Working memory and verbal fluency in simultaneous interpreters

Abstract

We investigated working memory and verbal fluency in simultaneous interpreters, expecting to find enhanced working memory and semantic processing in interpreters relative to others fluent in a second language. The interpreters (n = 15) outperformed the control group (n = 35) on semantic fluency and most measures of working memory; their advantage over teachers of a foreign language (n = 15) approached, but did not reach, statistical significance. Our findings suggest that, while proficiency in a foreign language may enhance fluency and working memory skills, simultaneous interpreters have semantic processing and working memory capacities greater than those expected from mere proficiency in a foreign language.

Keywords:

• Simultaneous interpreting
• Verbal fluency
• Working memory
• Foreign-language teachers
• Cognitive skills

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr Fotini Apostolou for her assistance in recruiting professional interpreters, Prof. Karin Boklund-Lagopoulou for her support in the conduction of our project, and all the participants for giving us some of their valuable time. We would also like to thank Dr Elvira Masoura for her contribution to the extension of the span-related tests for the purposes of this study. We have no conflicts of interest to report, and we received no financial support for the conduction of the present investigation.

Notes

¹Working memory is conceived as a combined system of three different elements (Baddeley, 1999): the phonological loop, the visual–spatial sketchpad, and the central executive. The central executive is thought to support a variety of activities including control of the flow of information through working memory, retrieval of knowledge from long-term memory, and control of action and scheduling of multiple concurrent cognitive activities. The two slave systems of working memory—phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad—operate within specialized processing domains. The phonological loop is a short-term store of verbal material, subject to rapid decay, while the visuospatial sketchpad consists of two subcomponents, one for visual and one for spatial information (Baddeley, 1999). The phonological loop appears to facilitate language acquisition mainly through vocabulary learning and is enhanced by literacy (Baddeley, Gathercole, & Papagno, 1998).

²This most likely reflects the overall female advantage in language skills (for a discussion, see Ullman, Miranda, & Travers, 2008). Many studies have indicated that gender is a significant factor influencing individual variation in second-/foreign-language learning, resulting in female superiority (see Ellis, 1994). Thus, it does not come as a surprise that women are overrepresented in professions that require advanced foreign-language skills.

³The term bilingual here is taken in its broad sense (Obler & Gjerlow, 1999) and denotes all individuals who speak a language in addition to their mother tongue.

⁴Some recent studies suggest that dorsolateral areas of the prefrontal cortex are involved in working memory functions (for a review, see Owen, 1997).