Investigating the conceptual-procedural distinction in the translation process: A relevance-theoretic analysis of micro and macro translation units

Fabio Alves and José Luiz Gonçalves
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil | Federal University of Ouro Preto, Brazil

Abstract

This article 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:
Table of contents

Effort has been identified as an indicator of problem solving in tasks involving reading and writing (Scardamalia and Bereiter 1991). Inherent to those tasks are tactics employed by readers and writers, such as re-reading, refocusing, reviewing and rewriting, which impact on execution time and allow for correlations between effort and the degree of investment in finding a solution. However, other than time investment, it is not at all clear how we can measure effort of the kind required from translators to produce their renderings. Processing effort in translation has [ p. 108 ]been investigated taking into account internal/external support (PACTE 2008) and time pressure (Jensen 2001). Additionally, translation units and patterns of cognitive segmentation (Dragsted 2005; Jakobsen 2005) have been correlated with effort. More recently, Alves and Vale (2009; 2011) have shown that effort can be correlated with micro/macro units in the translation process through a corpus-linguistics oriented approach. Nevertheless, investigating processing effort in translation remains a challenge. Relevance theory (RT; Sperber and Wilson 1986/1995), which, in terms of inferential processing, postulates an optimal cognitive relation between the minimum processing effort necessary for the generation of the maximum cognitive effects possible, offers a productive way to investigate the role of effort in translation task resolution. The relevance-theoretic distinction between conceptual and procedural encodings (Blakemore 1987; 2002), we will argue, can be instrumental in analysing micro/macro translation units in target text production. Drawing on the RT framework, we assume that effort in translation is higher when processing deals with procedural rather than conceptual encodings. In this paper, we seek to investigate if this claim can be assessed experimentally in translation process research (TPR henceforth). We posit that this assumption may be relevant for the description and explanation of the translation process itself. By investigating the allocation of processing effort in translation from a relevancetheoretic perspective, we aim to shed light on issues relevant to other areas, such as language and communication studies as well as expertise studies and cognitive science, thus contributing to the understanding of translation as an object of interdisciplinary inquiry.

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price. Direct PDF access to this article can be purchased through our e-platform.

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. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. [Benjamins Translation Library, 41.]   DOI logoGoogle 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.   DOI logoGoogle 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.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Alves, Fabio, and Daniel, Vale
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
[ p. 123 ]
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.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dragsted, Barbara
2005 “Segmentation in Translation. Differences Across Levels of Expertise and Difficulty.” Target 17 (1): 49–70.   DOI logoGoogle 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.Google Scholar
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.   DOI logoGoogle 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
186/1995 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.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wilson, Deirdre, and Dan Sperber
1993 “Linguistic Form and Relevance.” Lingua 90: 1–25.   DOI logoGoogle 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 Publishing Limited.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar