Department of Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages/Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
PLoS One. 2023 Oct 18;18(10):e0292718. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292718. eCollection 2023.
Interpreting can be seen as a form of language production, where interpreters extract conceptual information from the source language and express it in the target language. Hence, like language production, interpreting contains speech errors at various (e.g., conceptual, syntactic, lexical and phonological) levels. The current study delved into the impact of language proficiency, working memory, and anxiety on the occurrence of speech errors across these linguistic strata during consecutive interpreting from English (a second language) into Chinese (a first language) by student interpreters. We showed that speech errors in general decreased as a function of the interpreter's proficiency in the source (second) language and increased as a function of the interpreter's anxiety. Conceptual errors, which result from mistaken comprehension of the source language, decreased as a function of language proficiency and working memory. Lexical errors increased as a function of the interpreter's tendency of anxiety. Syntactic errors also decreased as a function of language proficiency and increased as a function of anxiety. Phonological errors were not sensitive to any of the three cognitive traits. We discussed implications for the cognitive processes underlying interpreting and for interpreting training.
口译可以被视为一种语言产出的形式，译员从源语中提取概念信息，并将其用目标语表达出来。因此，和语言产出一样，口译也会在各个层面（如概念、句法、词汇和语音等）出现言语错误。本研究深入探讨了学生译员在连续汉英口译中，语言熟练度、工作记忆和焦虑程度对口译过程中这些语言层面上言语错误产生的影响。结果表明，一般来说，译员的源语（第二语言）熟练度越高，言语错误越少；译员的焦虑程度越高，言语错误越多。概念错误是由于对源语的理解错误而产生的，其数量随着译员语言熟练度和工作记忆的提高而减少。词汇错误则随着译员焦虑倾向的增加而增加。句法错误也随着语言熟练度的提高而减少，随着焦虑程度的增加而增加。语音错误则不受这三种认知特质的影响。我们对口译过程中的认知过程以及口译培训的意义进行了讨论。
