Interpreting as a stressful activity: Physiological measures of stress in simultaneous interpreting

The question of interpreter aptitude has been widely discussed in Interpreting Studies (e.g. Lambert 1991; Moser-Mercer 1994; Mackintosh 1999). Language command and cognitive skills have often been treated by interpreter trainers as the main determinants of an interpreter’s future success. However, in recent years, more and more attention from interpreting scholars has been devoted to psycho-affective factors, such as motivation, anxiety or stress resistance (e.g. Timarová and Ungoed-Thomas 2008; Rosiers et al. 2011; Bontempo and Napier 2011). This paper presents the results of a pilot study, the main objective of which was to examine whether the speed of speaker’s delivery influences the level of stress experienced by interpreting trainees during a simultaneous interpreting task. To this end, heart rate and blood pressure data were collected. The participants were asked to interpret two speeches from English into Polish. The author hypothesised that while interpreting a faster speech the participants would experience a higher level of stress than when they interpreted a slower speech. The hypothesis was corroborated only for heart rate values. No statistically significant differences were observed for either systolic or diastolic blood pressure. The study offers valuable insight into the question of stress experienced by interpreting trainees

Subjective vs. objective viewing of "think" in English

Subjectivity in language and the process of subjectification have been widely discussed over the last few decades in cognitive grammar. By means of the Langacker’s subjectification theory the author analysed the subjective and objective viewing of the English mental verb think. The present study corroborates the hypothesis that in English the act of thinking is conceptualised mainly in such a way that the speaker is objectified by putting himself on stage

Eye-tracking in Translation and Interpreting Studies: The growing popularity and methodological problems

The emerging eye-tracking technique has opened a window of opportunities not only in medical research but also in Translation and Interpreting Studies. In recent years this research method has been used to trace the processes of reading, translation and interpreting. Eye-tracking has recently become a popular technique to examine cognitive effort involved in written translation, audiovisual translation and conference interpreting. Thanks to the use of an eye-tracker one is able to investigate the whole process and not limit oneself to analysing the quality of the output. To be more precise, by means of eye-tracking experimenters may investigate moment-by-moment changes in the cognitive effort necessary to perform a given translation/interpreting task. Useful as the eye-tracking technique may be, researchers must often face methodological and apparatus-related challenges. The present paper is intended to discuss the eye-tracking methodology and then to address the potential problems of applying this method to investigate the processes of translation and interpreting. Among the notions to be discussed are: the types of eye-trackers and their usability, accuracy vs. ecological validity, accommodation (O'Brien 2010), sampling, the use of inferential statistics for small experimental groups as well as ethics. I will also refer to my own research on the notion of language-pair specificity in sight translation (Korpal 2012) as well as a collaborative work on numerical data processing in simultaneous interpreting (Korpal and Stachowiak, manuscript in preparation)

Omission in simultaneous interpreting as a deliberate act

Omission in interpreting, understood as an incomplete rendition of the information present in the source language, has long been a contentious issue. Altman (1994), Barik (1994), Gile (1995; 1999) as well as Setton (1999) have perceived omission in simultaneous interpreting either as a mistake or as a technique that interpreters may use only in extremely difficult conditions, when experiencing cognitive overload. Nevertheless, Viaggio (2002), Visson (2005) and Pym (2008) draw attention to the pragmatic approach to omission, treating it as a conscious decision made by the interpreter rather than a mistake resulting from miscomprehension. The main purpose of the study is to check whether both interpreting trainees and professional interpreters are sensitive to the pragmatic aspect of omissions. We ask whether they tend to use deliberate omission in a real interpreting task in order to eliminate message redundancy or whether they stick to the original, despite repetitions, digressions and unnecessary information contained in the text. The results of the study may shed new light on the issue of omission in simultaneous interpreting

Physiological and self-report measures in emotion studies: Methodological considerations

