University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

Avhandlingen undersöker tolkningsprocessen och tolkprodukten hos konferenstolkar med olika lång tolkerfarenhet. Detta görs utifrån expertteorin (jmf Ericsson, Charness och Hoffman 2007) tillämpad på tolkning. Enligt expertteorin använder mycket skickliga utövare, oberoende av fält, samma typer av processer och strategier för att nå den absoluta toppen inom sitt gebit. En viktig del av expertteorin är medveten eller avsiktlig övning (deliberate practice), en särskild typ av övning som mycket skickliga utövare använder sig av för att förbättra sin insats. Avhandlingen bygger på fyra olika studier om två olika grupper av deltagare. Deltagarna simultantolkar ett eller två tal från engelska till svenska. Två grupper – en tvärsnittsgrupp med nio deltagare på tre olika tolkerfarenhetsnivåer (ingen erfarenhet, kort erfarenhet och lång erfarenhet) samt en longitudinellgrupp med tre deltagare som spelats in vid två olika tillfällen med 15 års mellanrum – analyserades utifrån både process och produkt data. Tolkprocessen studerades genom att analysera och kategorisera process problem, monitorering och tolkstrategier som tolkarna rapporterat om under retrospektion efter tolkning. Tolkprodukten analyserades genom holistiska bedömningsskalor, en för förståelighet och en för nivån på informationsöverföring. Vidare genomfördes också djupintervjuer med deltagarna i det longitudinella materialet. Syftet var att undersöka hur de uppfattade medveten/avsiktlig övning och hur de såg på sin utveckling och övning av tolkfärdigheten. En viktig del av avhandlingen, förutom resultaten, är utvecklingen av de holistiska bedömningsskalorna (utvecklade från Carroll 1966) och utvecklingen av metoden i djupintervjustudien. Slutsatsen i avhandlingen är att det finns en mätbar skillnad i tolkfärdigheten mellan tolkar med liten eller ingen tolkerfarenhet och tolkar med lång tolkerfarenhet. Denna slutsats fick dock inte stöd i det longitudinella (och intra-individuella) materialet. Skillnaderna mellan grupperna i tvärsnittsmaterialet var också tydliga i processdata. Erfarna tolkar stöter på färre process problem än tolkar med kortare erfarenhet. Det fanns också tydliga skillnader vad gäller förekomsterna av monitorering (alltså kontroll av tolkprocessen och produktionen) mellan erfarna tolkar och övriga deltagare. Monitorering verkar vara en skiljelinje mellan erfarna och oerfarna tolkar, de erfarna tolkarna hade mer process kapacitet tillgänglig för att monitorera sig själva. Detta stöddes också till viss del av djupintervjuerna, där deltagarna rapporterade hur de ständigt utvärderar sig själva i syfte att förbättra sin insats. Ett nyckelantagande som slogs fast i början av projektet – nämligen att erfarna tolkar skulle hävda i djupintervjuerna att de ägnade mycket tid åt att öva färdigheten – fick, till författarens förvåning, inte stöd. Tolkarna rapporterade om många övningslika aktiviteter, men hävdade samtidigt att de inte övade. Avhandlingen avslutas genom ett önskemål om fler studier med fokus på medveten/avsiktlig övning bland tolkar. Dessutom föreslår författaren också att termen “experttolk” eller “expert” ska användas med stor försiktighet i forskningsstudier om just expertkunnande i tolkning. Författaren efterlyser också en bredare diskussion om expertkunnande och medveten/avsiktlig övning. / This dissertation investigates the process and product of interpreters with different levels of experience and explores the expertise approach (cf. Ericsson, Charness and Hoffman 2007) as applied to interpreters. The expertise approach claims that highly skilled performers, regardless of their chosen field, use the same type of strategies in order to reach the top levels of their profession. An important feature of the expertise approach is deliberate practice, a specific type of practice that highly skilled performers engage in so as to improve their performance. The dissertation is based on four different studies featuring two different sets of participants. Two data sets – a cross-sectional material with nine participants on three different levels of interpreting experience (none, short and long), and a long-term material with three interpreters recorded at two different points in time – were analysed in terms of both processing and product data. The interpreting process was studied by retrospectively analysing and categorizing processing problems, monitoring and strategies, while the interpreting product was analysed by using holistic rating scales for intelligibility and level of information transfer of the interpreting product. In-depth interviews were also conducted with the long-term participants in order to investigate their perception of deliberate practice and their own view of their skill development. An important and integral part of the dissertation, apart from the results, was the development of the holistic rating scales (adapted from Carroll 1966), and the development of an in-depth interview study. The conclusions of the dissertation are that there are measurable differences of interpreting skill between performers with little or no interpreting experience and performers with long interpreting experience, but this finding could not be supported by the long-term (intra-individual) study. Differences between the groups in the cross-sectional material could also be observed from the process data. Experienced interpreters 16 encountered fewer processing problems than less experienced interpreters and had more strategies at hand to solve problems. There were also clear differences in terms of instances of monitoring (i.e. controlling the interpreting process and output) between experienced interpreters and other subjects. Monitoring seemed to be a dividing line between experienced and inexperienced interpreters, and experienced interpreters had more processing capacity available to monitor themselves. This was also to a certain extent supported in the in-depth interviews, where the participants reported how they constantly evaluate themselves in terms of improving performance. A key assumption established in the beginning of the project – that experienced interpreters would claim, in the in-depth interviews, that they practise a great deal – was not supported, to our surprise. The interpreters recounted many practice-like activities but stated that they did not actually practise. The dissertation concludes by calling for more studies on deliberate practice in interpreting, suggesting that the term “interpreter expert” should only be used with caution in scientific studies and that the particular features of expertise and deliberate practice in interpreting should be discussed. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defence the folowing papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: inPress; Paper 4: Manusckript.</p>

