| The goal of this project is to add a grain of sand to the field of study of the perception of errors in simultaneous interpreting performance.The reason behind the design of this project is that previous studies had focused primarily on one single theoretical stance,and rarely combined two theoretical approaches to quantify and analyze an interpreter’s performance.The two frameworks that resonated as sound and solid empirical options for this specific endeavor were Collados Ais’ theory of quality assessment in simulated and manipulated interpreted speeches and Dillinger’s theory of quality assessment in "expert-novice" interpreted speeches.By combining the two theories,the project aims to bring forward an innovative and original take on previous work carried out by experts in the field of SI quality assessment.Based on the theoretical framework aforementioned,this specific work analyzes the evaluation patterns of two groups of simultaneous interpreting recipients,with the first group being trained professional interpreters and the other group having no connection to interpretation whatsoever.The project aims to analyze the interpreter’s performance in a controlled and manipulated environment,and it will also attempt to clarify how certain factors influence the perception of the quality in the rendering of an interpreter.Both groups consider Spanish as their A language and English as their B language.The focus will be on the perception of errors in the rendering of English to Spanish speeches made by Bill Gates and Greta Thunberg,after listening to the original allocutions.The research aims to find the answer to three key questions:What types of errors are generally detected by the two groups and why?What are the differences in the perception of errors by the two groups of listeners?To what extent do listeners detect errors in an interpreted speech?The project will look at whether the degree of knowledge of SI will result in a corresponding degree of influence on the listeners’assessment of the interpreter’s fluency in the delivery,logical cohesion in the content,proper understanding and rendition of the original message,and proper use of grammar as compared to other quality parameters.The research was conducted through a questionnaire that the native Spanish-speaking participants completed and concludes with the results from these answers.Results show that the two groups had similar responses to the errors inserted in the two speeches,however,the group of professional simultaneous interpreters provided lower evaluation scores and noticed more mistakes than the group with no connection to interpretation.The results expose the two groups’ ability to perceive coherence,logic and cohesion as essential to the communicative purpose,while fluency and grammar hold less value when it comes to the expectations of listeners. |
