Attention, Texttype And Simultaneous Interpretation

Simultaneous interpretation is a complex mental activity. The performance of simultaneous interpreters is effected and constrained by both linguistic and non- linguistic factors like the characteristics of the input, division of attention between the different tasks, and the management of the mental resources. The present thesis focuses on the effects of experimentally manipulating particular characteristics of the text type on the performance of a group of student- interpreters in terms of the level of accuracy and fluency during simultaneous interpretation from English to Chinese. Fifty-one student-interpreters from two interpreter classes of Grade 97 in Guangdong University of Foreign Studies participated in the experiment. The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results of the experiment show that the text type has a strong effect on the performance of the subjects: the student-interpreters display a significant difference in the level of accuracy, but no significant difference in the level of fluency. The pedagogical implications derived from the present study boil down to the following two dimensions: they provide empirical support for the fact that the organization of attention is of utmost importance in simultaneous interpretation; they throw some light on the acquisition of specific strategies and skills for interpreting prepared/impromptu texts aiming at improving the performance of simultaneous interpretation.