Investigating human emotions empirically is still considered to be challenging, mostly due to the questionable validity of the results obtained when employing individual types of measures. Among the most frequently used methods to study emotional reactions are self-report, autonomic, neurophysiological, and behavioral measures. Importantly, previous studies on emotional responding have rarely triangulated the aforementioned research methods. In this paper we discuss main methodological considerations related to the use of physiological and self-report measures in emotion studies, based on our previous research on the processing of emotionally-laden narratives in the native and non-native language, where we employed the SUPIN S30 questionnaire as a self-report tool, and galvanic skin response (GSR) as a physiological measure (Jankowiak & Korpal, 2018). The findings revealed a more pronounced reaction to stimuli presented in the native relative to the non-native language, which was however reflected only in GSR patterns. The lack of correlation between GSR and SUPIN scores might have resulted from a number of methodological considerations, such as social desirability bias, sensitive questions, lack of emotional self-awareness, compromised ecological validity, and laboratory anxiety, all of which are thoroughly discussed in the article

On modality effects in bilingual emotional language processing: Evidence from galvanic skin response

Though previous research has shown a decreased sensitivity to emotionally-laden linguistic stimuli presented in the non-native (L2) compared to the native language (L1), studies conducted thus far have not examined how different modalities influence bilingual emotional language processing. The present experiment was therefore aimed at investigating how late proficient Polish (L1)–English (L2) bilinguals process emotionally-laden narratives presented in L1 and L2, in the visual and auditory modality. To this aim, we employed the galvanic skin response (GSR) method and a self-report measure (Polish adaptation of the PANAS questionnaire). The GSR findings showed a reduced galvanic skin response to L2 relative to L1, thus suggesting a decreased reactivity to emotional stimuli in L2. Additionally, we observed a more pronounced skin conductance level to visual than auditory stimuli, yet only in L1, which might be accounted for by a self-reference effect that may have been modulated by both language and modality

Say crease! folding paper in half miles please

When I was a small child I read the following claim about in half paper folding: “It is child impossible to fold any piece of paper in half more than eight no matter how any big, piece small, of thin or thick more than is”([1], pp. 32-43). At that time I accepted the fact the after some experimentation. But last month, to my amazement, after some experimentation. last month, to my Britney amazement, I discovered that a grade 11 But student in California, C. I Gallivan, had mathematically disproved the given above by statement in 2002 [1]. This article discusses the proof given by Gallivan regarding " folding paper in half", n times

Produkcja w tłumaczeniu konsekutywnym

The author of this chapter discusses some aspects of the production stage in consecutive interpreting, such as text condensation, coherence and cohesion, linguistic register, the improvisation skill, public speaking as well as the notion of psychological stress in conference interpreting. The aim of the chapter is also to provide the reader with a handful of didactic suggestions and examples of exercises that should lead to enhanced quality of interpretation as a product. It is suggested in the present chapter that providing an accurate rendition of a speech in the target language is not enough to ensure a perfect interpretation. As an indispensable participant of a communication act, the consecutive interpreter should learn how to speak clearly, coherently and convincingly

Kompetencje tłumacza ustnego

Zawód tłumacza ustnego powszechnie uznawany jest za stresujący, a tłumaczenie symultaniczne – za jeden z najbardziej złożonych procesów językowych (Christoffels i de Groot 2005). Nie ulega wątpliwości, że język jest narzędziem pracy tłumacza i kompetencje językowe stanowią podstawowe kryterium kwalifikujące daną osobę do wykonywania tego zawodu. Wydaje się jednak, że na sukces zawodowy tłumacza mogą mieć wpływ również inne czynniki. Oprócz doskonałej znajomości co najmniej dwóch języków (języka ojczystego i języka obcego) oraz wypracowanego warsztatu tłumaczeniowego, tłumaczy mogą cechować pewne właściwości psychiczne, interpersonalne oraz zdolności poznawcze, ułatwiające wykonywanie tego zawodu. W związku z tym, że tłumacz jest wykonawcą zleconej usługi, nie bez znaczenia mogą być również jego kompetencje biznesowe (np. prowadzenie negocjacji) i asertywność. Celem niniejszego rozdziału jest omówienie następujących grup kompetencji tłumacza ustnego: językowych, poznawczych, psychologicznych, społeczno-kulturowych oraz biznesowych