Combined problem triggers in simultaneous interpreting: exploring the effect of delivery rate on processing and rendering numbers

ABSTRACT

The complexity of simultaneous interpreting may be influenced by so-called problem triggers, i.e. factors that increase the interpreter's processing capacity requirements. These items include numbers, which have been observed by many to affect interpreting. The difficulty of interpreting numerals can increase even more when the source text delivery rate is high. The eye-tracking study presented here investigates the effect of the speaker's delivery rate on number interpreting accuracy and eye behaviour. To this end, we tested professional interpreters (N = 30) and interpreting trainees (N = 24). Our results indicate that a high rate of the source text delivery compromises number interpreting accuracy. In addition, fixation count per minute increases when interpreters interpret at a fast pace. Professional interpreters provide more accurate interpretations, irrespective of the pace of speech, indicating the possible necessity of training interpreting students in dealing with problem triggers, such as numbers.

KEYWORDS:

• Number interpreting
• delivery rate
• simultaneous interpreting
• eye-tracking
• interpreting accuracy

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Katarzyna Jankowiak for her advice and suggestions in the statistical analysis of the results.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Paweł Korpal, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Faculty of English of Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, a psychologist, and a practising translator and interpreter. His research interests include: stress management, psycholinguistics of interpreting and the eye-tracking method in translation and interpreting. As well as the project on numerical data processing in simultaneous interpreting, he has recently conducted research on stress and emotions in conference interpreting, as well as on modality effects in bilingual emotional language processing in which galvanic skin response (GSR) has been adopted.

Katarzyna Stachowiak-Szymczak, PhD, MSc, works in the Department of Interpreting Studies and Audiovisual Translation, Institute of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw. She is also a freelance interpreter and translator. Her research interests revolve around interpreter and translator training, as well as psycholinguistic aspects of translation and interpreting, including mental imagery, attention management, phonology and grammatical judgements.

ORCID

Paweł Korpal http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7479-936X

Notes

1 For a broad analysis of delivery rate in interpreting, see Riccardi's entry (Speech rate) in Routledge Encyclopedia of Interpreting Studies (Pöchhacker, 2015).

Additional information

Funding

This study was financed by research grant number 2015/17/N/HS2/03160 from the National Science Centre, Poland. Paweł Korpal is supported by the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP). The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, PK, upon reasonable request.