabbro, F., B. Gran, and L. Gran. 1991. “Hemispheric Specialization for Semantic and Syntactic Components in Simultaneous Interpreters.” Brain and Language 411:1–42. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fabbro, F., L. Gran, G. Basso, and A. Bava. 1990. “Cerebral Lateralization in Simultaneous Interpretation.” Brain and Language 391: 69–89. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fabbro, F. 1999. The Neurolinguistics Of Bilingualism. Hove, UK: Psychology PressGoogle Scholar
Francis, W. S. 2005. “Bilingual Semantic and Conceptual Representation.” In Handbook of Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic Approaches,” Edited by J. Kroll, and A. M. B. De Groot, 251–267. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Frijda, N. 1986. The Emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gerver, D. 1976. “Empirical Studies of Simultaneous Interpretation: A Review and A Model.” In Translation: Application and Research. Edited by R. W. Brislin, 165–207. New York: Gadner.Google Scholar
Gibbs, R. W. 2005. Embodiment and Cognitive Science. New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gile, D. 2009. Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1997. “Conference Interpreting as A Cognitive Management Problem.” In Cognitive Processes in Translation and Interpreting. Edited by J. H. Danks, G. M. Shreve, S. B. Fountain, and M. K. McBeath. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 196–214.Google Scholar
Glöckner, A., and I. D. Ebert. 2011. “Legal Intuition and Expertise.” In Handbook of Intuition Research. Edited by M. Sinclair, 157–167. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Green, D. W. 1986. “Control, Activation, and Resource: A Framework and a Model for the Control of Speech in Bilinguals.” Brain and Language 271: 210–223. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1993. “Toward a Model Of L2 Comprehension And Production.” In The Bilingual Lexicon. Edited by R. Schreuder and B. Weltens, 249–277. Amsterdam: Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1998. “Mental Control of The Bilingual Lexico-Semantic System.” Bilingualism, Language and Cognition 11: 67–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hartsuiker, R. J., M. J. Pickering, and E. Veltkamp. 2004. “Is Syntax Separate or Shared Between Languages? Cross-Linguistic Syntactic Priming in Spanish/English Bilinguals.” Psychological Science 15(6): 409–414. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hermans, T. 1999. Translation in Systems: Descriptive and System-Oriented Approaches Explained. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar
Hervais-Adelman, A., B. Moser-Mercer, and N. Golestani. 2011. “Executive Control of Language In the Bilingual Brain: Integrating the Evidence from Neuroimaging to Neuropsychology.” Frontiers in Psychology 21: 234. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hervais-Adelman, A., B. Moser-Mercer, C. M. Michel, and N. Golestani. 2014. “fMRI of Simultaneous Interpretation Reveals the Neural Basis of Extreme Language Control.” Cerebral Cortex, 25(12):4727–39. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hervais-Adelman, A., B. Moser-Mercer, and N. Golestani. 2015. “Brain Functional Plasticity Associated with the Emergence of Expertise in Extreme Language Control.” NeuroImage 3(072):1–10. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
He, Y. 2009. “翻译认知过程中的两种编码机制 [Two encoding mechanisms in translation process]” English Education in China, 41.Google Scholar
Hsin, L., G. Legendre, and A. Omaki. 2013. “Priming Cross-Linguistic Interference in Spanish-English Bilingual Children.” In BUCLD 37: Proceedings of The 37th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (vol.1). Edited by Sarah Baiz, Nora Goldman, and Rachel Hawkes, 165–177. Somerville: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Injoque-Ricle, I., J. P. Barreyro, J. Formoso1, and V. I. Jaichenco. 2015. “Expertise, Working Memory and Articulatory Suppression Effect: Their Relation with Simultaneous Interpreting Performance.” Advances in Cognitive Psychology 11(2): 56–63. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Isham, W. P. 1994. “Memory for Sentence form after Simultaneous Interpretation: Evidence both For and Against Deverbalization.” In Bridging the Gap: Empirical Research in Simultaneous Interpretation. Edited by S. Lambert, and B. Moser-Mercer, 191–211. Amsterdam: Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jared, D., and J. F. Kroll. 2001. “Do Bilinguals Activate Phonological Representations in One or Both of their Languages when Naming Words?” Journal of Memory and Language 441: 2–31. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jay, T. B. 2004. The Psychology of Language. Beijing: Peking University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, M. 1999. “Embodied Reason.” In Perspectives on Embodiment: The Intersection of Nature and Culture. Edited by G. Weiss and H. F. Haber, 81–102. New York and London: Routledge.Google Scholar
