[New publication] Translation, Cognition & Behavior: Volume 2, No. 1, 2019

Translation, Cognition & Behavior: 2 (1)

Link to this issue: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/jbp/tcb/2019/00000002/00000001

Abstract: We assume that visual feedback from the written trace during translation plays an important role in monitoring the emerging translation. In this study, 44 participants translated with and without visual feedback from the target text (TT). Numerous measures were used to explore the differences between the texts that were created in the two conditions and the characteristics of the task performance in the two conditions. The impact of ST-TT semantic and syntactic relationships showed that there were differences on two of three behavioural measures across conditions. In the comparison of features of the translation process, findings show that ST reading times were longer without visual feedback, while increased translational choice (implying more monitoring) affected eye movements on the source text (ST) in the same way in both conditions. We found that, without visual feedback, when faced with more translational options, translators read the ST less linearly. Participants were more likely to look at the TT screen or read the TT the longer they read the ST and the more the more translational options the ST offered, even if the TT window was blank.

Using experimental approaches to study translation, by Anna Hatzidaki

Abstract: In the last few years, the study of the cognitive processes that underlie the translating act is well under way in the field of translation studies (TS). Yet considering the potential of this research area, translation behaviour and how it is affected and modulated by linguistic and psycholinguistic factors is still underinvestigated. The main culprit of this holdback appears to be fuzziness over what experimental methods are expected to deliver and how sometimes they are actually used. The present discussion article outlines these aspects, draws attention to methodological issues commonly encountered when an experimental approach is adopted, and suggests ways to overcome the challenges posed by this promising line of research.

Written alternative translation solutions in the translation process, by Claudine Borg

Abstract: Alternative translation solutions (ATSs) are a core and abundant element of the translation process. Despite being a recurrent topic in translation process research (TPR), the majority of previous studies deal with verbal ATSs while written ATSs remain an underresearched aspect. This article focuses on written ATSs and their role in the translatorial decision-making process. Drawing mainly on research into translatorial decision-making and TPR, it investigates 188 written ATSs present in the first draft of a Maltese literary translation from French produced by an experienced translator. Various categorisation systems were created to analyse the textual data. The results indicate that written ATSs are a complex phenomenon worth exploring further as they seem to be a shared behaviour by many translators.

Abstract: This article tackles directionality as one of the most contentious issues in translation studies, still without solid empirical footing. The research presented here shows that, to understand directionality effects on the process of translation and its end product, performance in L2 → L1 and L1 → L2 translation needs to be compared in a specific setting in which more factors than directionality are considered—especially text type. For 26 professional translators who participated in an experimental study, L1 → L2 translation did not take significantly more time than L2 → L1 translation and the end products of both needed improvement from proofreaders who are native speakers of the target language. A close analysis of corrections made by the proofreaders shows that different aspects of translation quality are affected by directionality. A case study of two translators who produced high quality L1 → L2 translations reveals that their performance was affected more by text type than by directionality.

Abstract: The most famous rule on the speed of subtitles is the six-second rule. In this study we investigate if the six-second rule is too slow for contemporary viewers. We also address the question of whether subtitle processing depends on the speech rate of film dialogues and on viewer’s proficiency in the language of the film soundtrack. With these questions in mind, we tested 53 Polish viewers watching English videos at two different speech rates (slow and fast), subtitled into Polish in accordance with the six-second rule. We examined participants’ reading patterns and comprehension and asked them to assess subtitle speed and the congruity of subtitles with the dialogue. Analysing people’s eye movements enabled us to measure that viewers were looking at subtitles for only about 30% of the subtitle display time. We found that the film speech rate affected comprehension: faster dialogues, implying more text condensation in subtitles, resulted in lower comprehension compared to slow speech rates. Viewers more proficient in the language of the film soundtrack spent less time gazing at subtitles than those who had only elementary knowledge of the language.