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In this article we describe a framework for the corpus-based comparative investigation of interpreting and translation, illustrating it through a study of simplification across different modes of language production and across different language pairs. We rely on EPTIC, a corpus featuring plenary speeches at the European Parliament in their interpr...
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... Jantunen (2004) found no clear or consistent evidence supporting translation universals. Ferraresi et al. (2018) reported that translated texts were more complex and had a higher lexical density. These conflicting findings highlight that simplification is a dynamic phenomenon in translation, hinting at the possibility that variables such as the specific language pair and the genre of the text in question may significantly affect the degree and nature of simplification. ...
This research focuses on classifying translated and non-translated Chinese texts by analyzing syntactic rule features, using an integrated approach of machine learning and entropy analysis. The methodology employs information entropy to gauge the complexity of syntactic rules in both text types. The methodology is based on the concept of information entropy, which serves as a quantitative measure for the complexity inherent in syntactic rules as manifested from tree-based annotations. The goal of the study is to explore whether translated Chinese texts demonstrate syntactic characteristics that are significantly different from those of non-translated texts, thereby permitting a reliable classification between the two. To do this, the research calculates information entropy values for syntactic rules in two comparable corpora, one of translated and the other of non-translated Chinese texts. Then, various machine learning models are applied to these entropy metrics to identify any significant differences between the two groups. The results show significant differences in the syntactic structures. Translated texts have a higher degree of entropy, indicating more complex syntactic constructs compared to non-translated texts. These findings contribute to our understanding of the effect of translation on language syntax, with implications for text classification and translation studies.
... However, the Williams (2005) study also reported a statistically non-significant difference in lexical density between translated and non-translated French texts going in the opposite direction. Similarly, Ferraresi et al. (2019) found no significant differences in lexical density for translated English from French. But their translated English texts from Italian were even lexically denser. ...
... The above studies also examined type-token ratios and reported inconsistent findings. While Laviosa (1998) and Hu (2016) found differences in the expected direction: lower type-token ratios in TTs, Ferraresi et al. (2019) found no significant differences in English texts translated from French or Italian. Likewise, Xiao and Dai (2014) reported no significant differences between Chinese TTs and NTTs. ...
Translated text (TT) is characteristically simpler than non-translated (NTT) authentic text in terms of its lexicon, syntax, and style. It is still not clear what causes this phenomenon, and scholars continue to debate the issue. The traditional lexical metrics that are implemented in the simplification literature are often criticised as unreliable and lacking cognitive grounding. Moreover, being predominantly product-oriented, they cannot tell us how (or why) simplification happens. This paper addresses this limitation in the literature and proposes a paradigm that uses complexity-based measures adopted from Phonology and Cognitive Psychology. Calculations are run on a corpus of 100 translated and non-translated article abstracts drawn from five academic disciplines. Statistical analyses reveal significant differences between TTs and NTTs. The paper discusses the implications of these results and concludes that a cognition-informed approach is a key to demystifying simplification. Keywords: linguistic complexity; simplification; phonological complexity; neighbourhood density, phonotactic probability
... Simplification is defined as "the tendency to simplify the language used in translation" (Baker 1996: 181). Over the years, simplification has been studied at different levels, such as lexical (Laviosa 1998;Ferraresi et al. 2018;Nasseri and Thompson 2021) and syntactic (McWhorter 2011;Liu and Afzaal 2021). In the current research, we aim to investigate whether L2 translation and L2 writing are (dis)similar in terms of lexical simplification. ...
... These studies reported contradictory findings with some parameters, such as higher mean sentence length (Laviosa 1998), untypical lexical patterning (Mauranen 2000), and overuse of degree modifiers (Jantunen 2004) in translated compared with non-translated texts. The study by Ferraresi et al. (2018) even rejected Laviosa's (1998) findings. For example, they found that French-English translated texts are not simpler than nontranslated texts and that Italian-English translated texts are more complex than the nontranslated ones in that they contain fewer common words and are also lexically denser. ...
... Following Laviosa (1998) and Ferraresi et al. (2018), we examined four parameters of lexical simplification: lexical density, standardized type-token ratio, core vocabulary coverage, and list head coverage. The operational definition of each parameter is stated in Table 4, below. ...
