This questionnaire-based study evaluates interpretations of TV news broadcasts into South African Sign Language from the perspective of 360 adult Deaf respondents, who identify factors hindering comprehension. Methodologically, findings are based on both open-ended and closed questions. The sources of difficulty identified, together with viewer assessments of current interpreting services and viewer expectancy norms, are explored in relation to the profile of the Deaf target audience represented by the study sample. Despite potentially low literacy levels, the study found a stronger stated preference for subtitles than for signed interpretation. The limited size of the signed language screen inset and the type of signed language used by the interpreters were found to be the main factors limiting comprehension; to a lesser extent, problems can also be related to various features of the interpreters’ performance (facial expression, mouthing, sign articulation and general language proficiency), viewers’ insufficient background knowledge and signing skills, the difficulty of dividing attention between different forms of visual input, as well as the positioning of the screen inset showing the interpreter. The cultural and linguistic heterogeneity of the South African Deaf community poses a further challenge to interpreters. Recommendations for both interpreting practice and further research emerge from the discussion.
{"title":"Comprehension of television news signed language interpreters: A South African perspective","authors":"Ella Wehrmeyer","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.2.03WEH","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.2.03WEH","url":null,"abstract":"This questionnaire-based study evaluates interpretations of TV news broadcasts into South African Sign Language from the perspective of 360 adult Deaf respondents, who identify factors hindering comprehension. Methodologically, findings are based on both open-ended and closed questions. The sources of difficulty identified, together with viewer assessments of current interpreting services and viewer expectancy norms, are explored in relation to the profile of the Deaf target audience represented by the study sample. Despite potentially low literacy levels, the study found a stronger stated preference for subtitles than for signed interpretation. The limited size of the signed language screen inset and the type of signed language used by the interpreters were found to be the main factors limiting comprehension; to a lesser extent, problems can also be related to various features of the interpreters’ performance (facial expression, mouthing, sign articulation and general language proficiency), viewers’ insufficient background knowledge and signing skills, the difficulty of dividing attention between different forms of visual input, as well as the positioning of the screen inset showing the interpreter. The cultural and linguistic heterogeneity of the South African Deaf community poses a further challenge to interpreters. Recommendations for both interpreting practice and further research emerge from the discussion.","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"17 1","pages":"195-225"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1075/INTP.17.2.03WEH","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article reports on the process of developing an analytic rating scale for assessing undergraduate students’ consecutive interpreting performances. The development process was divided into three phases. First, a total of 42 criteria for interpreter performance assessment were identified from the related literature and grouped into three categories: ‘content’, ‘form’ and ‘delivery’. Second, these criteria were rated by importance in a questionnaire survey of 31 interpreter trainers. In this phase a total of 20 criteria were removed due to statistical concerns, while 22 criteria — seven criteria for content, seven for form, and eight for delivery — were retained to construct a draft rating scale. Third, to determine the appropriate weighting for each category, two interpreter trainers used the 22-item draft scale to rate 33 consecutive interpretations by Korean undergraduate students. A statistical analysis of these assessments showed that the content category should be assigned an effective weight of 2, while the other categories need not be weighted (i.e., weighting value: 1).
