Correlation Between Error Types And Local Cognitive Load In Simultaneous Interpreting

Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a complex process of information processing, whichrequires the interpreter to fulfill several high-demanding tasks at the same time, such aslistening comprehension, information storage and language output. As these tasks cannotbe carried out automatically, each and every one of them requires cogntive resources fromthe brain. In SI the overall cognitive load of the brain remains at a very high level, thus anymishandling of the tasks would lead to a breakdown of interpreting. In order to find out therelationship between error types and local cognitive load in SI, Cognitive Load Model wasused as the basic theoretical framework, and ways to calculate local cognitive load inEnglish-Chinese SI were established. By comparing the relative local cognitive load of24sentences from4interpreters, and comparing different performance within an interpreterand among different interpreters, the relationship between load and error was revealed.Order of load can be summarized as: severe mistake> mild omission> correctinterpretation> mild mistake> severe omission. Benchmarked against correct renderings,some wrongly interpreted sentences had a lower local cognitive load, while others showeda higher load. Result of this research told that interpreters are more prone to error in highercognitive load, but their load are not always very high when they make mistakes.