The advance of corpus-based methodology in translation studies has greatly enhanced our understanding of the nature of translational language. While most research efforts have focused on identifying the unique features of translations carried out by professionals, comparatively fewer studies have investigated the linguistic features of student translations. In this corpus-based study, we examine if learner translations carried out by Hong Kong students exhibit lexical simplification features vis-à-vis comparable written texts. The study is based on two comparable corpora: the International Corpus of English in Hong Kong (ICE-HK) and the Parallel Learner Translation Corpus (PLTC) compiled at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Following Laviosa (1998), we compare four main lexical features (lexical density, type-token ratio, core vocabulary coverage, and list head coverage) to investigate if student translations show a simplification trend. The results demonstrate that Chinese-to-English translation is not lexically simpler than English as a Second Language (ESL) writing. Furthermore, it is lexically denser than ESL writing. Our study aims to provide new insights into learner translation as a form of constrained communication.
... Existing studies on lexical simplification in interpreting reveal that its operationalization features great complexity and is subject to the influence of a wide range of intra-and extra-textual factors (Bernardini, Ferraresi, and Miličević 2016;Dayter 2018;Ferraresi et al. 2018;Lv and Liang 2019;Russo, Bendazzoli, and Sandrelli 2006;Sandrelli and Bendazzoli 2005;Xu and Li 2022). These factors are intertwined, giving rise to various lexical use patterns in interpreted speech. ...
... In light of the emergence of varying counterevidence, one may wonder whether the lexical approach, which was originally used to study translation, is suitable for interpreting. With this research agenda in mind, some researchers have become interested in exploring how lexical use may present different patterns between interpreting and translation or across interpreting types (Bernardini, Ferraresi, and Miličević 2016;Ferraresi et al. 2018;Lv and Liang 2019;Shlesinger and Ordan 2012;Xu and Li 2022). One major study in this group is from Bernardini, Ferraresi and Miličević (2016), who compiled an intermodal bidirectional corpus of interpreted and translated EU Parliament speeches (EPTIC). ...
... Due to the challenges in accessing data for corpus-based interpreting studies, unraveling the intricate interplay of the various factors and testing their individual or collective influence on simplification may not always be feasible. Despite the diverse findings, most researchers agree that the mediation process, whether through interpreting or translation, tends to reduce lexical complexity, with simplification manifesting in different linguistic ways (Bernardini, Ferraresi, and Miličević et al. 2016;Ferraresi et al. 2018;Shlesinger and Ordan 2012). Furthermore, the majority of existing studies on simplification in interpreting focus solely on comparing interpreted texts to two speech varieties: original speech by native speakers and translated texts. ...
... Over the years, researchers have increasingly investigated whether simplification can be considered a distinguishing feature of interpreting. Simplification is primarily operationalized in these studies at the lexical level, through the examination of such parameters as standardized type-token ratio, lexical density, list head coverage, core vocabulary coverage, which indicate the level of lexical variety, informativeness, and repetition (Bendazzoli and Sandrelli, 2005;Ferraresi et al., 2018;Kajzer-Wietrzny, 2013). This approach has its origin in Laviosa's (1998) seminal work, which probes lexical simplification in translation from a monolingual comparative perspective by comparing translated texts with original non-translated texts. ...
... The interest in this approach lies in the identification of distinctive properties distinguishing interpreted speech from other language varieties (Bendazzoli, 2018, Shlesinger, 1998. Empirical research, by comparing interpreted speech with other language varieties, including original non-interpreted speech (Bendazzoli and Sandrelli, 2005) Ferraresi et al., 2018;Liu et al., 2023;Xu and Li, 2022) or among different types of interpreting such as consecutive v. simultaneous interpreting (Lv and Liang, 2019). ...
... Most existing studies suggest an overall effect of lexical simplification resulting from the type of mediation process, such as translation v. interpreting, with such an effect being observed more prominently in interpreting than in translation (Bernardini et al., 2016;Ferraresi et al., 2018;Xu and Li, 2022). However, studying specific aspects of simplification, as represented by various lexical parameters, do not always yield coherent results, something which seems to challenge the simplification hypothesis. ...
... The reported analyses were performed on the European Parliament Translation and Interpreting Corpus (EPTIC; Ferraresi et al. 2019), which is a multilingual, intermodal parallel corpus composed of speeches delivered at the European Parliament (EP), their official interpretations and written translations. The corpus was compiled based on the materials available on the official website of the European Parliament, including verbatim reports and videos of the speeches with multilingual audio tracks. ...