{"title":"Developing an analytic scale for assessing undergraduate students’ consecutive interpreting performances","authors":"Sang-Bin Lee","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.2.04LEE","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.2.04LEE","url":null,"abstract":"This article reports on the process of developing an analytic rating scale for assessing undergraduate students’ consecutive interpreting performances. The development process was divided into three phases. First, a total of 42 criteria for interpreter performance assessment were identified from the related literature and grouped into three categories: ‘content’, ‘form’ and ‘delivery’. Second, these criteria were rated by importance in a questionnaire survey of 31 interpreter trainers. In this phase a total of 20 criteria were removed due to statistical concerns, while 22 criteria — seven criteria for content, seven for form, and eight for delivery — were retained to construct a draft rating scale. Third, to determine the appropriate weighting for each category, two interpreter trainers used the 22-item draft scale to rate 33 consecutive interpretations by Korean undergraduate students. A statistical analysis of these assessments showed that the content category should be assigned an effective weight of 2, while the other categories need not be weighted (i.e., weighting value: 1).","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"17 1","pages":"226-254"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1075/INTP.17.2.04LEE","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stephanie Díaz-Galaz, Presentacion Padilla, M. Bajo
Current comprehension models recognize the role of prior topic-specific knowledge in the processing of general and specialized discourse (e.g. Gernsbacher 1990; Johnson-Laird 1983; Kintsch 1988). In interpreting, there is widespread consensus that interpreters work better when they prepare in advance. However, research on how preparation affects interpreting has encountered such methodological challenges as high variability and the need for appropriately sensitive measures and tasks (Gile 2005). This article reports an experimental study to assess the effect of advance preparation on simultaneous interpreting of specialized speeches, comparing seven professional interpreters and sixteen interpreting students. All participants did two simultaneous interpretations, into Spanish (their ‘A’ language) from English, of presentations from scientific congresses: one with preparation materials provided half an hour beforehand, the other without preparation. Each source text contained both ‘neutral’ and ‘difficult’ speech segments (the three types of difficulty being terminology, syntactic complexity and lack of redundancy). Dependent variables were accuracy of interpretation and length of ear-voice span (EVS), the rationale being that longer EVS probably reflects processing difficulties. The results show that both groups worked significantly better after advance preparation, this being reflected both in accuracy and in ability to maintain a shorter EVS. Interaction between preparation and type of difficulty was also examined.
{"title":"The role of advance preparation in simultaneous interpreting: A comparison of professional interpreters and interpreting students","authors":"Stephanie Díaz-Galaz, Presentacion Padilla, M. Bajo","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.1.01DIA","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.1.01DIA","url":null,"abstract":"Current comprehension models recognize the role of prior topic-specific knowledge in the processing of general and specialized discourse (e.g. Gernsbacher 1990; Johnson-Laird 1983; Kintsch 1988). In interpreting, there is widespread consensus that interpreters work better when they prepare in advance. However, research on how preparation affects interpreting has encountered such methodological challenges as high variability and the need for appropriately sensitive measures and tasks (Gile 2005). This article reports an experimental study to assess the effect of advance preparation on simultaneous interpreting of specialized speeches, comparing seven professional interpreters and sixteen interpreting students. All participants did two simultaneous interpretations, into Spanish (their ‘A’ language) from English, of presentations from scientific congresses: one with preparation materials provided half an hour beforehand, the other without preparation. Each source text contained both ‘neutral’ and ‘difficult’ speech segments (the three types of difficulty being terminology, syntactic complexity and lack of redundancy). Dependent variables were accuracy of interpretation and length of ear-voice span (EVS), the rationale being that longer EVS probably reflects processing difficulties. The results show that both groups worked significantly better after advance preparation, this being reflected both in accuracy and in ability to maintain a shorter EVS. Interaction between preparation and type of difficulty was also examined.","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"17 1","pages":"1-25"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1075/INTP.17.1.01DIA","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anecdotes abound on interpreters being used as scapegoats, but without hard evidence. The purpose of this study was to observe whether Cantonese-speaking listeners blamed the interpreter for unsatisfactory scores awarded to them in a comprehension test, after listening to a simultaneous interpretation (SI) into Cantonese delivered with a non-native accent. After answering twenty comprehension questions, all 173 participants were shown their scores on a screen. In the neutral feedback group, participants viewed their real, unmanipulated scores. In the positive feedback group, two points had been added to the score; in the negative feedback group, two points had been deducted. Participants were unaware of this manipulation. After viewing their scores, they completed an electronic questionnaire on the quality of the SI. Between-groups comparisons showed that, in terms of SI quality perception, the neutral feedback group differed significantly from the negative feedback group but not from the positive feedback group. These findings suggest that participants in the negative feedback group attributed their unfavorable test results to the interpreter, who was treated as a scapegoat.
