Retrospection in interpreting and translation: explaining the process?

Article Sidebar

PDF
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6035/MonTI.2014.ne1.5
Keywords:
Process research, Retrospection, Protocol analysis, Interpreting, Translation

Main Article Content

Birgitta Englund Dimitrova
Elisabet Tiselius

Abstract

Retrospection is one of the few research methods equally suitable for studying the processes involved in both translation and interpreting. At the first workshop on research methods in process-oriented research (Graz 2009), we presented the results of a pilot study of retrospection as a research method, published as Englund Dimitrova & Tiselius (2009). The study involved data from two groups (15 years of professional experience vs. no professional experience), each with 3+3 subjects (interpreter subjects vs. translator subjects, all with Swedish as their L1). The source text was a 10-minute plenary speech in English from the European Parliament, interpreted simultaneously into Swedish. For the translation data, the translator subjects translated the original European Parliament transcript of the speech, 1,093 words, using Translog. After the task, subjects did immediate retrospection. The first analysis of the data indicated that a challenge when using retrospection is that subjects tend to report having forgotten about some of their processes. In this paper we report an analysis of the process data in relation to the retrospective protocols. Our focus is on reported problems and the occurrences of problem indicators in the process. It was found that most reported problems are confirmed by the presence of problem indicators in the process. However, the majority of problem indicators found in the process do not correspond to any reported problem. Hence, the subjects’ problem reports can only explain a limited number of the potential problems in the process. The need for further research into retrospection as a research method in Translation Studies is pointed out.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Englund Dimitrova, B., & Tiselius, E. (2015). Retrospection in interpreting and translation: explaining the process?. MonTI. Monographs in Translation and Interpreting, 177–200. https://doi.org/10.6035/MonTI.2014.ne1.5
Issue
2014: Special Issue 1. Minding translation / Con la traducción en mente
Section
Articles

The documents contained in these directories are included by the contributing authors as a means to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work on a non-commercial basis. It is understood that all persons copying this information will adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

References

Bakti, Maria. (2009) “Speech disfluencies in simultaneous interpretation.” In: De Crom, Dies (ed.) 2009. Translation and the (trans)formation of identities. Selected Papers of the CETRA Research Seminar in Translation Studies 2008. Electronic version available at: http://www.arts.kuleuven.be/cetra/papers/files/bakti.pdf on 11 October 2012.

Bartłomiejczyk, Magdalena. (2006) “Strategies of simultaneous interpreting and directionality.” Interpreting: International Journal of Research & Practice in Interpreting 8:2, pp. 149–174.

Cecot, Michela. (2001) “Pauses in simultaneous interpretation: A contrastive analysis of professional interpreters’ performances.” The Interpreters’ Newsletter 11, pp. 63–85. Electronic version available at: http://www.openstarts. units.it/dspace/handle/10077/2448 on 23 October 2013.

Chang, Chia-Chien & Diane L. Schallert. (2007) “The impact of directionality on Chinese/English simultaneous interpreting.” Interpreting: International Journal of Research & Practice in Interpreting 9:2, pp. 137–176.

Cowan, Nelson. (2008) “What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory?” In: Sossin, Wayne S.; Jean-Claude Lacaille; Vincent F. Castellucci & Sylvie Belleville (eds.) 2008. Progress in Brain Research 169: The Essence of Memory. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 323–338.

Englund Dimitrova, Birgitta & Elisabet Tiselius. (2009) “Exploring retrospection as a research method for studying the translation process and the interpreting process.” In: Alves, Fábio; Susanne Göpferich & Inger M. Mees (eds.) 2009. Methodology, Technology and Innovation in Translation Process Research. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur, pp. 109–134.

Ericsson, Karl Anders & Herbert Simon. ([1984] 1993). Protocol Analysis. Verbal Reports as Data. Revised edn. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ericsson, Karl Anders & Herbert Simon. (1980) “Verbal reports as data.” Psychological Review 87:3, pp. 215–251.

Goldman-Eisler, Frieda. (1961) “The predictability of words in context and the length of pauses in speech.” Journal of Communication 11:2, pp. 95–99.

Göpferich, Susanne. (2008. Translationsprozessforschung. Stand – Methoden – Perspektiven. Tübingen: Narr.

Hansen, Gyde. (2006) “Retrospection methods in translator training and translation research.” Journal of Specialised Translation 5, pp. 2–41.

Ivanova, Adelina. (1999) Discourse Processing During Simultaneous Interpreting: An Expertise Approach. PhD dissertation, University of Cambridge.

Jonsson, Håkan & Robert Eklund. (2012) “Kognition och talbaserade människa-dator-gränssnitt.” In: Allwood, Jens & Mikael Jensen (eds.) 2012. Kognitionsvetenskap. Lund: Studentlitteratur, pp. 583–594.

Jääskelääinen, Rita. (2010) “Think-aloud Protocol.” In: Gamiber, Yves & Luc van Doorslaer (eds.) 2010. Handbook of Translation Studies. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 371–373.

Karlsen, Pål Johan. (2008) Hva er hukommelse. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.

krings, Hans Peter. (1986) Was in den Köpfen von Übersetzern vorgeht. Tübingen: Narr.

Meade, Michelle & Henry Roediger. (2002) “Explorations in the social contagion of memory.” Memory & Cognition 30:7, pp. 995–1009.

Tissi, Benedetta. (2000) “Silent pauses and disfluencies in simultaneous interpretation: A descriptive analysis”. The Interpreters’ Newsletter 10, pp. 103–128.

Tóth, Andrea. (2011) “Speech disfluencies in simultaneous interpreting: A mirror on cognitive processes”. SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation 5:2, pp. 23–31.

Vik-Tuovinen, Gun-Viol. (2002) “Retrospection as a method of studying the process of simultaneous interpreting.” In: Garzone, Giuliana & Maurizio Viezzi (eds.) 2002. Interpreting in the 21st Century. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 63–71.