... Information regarding the nativeness of the original speaker was derived from the EPTIC corpus metadata (see Ferraresi et al. 2019), which in turn are based on EP members' biographical profiles made available by the EP website. Speed of delivery and mode of delivery 2 are also included among the EPTIC metadata and are based on manual scrutiny of the audio and video files of the speeches. ...
... 2. Although telling the difference between impromptu delivery and reading aloud from a written script is not necessarily straightforward, the corpus creators report that in most cases it was possible to distinguish between the two modes based on both auditory and visual cues (e.g. intonation and whether the speaker was seen to read from a sheet of paper or other support; see Ferraresi et al. 2019). * Some speakers delivered more than one speech included in our corpora. ...
There is general consensus among interpreting practitioners and scholars that numbers pose particular problems in simultaneous interpreting. Adopting the view that fluency disruptions in interpreters’ renditions are signals of cognitive processing problems, the authors aim to isolate those contextual and textual factors which increase the likelihood of disfluencies when rendering numbers present in a source speech. In the reported study, we analyse data from the European Parliament Translation and Interpreting Corpus (EPTIC): we focus on target-text segments whose corresponding source segment contains a number and we find the best predictors of disfluencies by applying a generalized linear mixed model. Our approach is confirmatory and so the model accounts for factors that have been suggested in earlier studies as being associated with interpreting fluency. These factors include the nativeness of the original speaker, the type of number, the frequency of numbers in the same sentence, omission, language pair and whether the text was originally delivered impromptu or read out, and at what pace. The outcomes suggest that important predictors of disfluent renditions include omission, the frequency of numbers in a sentence and the type of number; these can be said to contribute to interpreters’ cognitive load when they process numbers.
... Simplification features have been studied in both interpreting studies and SLA using various measurements. In interpreting studies, lexical indices such as lexical density, the type-token ratio, core vocabulary, and list head coverage (Laviosa, 1998b) have been commonly used to compare interpreted and native speech, interpreting and translation texts, and interpreting outputs in different modes (Dayter, 2018;Ferraresi et al., 2018;Kajzer-Wietrzny, 2015;Lv and Liang, 2019;Shlesinger and Ordan, 2012). Previous research has suggested that interpreted language is simpler than native speech and translated language when the target language is English (Bernardini et al., 2016;Ferraresi et al., 2018;Kajzer-Wietrzny, 2015). ...
... In interpreting studies, lexical indices such as lexical density, the type-token ratio, core vocabulary, and list head coverage (Laviosa, 1998b) have been commonly used to compare interpreted and native speech, interpreting and translation texts, and interpreting outputs in different modes (Dayter, 2018;Ferraresi et al., 2018;Kajzer-Wietrzny, 2015;Lv and Liang, 2019;Shlesinger and Ordan, 2012). Previous research has suggested that interpreted language is simpler than native speech and translated language when the target language is English (Bernardini et al., 2016;Ferraresi et al., 2018;Kajzer-Wietrzny, 2015). Research on SLA, on the other hand, examines simplification at both the lexical and syntactic levels using various syntactic complexity metrics. ...
... In addition, they found that translated English tended to be characterized by more lexical simplification, while translated Italian showed more lexico-syntactic simplification. Ferraresi et al. (2018) also compared the lexical features of translation and interpretation into English from different source languages using a multilingual intermodal corpus and found that the source language may have a greater impact on simplification levels than the mediation mode. Overall, these studies suggest that the simplification patterns in translation and interpretation may vary depending on several factors, including the language combination, mode of delivery, and source language. ...
This study investigates the differences in syntactic complexity among three language varieties: interpreted speech, nonnative English (L2) speech, and native English (L1) speech. The examination was conducted through the evaluation of 14 measures across five subconstructs: the length of the production unit, the amount of subordination, the amount of coordination, phrasal sophistication, and overall sentence complexity. We used a self-compiled comparable corpus of these three language varieties and tested the simplification hypothesis under the framework of constrained language. Our results showed that the two spoken constrained varieties, interpreted speech and L2 speech, had significantly lower scores on most of the syntactic complexity measures compared to non-constrained L1 speech. However, there was no consistent pattern between the two constrained varieties. Specifically, interpreted speech had longer language units and more coordination than L2 speech, which contained more subordination. Overall, this study provides new insights for simplification research by examining syntactic complexity measures from a constrained language perspective.
... Other intermodal studies on simplification have been carried out by Ferraresi et al. (2018) on translation versus interpreting, as well as Lü and Liang (2018) comparing consecutive interpreting versus simultaneous interpreting, among others. Ferraresi et al. (2018) do not unconditionally support the simplification hypothesis, which they had operationalized by using the same set of parameters as in Laviosa (1997Laviosa ( , 1998. ...