2007. The Meaning of The Body: Aesthetics of Human Understanding. Chicago and London: Chicago University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Just, M. A., and P. A. Carpenter. 1995. “The Intensity Dimension of Thought: Pupillometric Indices of Sentence Processing.” In Reading and Language Processing. Edited by J. M. Henderson, M. Singer, and F. Ferreira, 182–211. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Kecskes, I. 2007. “Synergic Concepts in the Bilingual Mind.” In Cognitive Aspects of Bilingualism. Edited by I. Kecskes, and L. Albertazzi, 29–62. Netherland: Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Klein, D., B. Miller, R. J. Zatorre, E. Meyer, and A. C. Evans. 1995. “The Neural Substrates Underlying Word Generation: A Bilingual Functional Imaging Study.” Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 921: 2899–2903. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kroll, J. F. and N. Tokowizc. 2005. “Models of Bilingual Representation and Processing.” In Handbook of Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic Approaches. Edited by J. Kroll, and A. M. B. De Groot, 531–553. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kussmaul, P. 1997. “Comprehension Process and Translation: A Think-Aloud Protocol (TAP) Study.” In Translation as Intercultural Communication. Edited by M. Snell-Hornby, Z. Jettmarova, and L. Kaindl, 239–247. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
La Heij, W. 2005. “Selection Processes In Monolingual and Bilingual Lexical Access.” In Handbook of Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic Approaches. Edited by J. Kroll, and A. M. B. De Groot, 289–307. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. and M. Johnson. 1999. Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Lehtonen, M., M. Laine, J. Niemi, T. Thomson, V. A. Vorobyev, and K. Hughdal. 2005. “Brain Correlates of Sentence Translation in Finnish-Norwegian Bilinguals.” NeuroReport 161: 607–610. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lin, J., and Y. Dong. 2011. “汉英口译中语言转换的时间起点：串行加工观和并行加工观 [When does language reformulation start in Chinese-English consecutive interpreting: The serial view or the parallel view?]” Journal of Foreign Languages 41: 56–63.Google Scholar
Liu, M., D. L. Schallert, and P. J. Carroll. 2004. “Working Memory and Expertise in Simultaneous Interpreting.” Interpreting 6(1): 19–42. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Liu, S. 2007. The Psychology of Translation. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press.Google Scholar
Macizo Soria, P., and M. T. Bajo Molina. 2004. “When translation Makes the Difference: Sentence Processing in Reading and Translation.” Psicologica 2(2): 181–205.Google Scholar
. 2006. “Reading for Understanding and Reading for Translation: Do They Involve the Same Processes?” Cognition 991: 1–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2007. “Comprehension Processes in Translation.” In Written Documents in the Workplace. Edited by D. Alamargot, P. Terrier, and J.-M. Cellier, 193–204. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Moser-Mercer, B. 1978. “Simultaneous Interpretation: A Hypothetical Model and its Practical Application.” In Language Communication and Interpretation. Edited by D. Gerver, and H. W. Sinaiko, 353–368. New York/ London: Plenum Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1997. “Skill Components in Simultaneous Interpreting.” In Conference Interpreting: Current Trends in Research. Edited by Y. Gambier, D. Gile, and C. Taylor, 133–148. Amsterdam: Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2005. “Remote Interpreting: Issues of Multisensory Integration in a Multilingual Task.” Meta 501: 727–738. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nord, C. 2005. Textual Analysis in Translation. Amsterdam: Rodopi.Google Scholar
Norman, D. A., and T. Shallice. 1986. “Attention to Action: Willed and Automatic Control of Behaviour.” In Consciousness and Self-Regulation: Advances in Research and Theory (Vol. 4). Edited by R. J. Davidson, G. E. Schwarts, and D. Shapiro, 1–18. New York: Plenum. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, M. 1984. “Aphasia et traduction”. Meta: Translators’ Journal 241: 57–67.Google Scholar
1987. The Assessment of Bilingual Aphasia. Hillsdale, NJ.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
1994. “Toward a Neurolinguistic Theory of Simultaneous Translation: The Framework.” International Journal of Psycholinguistics 101: 319–335.Google Scholar
