Digital resources in the translation process – attention, cognitive effort and processing flow

ABSTRACT

Digital resources are an important part of the translator’s work. Access to dictionaries, parallel texts, reference works, websites and other resources supports the comprehension and reformulation processes and they are an integrated part of most translators’ work processes. Despite the importance of digital resources in the translation process, little research has been carried out in this area. Eye tracking data and screen recording data from 18 professional translators are investigated to examine (1) translators’ use of digital resources with specific emphasis on attention and cognitive effort in translation involving digital resource consultation and (2) translators’ processing flow during translation involving digital resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Translation
• digital resources
• cognitive effort
• attention
• processing flow
• eye tracking

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Kristian Tangsgaard Hvelplund is an associate professor in the Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies at the University of Copenhagen. He holds a PhD in translation from the Copenhagen Business School. His research interests concern the cognitive mechanisms and processes involved in translation, using experimental methods such as eye tracking and key logging, and his research has focused specifically on translator expertise, translators' interaction with texts and resources, and audiovisual translation.

Notes

1. In the study of dubbing translation, visual attention to the film amounted to around 21.6 percent while 4.9 percent of visual attention was directed to a dictionary in the computer screen’s upper right corner.

2. The number of transitions in (a = 411) and (b = 409) as well as in (c = 107) and (d = 111) do not add up since (1) drafting and revision segments may outnumber digital resource consultation by one, and (2) transitions to the next translation in the experiment have been discounted. See Section 2.3 for an outline of figures for drafting and revision have been collapsed in Table 3

3. Figures for drafting and revision have been collapsed in Table 3.