... Other intermodal studies on simplification have been carried out by Ferraresi et al. (2018) on translation versus interpreting, as well as Lü and Liang (2018) comparing consecutive interpreting versus simultaneous interpreting, among others. Ferraresi et al. (2018) do not unconditionally support the simplification hypothesis, which they had operationalized by using the same set of parameters as in Laviosa (1997Laviosa ( , 1998. Their study indicates that both the mediation mode (i.e., translation and interpreting) and the source languages have an influence on simplification patterns, with the influence of the latter being greater than the former. ...
... The last feature measuring syntactic complexity, or lexical sophistication, is average sentence length. Previous studies (Ferraresi et al. 2018) have argued that average sentence length is not a reliable parameter since it depends on text type and is therefore discarded in many studies. We decided, however, to keep this feature as a possible indicator of lexical sophistication, following Bernardini et al. (2016). ...
This article explores genre variation and simplification in interpreted language from both comparable (interpreted vs. non-interpreted/non-mediated) and intermodal (interpreted vs. translated) perspectives. It draws on a newly built unidirectional comparable and intermodal corpus named the LegCo+, which features legislative proceedings in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (including originals and their translations and interpretations from Cantonese to English), as well as original plenary speeches delivered by native English speakers in the UK Parliament. It investigates the variation patterns of four simplification features in three dimensions, namely, standardized type-token ratio (STTR) and list heads for lexical diversity, lexical density for informativeness, and average sentence length for lexical sophistication. It aims to uncover the effects of mediation and genre, as well as their interaction effects on linguistic variation. The results indicate that texts of different mediation statuses and genre categories vary with respect to simplification patterns. From a comparable perspective, interpretations rely on a narrower range of vocabulary than non-interpretations, but they are also more informative, and such informativeness is dependent on genre categories. Intermodally speaking, interpretations exhibit consistent patterns of simplification, indicating a strong modality (or mode of mediation) effect.
... More recently, EPIC has transformed into European Parliament Translation and Interpreting Corpus (EPTIC) with the addition of new languages and another modality, i.e., translations of verbatim reports (see, e.g., Ferraresi et al., 2018). This allows for comparisons of interpretations and translations of the same STs. ...
... It should be noted that corpus-based translation research in the quest of TUs in European settings has largely ignored the variable of translation directionality. In a recent research utilizing a multilingual corpus featuring plenary speeches at the European Parliament with English translated texts together Italian and French source texts, it was found that source language serves a key variable in affecting the simplification level of translated texts [55]. The current research which examined translated English with Chinese as the source language (a typologically different language than English) will yield some interesting findings than most studies which are based on European languages. ...
... These differences present a clear picture that English translations from Chinese is unique, genre-specific and possibly governed by some source language norms. Our research findings echoed previous studies which identified that the simplification level of translated texts is not universal and to a large extent subject to the source language influence [55,60]. As can be seen from the current study, simplification has many levels and comprises a variety of linguistic features. ...
This study approaches the investigation of the simplification hypotheses in corpus-based translation studies from a syntactic complexity perspective. The research is based on two comparable corpora, the English monolingual part of COCE (Corpus of Chinese-English) and the native English corpus of FLOB (Freiburg-LOB Corpus of British English). Using the 13 syntactic complexity measures falling into five subconstructs (i.e. length of production unit, amount of subordination, amount of coordination, phrasal complexity and overall sentence complexity), our results show that translation as a whole is less complex compared to non-translation, reflected most prominently in the amount of subordination and overall sentence complexity. Further pairwise comparison of the four subgenres of the corpora shows mixed results. Specifically, the translated news is homogenous to native news as evidenced by the complexity measures; the translated genres of general prose and academic writing are less complex compared to their native counterparts while translated fiction is more complex than non-translated fiction. It was found that mean sentence length always produced a significant effect on syntactic complexity, with higher syntactic complexity for longer sentence lengths in both corpora. ANOVA test shows a highly significant main effect of translation status, with higher syntactic complexity in the non-translated texts (FLOB) than the translated texts (COCE), which provides support for the simplification hypothesis in translation. It is also found that, apart from translation status, genre is an important variable in affecting the complexity level of translated texts. Our study offers new insights into the investigation of simplification hypothesis from the perspective of translation from English into Chinese.