{"title":"Scapegoating the interpreter for listeners’ dissatisfaction with their level of understanding: An experimental study","authors":"A. Cheung","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.1.03CHE","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.1.03CHE","url":null,"abstract":"Anecdotes abound on interpreters being used as scapegoats, but without hard evidence. The purpose of this study was to observe whether Cantonese-speaking listeners blamed the interpreter for unsatisfactory scores awarded to them in a comprehension test, after listening to a simultaneous interpretation (SI) into Cantonese delivered with a non-native accent. After answering twenty comprehension questions, all 173 participants were shown their scores on a screen. In the neutral feedback group, participants viewed their real, unmanipulated scores. In the positive feedback group, two points had been added to the score; in the negative feedback group, two points had been deducted. Participants were unaware of this manipulation. After viewing their scores, they completed an electronic questionnaire on the quality of the SI. Between-groups comparisons showed that, in terms of SI quality perception, the neutral feedback group differed significantly from the negative feedback group but not from the positive feedback group. These findings suggest that participants in the negative feedback group attributed their unfavorable test results to the interpreter, who was treated as a scapegoat.","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"17 1","pages":"46-63"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1075/INTP.17.1.03CHE","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The present paper examines the metadiscourse of court interpreting, with a focus on the evaluative language used in relation to interpreting of expert witness testimony. The study explores interactional resources such as hedges, boosters, attitude markers, self-mentions and engagement markers, employed by participants in the interpreter-mediated South Korean courtroom examinations of three English-speaking expert witnesses. Extracts analysed for this paper, involving a total of four interpreters, are taken from two court cases (four extracts each from a civil case, featuring experienced conference interpreters, and a criminal case, with unskilled interpreters). In courtroom settings, where the interpretation of expert testimony is frequently contested, this study demonstrates metadiscursive representation of stance management during professional communication, which is closely linked with facework and rapport management. The analysis indicates that hedging is far more frequently used than boosters, and that various attitude markers and engagement markers are used in evaluating interpretations and ensuring their accuracy. Legal professionals and interpreters alike display their evaluative, affective and epistemic orientation in the interdisciplinary professional discourse, and personal interaction, of the courtroom examinations analysed here.
{"title":"Evaluation of court interpreting A case study of metadiscourse in interpreter-mediated expert witness examinations","authors":"Jieun Lee","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.2.02LEE","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.2.02LEE","url":null,"abstract":"The present paper examines the metadiscourse of court interpreting, with a focus on the evaluative language used in relation to interpreting of expert witness testimony. The study explores interactional resources such as hedges, boosters, attitude markers, self-mentions and engagement markers, employed by participants in the interpreter-mediated South Korean courtroom examinations of three English-speaking expert witnesses. Extracts analysed for this paper, involving a total of four interpreters, are taken from two court cases (four extracts each from a civil case, featuring experienced conference interpreters, and a criminal case, with unskilled interpreters). In courtroom settings, where the interpretation of expert testimony is frequently contested, this study demonstrates metadiscursive representation of stance management during professional communication, which is closely linked with facework and rapport management. The analysis indicates that hedging is far more frequently used than boosters, and that various attitude markers and engagement markers are used in evaluating interpretations and ensuring their accuracy. Legal professionals and interpreters alike display their evaluative, affective and epistemic orientation in the interdisciplinary professional discourse, and personal interaction, of the courtroom examinations analysed here.","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"17 1","pages":"167-194"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Christina Schäffner, Krzysztof Kredens and Yvonne Fowler (Eds). Interpreting in a changing landscape: Selected papers from Critical Link 6.","authors":"R. P. Roberts","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.1.09ROB","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.1.09ROB","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"17 1","pages":"124-132"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1075/INTP.17.1.09ROB","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Peter Llewellyn-Jones and Robert G. Lee. Redefining the role of the community interpreter: The concept of “role-space”.","authors":"H. Mikkelson","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.2.06MIK","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.2.06MIK","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"17 1","pages":"284-289"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rater-mediated performance assessment (RMPA) is a critical component of interpreter certification testing systems worldwide. Given the acknowledged rater variability in RMPA and the high-stakes nature of certification testing, it is crucial to ensure rater reliability in interpreter certification performance testing (ICPT). However, a review of current ICPT practice indicates that rigorous research on rater reliability is lacking. Against this background, the present study reports on use of multifaceted Rasch measurement (MFRM) to identify the degree of severity/leniency in different raters’ assessments of simultaneous interpretations (SIs) by 32 interpreters in an experimental setting. Nine raters specifically trained for the purpose were asked to evaluate four English-to-Chinese SIs by each of the interpreters, using three 8-point rating scales (information content, fluency, expression). The source texts differed in speed and in the speaker’s accent (native vs non-native). Rater-generated scores were then subjected to MFRM analysis, using the FACETS program. The following general trends emerged: 1) homogeneity statistics showed that not all raters were equally severe overall; and 2) bias analyses showed that a relatively large proportion of the raters had significantly biased interactions with the interpreters and the assessment criteria. Implications for practical rating arrangements in ICPT, and for rater training, are discussed.