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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of educational interpreting at tertiary institutions in South Africa. Various pilot studies, as well as long-running interpreting projects at North West University, University of the Free State, and the University of Johannesburg have shown that educational interpreting is a viable way of implementing a multilingual language policy and accommodating various languages in the classroom. Educational interpreting has also been researched at Stellenbosch University (SU) in recent years and following the success of a 2011 pilot project at the Faculty of Engineering, the university plans to implement the service in other faculties as well (see Stellenbosch University Language Policy 2014). The study reported in this thesis was conducted at SU and was interested in the perceptions of interpreting held by the three main role players in the interpreting service. The main focus of the study was on examining perceptions of interpreting held by second year Engineering students who attended lectures in which educational interpreting was used as mode of delivery. The data collected on these perceptions was also contextualised by findings from data collected on students’ language backgrounds (including language use, language attitude and actual and perceived language proficiency). As a secondary aim, the study was interested in the perceptions held by lecturers and interpreters working in the Faculty of Engineering. Findings indicated that students generally had positive perceptions of interpreting and felt that interpreting was a good way to accommodate various languages at SU. It also proved useful to collect data on students’ language backgrounds in order to contextualise the results of the interpreting questionnaire, as important nuances emerged which were not apparent when these results were considered on their own. This lead to the insight that feedback from students regarding their experience of the interpreting service should be contextualised in terms of their language backgrounds, as this would lead to more valuable and useful feedback. Finally, lecturers and interpreters both showed positive perceptions of interpreting, with a marked progression in perception of the role of the interpreter in the classroom becoming apparent as experience of educational interpreting increased. The most important suggestion to follow from this finding was that students and lecturers should be made (more) aware of what interpreting entails, how interpreters are trained and how they prepare for lectures, as this should lead to more positive perceptions and increased use of this service. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Opvoedkundige tolking het oor die afgelope paar jaar baie gewild geword by tersiêre instellings. Verskeie loodsprojekte en gevestigde tolkprogramme by NWU, UVS en UJ het bewys dat opvoedkundige tolking ‘n lewensvatbare manier is om meertalige taalbeleide te implementeer, en om die gebruik van verskeie tale binne die klaskamer moontlik te maak. Opvoedkundige tolking word ook by SU nagevors en sedert die sukses van ‘n loodsprojek gedurende 2011 by die Fakulteit van Ingenieurswese het die gebruik van opvoedkunidge tolking in klaskamers begin toeneem. Die studie het belang gestel in die persepsies van tolking van die drie hoofrolspelers van die tolkdiens. Die primêre fokuspunt van die studie was om die persepsies van tolking van tweedejaar-ingenieurswesestudente wat lesings gehad het met opvoedkundige tolking te ondersoek. Die data wat oor hierdie persepsies ingesamel is, is ook gekontekstualiseer deur bevindinge wat gemaak is uit die beskouing van data oor die studente se taalagtergrond (insluitende taalgebruik, taalhouding, en werklike en waargenome taalvaardigheid). Die sekondêre fokuspunt van die studie was om insigte te verkry oor die persepsies van tolking van dosente by die Fakulteit van Ingenieurswese, asook van die tolke wat die ingenieursmodules getolk het. Soos reeds genoem het die Fakulteit van Ingenieurswese reeds sedert 2011 sekere modules aangebied deur middel van opvoedkundige tolking. Teen die tyd wat data ingesamel is in die tweede semester van 2013 was dit moontlik om data te verkry van tweedejaar-ingenieurswesestudente wat reeds vir amper twee semesters aan opvoedkundige tolking in hul klaskamer blootgestel is. Die bevindinge van die studie het oor die algemeen aangetoon dat studente ‘n positiewe persepsie gehad het van tolking, en dat hulle gevoel het tolking ‘n goeie manier is om verskeie tale by die universiteit te akkommodeer. Die gebruik van data oor studente se taalagtergrond as konteks vir die bespreking van die persepsiedata was ook baie handig, aangesien belangrike nuanses vorendag gekom het wat nie duidelik was toe die persepsiedata op sy eie beskou is nie. Dosente en tolke het beide ‘n positiewe persepsie van die tolking getoon, met ‘n duidelike progressie wat plaasgevind het in hul persepsie van die rol van die tolk in die klaskamer namate die omvang van hul ervaring met opvoedkundige tolking vermeerder het.

