Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamin&rsquo;s Publishing Company, 2010, 377 pages. ISBN: 978902723191

Shockett (Qafleshi), Enkelena

English

Danubius University, Romania: Danubius Journals

Vol. 4, no. 1/2012                                                   STYLES OF COMMUNICATION   152   Review  Translation and Cognition (ATA – American Translation Association Scholarly Monograph Series XV)  by Gregory M. Shreve & Erik Angelone (editors) Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamin’s Publishing Company, 2010, 377 pages. ISBN: 9789027231918 Price: $ 143.00; EURO 95.00  Reviewed by Dr. Enkelena Shockett (Qafleshi), University of Elbasan, Albania & New York, USA (enkelena@yahoo.com)  List of contributors: Erik Angelone, Barbara Dragsted, Gregory M. Shreve, Isabel Lacruz, Erik Angeltone, Antin Fougner Rydning, Christina Michel Lachaud, Fabio Alves, Adriana Pagano, Stella Neumann, Erich Steiner, Silvia Hansen – Schirra, Sharon O’Brien, Ricardo Muñoz Martin, Gyde Hansen, Riita Jääskeläinen, K. Anders Ericsson, Barbara Moser-Mercer, Bruce J. Diamond, Gregory M. Shreve, Maxim I. Stamenov, Alexander Gerganov, Ivo D. Popivanov, Sandra I. Halverson.  The collections in this book represent paper researches oriented to three trends of process research ever identified from the last fifteen years of study in the field of translation and cognition studies. In this collection of contributions we explore examples of continuing methodological innovation (Part I), an increasing attention to research standards and research design (Part II), and an increasing commitment to the integration of research results with the findings and theoretical apparatus of the disciplines of cognitive sciences as well (Part III).  At this point, we see that the volume consists of three parts, which certainly stand out as complementary wholeness in terms to each other, conceived as parts that constitute the book in a certain fabric and focus. Vol. 4, no. 1/2012                                                   STYLES OF COMMUNICATION   153 Briefly put, this collection is made up of recent contributions in shaping contemporary translation process research, so what we encounter in this volume is evidence of the intellectual ferment that accompanies new theoretical development and paves the path for the future of the discipline and why not the emergence of general empirical model of translation process. And from this viewpoint, I could assert that this volume serves as a basis for new models of translation and cognition and encourage us in this fashion to perceive the future as rich in research productivity and in constant growth. In pursuit to my intentions, I will commence its content analysis and evaluation on part - based orientation as follows:  As E. Angelone in Uncertainty, uncertainty management, and metacognitive problem solving in the translation task focuses on the meta-cognitive phenomenon of uncertainty management, and uses both methods (screen - recording and thinking – aloud conceived also as protocols) to perceive articulated and non – articulated indicators of the problem solving behavior (2010: 17-41); and from triangular data he builds up a three – part model of the problem solving process and explains profoundly the difficulties professionals and students encounter in translation, B. Dragsted, on the other hand, in her paper Coordination of reading and writing processes in translation: An eye on uncharted territory, combines key logging and eye tracking to explore how translation students and professionals coordinate source language comprehension and target language production processes. Her contribution is very important as it addresses a dramatic example of the increasing sophistication of eye tracking/ keystroke logging method. In her paper she provides evidence of new tools (gaze- to- word mapping) and concepts (eye – key – span) (2010: 41-63) emerging from eye tracking research community.  In continuum, G. Shreve, I. Lacruz and E. Angelone in Cognitive effort, syntactic disruption, and visual interference in a sight translation task also combine keystroke logging and eye tracking in an experimental study, but they shift their interest to unexpected findings about visual interference and to the importance of nature of the task is when the issue of cognition comes forth. And A. F. Rydning and C. M. Lachaud in The reformulation challenge in translation: Context reduces polysemy during comprehension, but multiplies creativity during production also combine eye tracking and keystroke logging to investigate the effect of context and translating skill on the comprehension of polysemous words in translation and provide a complete analysis of translation process date with the qualitative analysis of translation products. Vol. 4, no. 1/2012                                                   STYLES OF COMMUNICATION   154 In addition F. Alves, A. Pagano, S. Neumann, E. Steiner and S. Hansen – Schirra in Translation units and grammatical shifts: Towards an integration of product and process – based translation research offer an innovative methodological approach that integrates process- based and product-based research in translation studies as well as how to use translation corpora in connection with keystroke logging, eye tracking and retrospective verbalization to identify translation units (2010:109-143), whereas S. O’Brien in Controlled language and readability reports on the use of eye tracking to investigate the relationship between controlled language and readability (2010: 143-168). The above - mentioned contributions are located in Methodological innovation (Part I) in this volume.  