Time lag in translation and interpreting
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Šárka Timarová
Abstract
Time lag between the source text input and the interpreter’s target text is known as ear-voice span or décalage. Recently, time lag has also been measured in written translation based on eye-tracking and key-logging (hence called eye-key span). Time lag provides insight into the temporal characteristics of simultaneity in interpreting, speed of translation and also into the cognitive load and cognitive processing involved in the translation/interpreting process. Ear-voice span/eye-key span (EVS/EKS) thus have the potential to become very valuable measures in translation/interpreting process-oriented research, but more needs to be known about their properties and the information this metric yields. Several exploratory analyses were carried out to compare methods used in previous research and to address the questions of EVS/EKS variability among participants, stability of EVS/EKS over the course of an individual’s performance, and variation in EVS/EKS at different points of measurement and across different tasks performed by the same person. The results indicate that EVS/EKS is indeed a sensitive measure useful for process-oriented research. Finally, some methodological challenges and procedures for both interpreting and translation are discussed.
Abstract
Time lag between the source text input and the interpreter’s target text is known as ear-voice span or décalage. Recently, time lag has also been measured in written translation based on eye-tracking and key-logging (hence called eye-key span). Time lag provides insight into the temporal characteristics of simultaneity in interpreting, speed of translation and also into the cognitive load and cognitive processing involved in the translation/interpreting process. Ear-voice span/eye-key span (EVS/EKS) thus have the potential to become very valuable measures in translation/interpreting process-oriented research, but more needs to be known about their properties and the information this metric yields. Several exploratory analyses were carried out to compare methods used in previous research and to address the questions of EVS/EKS variability among participants, stability of EVS/EKS over the course of an individual’s performance, and variation in EVS/EKS at different points of measurement and across different tasks performed by the same person. The results indicate that EVS/EKS is indeed a sensitive measure useful for process-oriented research. Finally, some methodological challenges and procedures for both interpreting and translation are discussed.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword xi
- Methods and strategies of process research 1
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Part I. Conceptual and methodological discussions
- Interpreting in theory and practice 13
- Reflections on the literal translation hypothesis 23
- Tracking translators’ keystrokes and eye movements with Translog 37
- Seeing translation from inside the translator’s mind 57
- Metonymic language use as a student translation problem 67
- Sight translation and speech disfluency 93
- Time lag in translation and interpreting 121
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Part II. Process research in interpreting and translation
- A new pair of glasses 149
- Are primary conceptual metaphors easier to understand than complex conceptual metaphors? 169
- Innovative subtitling 187
- Errors, omissions and infelicities in broadcast interpreting 201
- On cognitive processes during wordplay translation 219
- “Can you ask her about chronic illnesses, diabetes and all that?” 231
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Part III. Studies of interpreting and translation expertise
- Effects of linguistic complexity on expert processing during simultaneous interpreting 249
- Process and product in simultaneous interpreting 269
- Developing professional thinking and acting within the field of interpreting 301
- Results of the validation of the PACTE translation competence model 317
- “This led me to start thinking about how this happened, and what the process behind it would be” 345
- Publications by Birgitta Englund Dimitrova 361
- Notes on contributors 367
- Index 373
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword xi
- Methods and strategies of process research 1
-
Part I. Conceptual and methodological discussions
- Interpreting in theory and practice 13
- Reflections on the literal translation hypothesis 23
- Tracking translators’ keystrokes and eye movements with Translog 37
- Seeing translation from inside the translator’s mind 57
- Metonymic language use as a student translation problem 67
- Sight translation and speech disfluency 93
- Time lag in translation and interpreting 121
-
Part II. Process research in interpreting and translation
- A new pair of glasses 149
- Are primary conceptual metaphors easier to understand than complex conceptual metaphors? 169
- Innovative subtitling 187
- Errors, omissions and infelicities in broadcast interpreting 201
- On cognitive processes during wordplay translation 219
- “Can you ask her about chronic illnesses, diabetes and all that?” 231
-
Part III. Studies of interpreting and translation expertise
- Effects of linguistic complexity on expert processing during simultaneous interpreting 249
- Process and product in simultaneous interpreting 269
- Developing professional thinking and acting within the field of interpreting 301
- Results of the validation of the PACTE translation competence model 317
- “This led me to start thinking about how this happened, and what the process behind it would be” 345
- Publications by Birgitta Englund Dimitrova 361
- Notes on contributors 367
- Index 373