Recent research in Interpreting Studies has favoured the argument that, in practice, the interpreter plays an active role, rather than the prescribed role stipulated in professional codes of conduct. Cutting-edge studies utilising multimodal research methods have taken a more comprehensive approach to investigating this argument, searching for evidence of the interpreter’s active involvement not only through textual analysis, but also by examining a range of non-verbal communicative means. Studies using multimodal analysis, such as those by Pasquandrea (2011) and Davitti (2012), have succeeded in offering new insights into the interpreter’s role in interaction. This research presents further investigation into the interpreter’s role through multimodal analysis by focusing on the use of gesture movements, gaze and body orientation in interpreter-mediated communication; it also looks at the impact of the state of knowledge asymmetry on the interpreter’s role. This thesis presents findings from six simulated face-to-face dialogue interpreting cases featuring three different groups of participants and interpreters representing different interpreting settings (e.g. parent-teacher meeting, business meeting, doctor-patient meeting, etc.). By adapting a multimodal approach, findings of this study (a) contribute to our understanding of the active role of the interpreter in Interpreting Studies by exploring new insights from a multimodal approach, and (b) offer new empirical findings from interpreter-mediated interactions to the technical analysis of multimodal communication.

The subject of this Master's thesis is introducing Chinese interpreting theory with regard to its historical and cultural background, including a description of the Chinese interpreting scene and education of interpreters. Chinese translation theory is also explained briefly in order to serve as a reference to Chinese considerations on interpreting. The thesis introduces the most influential Chinese researchers in this area and strives to provide a general overview as well as show concrete examples and extracts from Chinese theoretical publications with special attention paid to specific features of Chinese interpreting theory.

The conventional understanding of the liaison interpreter views the professional as a language broker between two or more individuals not speaking the same language. The manner in which this language gap is bridged, according to the conventional understanding, is through copying verbatim what is said in one language (the source language) and pasting it (into the target language). The conventional understanding of the profession and its professionals neglects the multi-faceted nature of the profession along with the many challenges with which its professionals are faced. A liaison interpreter is a professional who forms a bridge between languages, people and culture. When viewed through this lens, new meaning and understanding are gained regarding the work of the liaison interpreter whilst, similarly, unveiling the complexity of the profession. As such, new questions may be raised pertaining to the role of the liaison interpreter in dialogue settings. This mini-dissertation seeks to shed new light on an age old profession whilst unveiling these hidden factors to highlight the benefits of factoring cultural training into interpreter training to better train student interpreters, and equip them with a unique set of skills to assist them in overcoming the unique set of challenges with which liaison interpreters often grapple. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Modern European Languages / Unrestricted

Conference interpreting in general and simultaneous interpreting in particular are practice-based activities. In training future interpreters, conference interpreter trainers rely heavily on practical exercises that enable students to apply the skills they previously learnt and acquired in class in interpreting situations. For various reasons, the latter, however, may not be as realistic as a simulated conference, thereby preventing students from fully experiencing the atmosphere of real-life conference interpreting. This study begins with the hypothesis that mock conferences such as Model United Nations (MUN) conferences are effective in the training of postgraduate student interpreters in simultaneous interpreting. To examine this hypothesis, and present an alternative view if possible, the researcher observes postgraduate students in the MA Applied Language Studies (option: Translation and Interpreting) at the University of Pretoria performing in the simultaneous interpreting mode during a Model United Nations conference organised by the University‘s United Nations Association. Using a setting such as this, which simulates United Nations General Assembly or Security Council conferences, the researcher observes the students‘ performances and the delegates‘ reactions and analyses trainees‘ perceptions regarding the opportunity to use their skills set in a more realistic environment. / Mini-dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Modern European Languages / MA / Unrestricted