The second Part is made up of contributions identified as Research design and research issues. In this Part we see how R. M. Martin in On paradigm and cognitive translatology describes a framework for a functionalist – cognitive translatology (2010: 169-189). And G. Hansen in Integrative description of translation processes stresses out with caution the wholesale application of empirical methods to research process, arguing in this manner for a synthesis of empirical and “liberal arts” research application (2010: 189-213). Whereas R. Jääskeläinen’s Are all professionals experts? Definition of expertise and representation of research evidence in process studies proposes different ways of operationally defining professionalism, expertise and other related concepts and refers to earlier research results ontologically framing them in terms of modern expertise research (2010: 213-230). In Part III Integration of process research with the cognitive sciences, the editors acquaint us with the contributions of: K. A. Ericsson’s Expertise in interpreting: An expert – performance perspective, who addresses the topic of expertise in interpreting offering an expert – performance perspective to the translation and interpreting studies field encouraging in this manner the integration of models and concepts from relevant areas of cognitive science into translation and interpreting process research (2012: 231-263); in this venue B. Moser – Mercer’s The search  for neuro – physiology correlates of expertise in interpreting explains to us how to develop a better understanding of the potential of neuro – physiological changes the human brain undergoes in adulthood to develop and maintain interpreting expertise (2010: 263-289); also B. J. Diamond and G. M. Shreve attempt in Neutral and physiological correlates of translation and interpreting in the bilingual brain: Recent perspectives to provide a diverse set of new data – gathering of techniques such as: neutral imaging to investigate bilingualism, language switching, and Vol. 4, no. 1/2012                                                   STYLES OF COMMUNICATION   155 translation due to recent findings related to neurological and physiological relations to translation and interpreting (2010: 289-323); whereas M. I. Stamenov, A. Gerganov and I. D. Popivanov in Prompting cognates in the bilingual lexicon: Optimizing access during translation clearly propose  an application of psychological priming techniques to develop a prompting – based means of access to bilingual lexicon to translation as well as how the eye tracking method can be employed in useful ways  (2010: 323-349); and finally Part III ends up with S. Halverson’s contribution titled Cognitive translation studies: Developments in theory and method, which directly aims at continuing engagement of translation process’s research with theoretical developments in sister cognitive disciplines as models of bilingual semantic and conceptual representations, which on their turn influence our understanding of the findings of corpus - based translation studies. From this viewpoint, the crucial argument in her paper lays on the gravitational pull hypothesis and cognitive theory of translation should be based on cognitive theories of language and bilingualism.  Concluding, I could stress out that this volume Translation and Cognition of ATA Scholarly Monograph Series XV is easily accessible in content and style although it is based on a variety of paper- writings approaches to the main prevailing concern, which is Translation and Cognition. This feature categorizes the volume for specialized readers including also students involved in such studies, and experts of the field as well who encourage such studies. In terms of contents the book encompasses a variety of academic papers presenting material, which offers insight into a questions related to state of art in cognitive translation and interpreting studies. The authors also provide a well - organized bibliography section which offers wide information on further reading. The book can be recommended also for young researchers or post-graduate students who want to gain in – depth information on the possibilities for research topics and methodology in the above fields. As this volume describes a set of essays (contributions) divided into parts based on approach - oriented conceptualization of the assessment of the research and field in cognitive translation and interpreting studies, and investigates the manner central theories, concepts, and methods from psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology and neuroscience can inform our understanding of translation processes, on the other hand, it explicitly affords developments of our understanding of translation processes, because  its contributions preserve an amalgamation of methodological innovations and integrations with cognitive sciences, that unquestionably lead us to research designs and theoretical frameworks to explain the aspects of cognitive Vol. 4, no. 1/2012                                                   STYLES OF COMMUNICATION   156 processing during translation and interpreting. What stands out in the whole volume relates to data tables, which persuasively compliment the theoretical material and ease its digestability.  In this light, a new theoretical and methodological framework in terms with cognitive translation studies is emerging with the purpose to improve quality, verifiability and generalizability of translation process research in total and overall the material woven in it is as simplistic as digestible to apprehend at instant.  At this point all these features give credit to all contributors and especially to the editors who have procured this product in its entity with so much caution and respect as well as appreciation to John Benjamin’s Publishing Company.    

Review - Translation and Cognition (ATA – American Translation Association Scholarly Monograph Series XV) / Gregory M. Shreve & Erik Angelone (editors)

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Review - Translation and Cognition (ATA – American Translation Association Scholarly Monograph Series XV) / Gregory M. Shreve & Erik Angelone (editors)

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