{"title":"Investigating rater severity/leniency in interpreter performance testing: A multifaceted Rasch measurement approach.","authors":"Chao Han","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.2.05HAN","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.2.05HAN","url":null,"abstract":"Rater-mediated performance assessment (RMPA) is a critical component of interpreter certification testing systems worldwide. Given the acknowledged rater variability in RMPA and the high-stakes nature of certification testing, it is crucial to ensure rater reliability in interpreter certification performance testing (ICPT). However, a review of current ICPT practice indicates that rigorous research on rater reliability is lacking. Against this background, the present study reports on use of multifaceted Rasch measurement (MFRM) to identify the degree of severity/leniency in different raters’ assessments of simultaneous interpretations (SIs) by 32 interpreters in an experimental setting. Nine raters specifically trained for the purpose were asked to evaluate four English-to-Chinese SIs by each of the interpreters, using three 8-point rating scales (information content, fluency, expression). The source texts differed in speed and in the speaker’s accent (native vs non-native). Rater-generated scores were then subjected to MFRM analysis, using the FACETS program. The following general trends emerged: 1) homogeneity statistics showed that not all raters were equally severe overall; and 2) bias analyses showed that a relatively large proportion of the raters had significantly biased interactions with the interpreters and the assessment criteria. Implications for practical rating arrangements in ICPT, and for rater training, are discussed.","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"63 1","pages":"255-283"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This case study is based on a transcript of an authentic criminal proceeding in a Belgian Assize Court, where Dutch is the official language and the French-speaking defendant receives simultaneous whispered interpretation of the prosecutor’s closing speech. Examining six excerpts from the speech, which is addressed to the judges and the lay jury, the analysis compares the Dutch original with the French interpretation. The specific focus of the study is the Aristotelian concept of ethos, i.e. the image the speaker seeks to convey of himself by foregrounding his professional expertise, integrity and goodwill towards the audience. Since the rhetorical devices he uses for this purpose are often absent from the interpretation in the extracts analysed, the strategic persuasiveness of his speech is weakened. This means that the defendant is likely to gain an incomplete, misleading perception of his own case. In the light of the examples presented here, the authors argue that the theory of classical rhetoric affords a useful framework for exploring interpreter-mediated legal monologues in a dialogical perspective.
{"title":"Court interpreting and classical rhetoric: Ethos in interpreter-mediated monological discourse","authors":"Emmanuelle Gallez, A. Reynders","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.1.04GAL","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.1.04GAL","url":null,"abstract":"This case study is based on a transcript of an authentic criminal proceeding in a Belgian Assize Court, where Dutch is the official language and the French-speaking defendant receives simultaneous whispered interpretation of the prosecutor’s closing speech. Examining six excerpts from the speech, which is addressed to the judges and the lay jury, the analysis compares the Dutch original with the French interpretation. The specific focus of the study is the Aristotelian concept of ethos, i.e. the image the speaker seeks to convey of himself by foregrounding his professional expertise, integrity and goodwill towards the audience. Since the rhetorical devices he uses for this purpose are often absent from the interpretation in the extracts analysed, the strategic persuasiveness of his speech is weakened. This means that the defendant is likely to gain an incomplete, misleading perception of his own case. In the light of the examples presented here, the authors argue that the theory of classical rhetoric affords a useful framework for exploring interpreter-mediated legal monologues in a dialogical perspective.","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"81 1","pages":"64-90"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1075/INTP.17.1.04GAL","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sandra Hale and Jemina Napier. Research methods in interpreting: A practical resource.","authors":"Kilian G. Seeber","doi":"10.1075/INTP.17.1.06SEE","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/INTP.17.1.06SEE","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51746,"journal":{"name":"Interpreting","volume":"17 1","pages":"118-123"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2015-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1075/INTP.17.1.06SEE","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58676753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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