Hesitation Pauses In Chinese-English Simultaneous Interpreting

Hesitation pause(HP),a specific type of hesitation phenomena that indicates cognitive load and difficulties in speech processing,is studied in the context of the mentally demanding activity of Chinese-English(C-E)simultaneous interpreting(SI)by analyzing the interpreting products of six conference interpreting trainees for an impromptu conversation section of 10 minutes from a DAVOS round-table discussion.A process-oriented and training-driven rationale has divided HPs into three types: filled hesitation pauses(FHPs),short hesitation pauses(SHPs),and long hesitation pauses(LHPs);and identified four types of cognitive “Efforts” that could be challenged in SI and motivate the use of HPs,namely Coordination,Deverbalization,Production and Waiting.Altogether 343 HPs have been identified,including 233 SHPs,56 FHPs and 54 LHPs.Quantitative and qualitative analyses of frequency,duration and Efforts have yielded the following results:(1)SHPs account for the great majority of HPs in the case of each and every subject while FHPs exhibit great idiosyncrasy;(2)significant difference has been found in the mean duration of SHPs between subjects,but not in that of LHPs;(3)the Production Effort explains most HPs,followed by Coordination and Deverbalization;(4)both Production and Coordination are significantly correlated with the occurrence of SHPs and the total number of HPs,while Waiting is significantly correlated with the incidence of LHPs and the duration of LHPs.With multiple specific examples,combined with feedback from both retrospective and semi-structured interviews,it is therefore suggested that,(1)FHPs in SI can most probably be refrained from through deliberate practice;(2)the use ofLHPs can be both favorable and unfavorable,in that on the one hand,they often represent a tough and weighed-up decision to prioritize gist conveying when completeness of the interpretation is undesirable or unachievable,while on the other,they affect the flow of speech,and that LHPs,if necessary and possible,can be reduced by the technique of filling;(3)the incidence and duration of SHPs and HPs in general have to do with not only language proficiency and background knowledge,but also timing for pause use;(4)in free C-E SI,special attention should be paid to the handling of redundancies and near-synonyms.