2004. A Neurolinguistic Theory of Bilingualism. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pavlenko, 1999. “New Approaches to Concepts in Bilingual Memory.” Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 21: 209–230. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poulisse, N. 1997. “Language Production in Bilinguals.” In Tutorials in Bilingualism. Edited by A. M. B de Groot, and J. F. Kroll, 201–224. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Pretz, J. E. 2011. “Types of Intuition: Inferential and Holistic.” In Handbook of Intuition Research. Edited by Marta Sinclair, 17–27. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pretz, J. E., and K. S. Totz. 2007. “Measuring Individual Differences in Affective, Heuristic, and Holistic Intuition.” Personality and Individual Differences 431: 1247–1257. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Price, C. J., D. W. Green, and R. von Studnitz. 1999. “A Functional Imaging Study of Translation and Language Switching.” Brain 1221: 2221–2235. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reverberi, C., A. Kuhlen, J. Abutalebi, R. S. Greulich, A. Costa, S. Seyed-Allae, and J.-D. Haynes. 2015. “Language Control in Bilinguals: Intention to Speak Vs. Execution of Speech.” Brain and Language 1441: 1–9. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ross, E. D., R. W. Homan, and R. Buck. 1994. “Differential Hemispheric Lateralization of Primary and Social Emotions: Implications for Developing a Comprehensive Theory Of Emotions, Repression, And The Subconscious.” Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, and Behavioral Neurology 71: 1–19.Google Scholar
Ross, E. D., R. D. Thompson, and J. Yenkosky. 1997. “Lateralization of Affective Prosody in Brain and the Callosal Integration of Hemispheric Language Functions”. Brain and Language 561: 27–54. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ruiz Navarro, C. N., Paredes Jiménez, P. Macizo Soria, and M. T. Bajo Molina. 2008. “Activation of Lexical and Syntactic Target Language Properties in Translation.” Acta Psychologica 1281: 490–500. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Setton, R. 1999. Simultaneous Interpretation: A Cognitive-Pragmatic Analysis. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shanahan, D. 2007. Language, Feeling and The Brain. New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Shapiro, L. A. 2011. Embodied Cognition. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sinclair, M. 2011. “An Integrated Framework of Intuition.” In Handbook of Intuition Research, ed. M. Sinclair, 3–16. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Timarová, Š. 2008. “Working Memory and Simultaneous Interpreting.” In Translation and Its Others. Edited by P. Boulogne. 2007. [URL]
Varela, F. J., E. Thompson, and E. Rosch. 1991. The Embodied Mind: Cognitive science and Human Experience. Cambridge: MIT Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Walters, J. 2005. Bilingualism: The Sociopragmatic-Psycholinguistic Interface. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Whyatt, B. 2010. “Bilingual Language Control in Translation Tasks: A Tap Study into Mental Effort Management by Inexperienced Translators.” In Neurolinguistic and Psycholinguistic Perspectives on SLA. Edited by J. Arabski and A. Wojtasezk, 79–92. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Wilson, M. 2002. “Six Views of Embodied Cognition.” Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 9(4): 625–636. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yan, L. 2008. The Cognitive Psychology of Translation. Beijing: The Science Press.Google Scholar
Yudes Gómez, C. P., P. Macizo Soria, and M. T. Bajo Molina. 2012. “Coordinating Comprehension and Production in Simultaneous Interpreters: Evidence from the Articulatory Suppression Effect.” Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 15(2): 229–239. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zhao, C. 2013. “中英不平衡双语者口译中的源语理解过程 [A study on English-Chinese bilinguals’ comprehension processes of source language in interpreting].” Foreign Language Teaching and Research 11: 93–104.Google Scholar
Zhong, W. and L. Zhu. 2015. “具身认知视角下的翻译认知心理特征与过程 [Formulating the Translator’s Cognitive Psychology from the Embodied Cognition Perspective].” Foreign Languages in China, 61: 68–78.Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Liu, Zhibo & Juhua Dou
2023. Lexical density, lexical diversity, and lexical sophistication in simultaneously interpreted texts: a cognitive perspective. Frontiers in Psychology 14 DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 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.