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Chapter 9. Visual attention distribution in intralingual respeaking

An eye-tracking study
  • Agnieszka Szarkowska , Łukasz Dutka , Anna Szychowska and Olga Pilipczuk
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Eye Tracking and Multidisciplinary Studies on Translation
This chapter is in the book Eye Tracking and Multidisciplinary Studies on Translation

Abstract

Respeaking is a method of producing real-time subtitles for live television programmes, enabling access to the media for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or who support their viewing with subtitles. Respeaking requires a set of skills akin to both interpreting and subtitling, including multitasking and management of concurrent sources of incoming information. In this chapter we present the results of an eye-tracking study on the visual attention of respeakers during an intralingual respeaking task (Polish to Polish). We tested 57 people while they were respeaking a 5-minute news programme. Participants also underwent a short proof-reading task. There were three groups of participants: interpreters, translators and a control group of people with no interpreting/translation experience. We examined the number of fixations and mean fixation duration on major screen areas: picture, subtitles, dictation area and subtitle panel. We found that translators who had experience in subtitling were able to manage their visual attention most efficiently as they fixated more often on key screen areas and their fixations were longer than in other groups. They also achieved the highest score on the proof-reading task, which suggest they could work in respeaking as editors.

Abstract

Respeaking is a method of producing real-time subtitles for live television programmes, enabling access to the media for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or who support their viewing with subtitles. Respeaking requires a set of skills akin to both interpreting and subtitling, including multitasking and management of concurrent sources of incoming information. In this chapter we present the results of an eye-tracking study on the visual attention of respeakers during an intralingual respeaking task (Polish to Polish). We tested 57 people while they were respeaking a 5-minute news programme. Participants also underwent a short proof-reading task. There were three groups of participants: interpreters, translators and a control group of people with no interpreting/translation experience. We examined the number of fixations and mean fixation duration on major screen areas: picture, subtitles, dictation area and subtitle panel. We found that translators who had experience in subtitling were able to manage their visual attention most efficiently as they fixated more often on key screen areas and their fixations were longer than in other groups. They also achieved the highest score on the proof-reading task, which suggest they could work in respeaking as editors.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  4. Chapter 2. A mapping exercise 11
  5. Part I. Method
  6. Chapter 3. Overcoming methodological challenges of eye tracking in the translation workplace 33
  7. Chapter 4. Eye tracking as a measure of cognitive effort for post-editing of machine translation 55
  8. Chapter 5. Analysing variable relationships and time-course data in eye-tracking studies of translation processes and products 71
  9. Part II. Process
  10. Chapter 6. Recognition and characterization of translator attributes using sequences of fixations and keystrokes 97
  11. Chapter 7. Problem solving in the translation of linguistic metaphors from Chinese into Portuguese 121
  12. Chapter 8. Working styles of student translators in self-revision, other-revision and post-editing 145
  13. Chapter 9. Visual attention distribution in intralingual respeaking 185
  14. Part III. Product
  15. Chapter 10. Subtitling of British stand-up comedy into Italian 205
  16. Chapter 11. Towards a quantitative measurement of equivalent effect and a tentative conceptualisation of cognitive equivalence 225
  17. Chapter 12. The impact of AVT mode on audience reception 259
  18. List of abbreviations 287
  19. Contributors 289
  20. Subject index 293
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.143.09sza

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  4. Chapter 2. A mapping exercise 11
  5. Part I. Method
  6. Chapter 3. Overcoming methodological challenges of eye tracking in the translation workplace 33
  7. Chapter 4. Eye tracking as a measure of cognitive effort for post-editing of machine translation 55
  8. Chapter 5. Analysing variable relationships and time-course data in eye-tracking studies of translation processes and products 71
  9. Part II. Process
  10. Chapter 6. Recognition and characterization of translator attributes using sequences of fixations and keystrokes 97
  11. Chapter 7. Problem solving in the translation of linguistic metaphors from Chinese into Portuguese 121
  12. Chapter 8. Working styles of student translators in self-revision, other-revision and post-editing 145
  13. Chapter 9. Visual attention distribution in intralingual respeaking 185
  14. Part III. Product
  15. Chapter 10. Subtitling of British stand-up comedy into Italian 205
  16. Chapter 11. Towards a quantitative measurement of equivalent effect and a tentative conceptualisation of cognitive equivalence 225
  17. Chapter 12. The impact of AVT mode on audience reception 259
  18. List of abbreviations 287
  19. Contributors 289
  20. Subject index 293
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