Content uploaded by Robert Ingram
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Robert Ingram on May 06, 2019
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Simultaneous interpretation of sign languages: Semiotic and psycholinguistic perspectives
Abstract
Simultaneous interpretation has generally been regarded as a process involving spoken languages. Either the source language or the target language, however, may be a natural sign language. In this paper, sign language interpretation is defined within a semiotic framework of the broader field of translation. Psycholinguistic studies of sign language interpretation are reviewed in the areas of time lag, probability prediction, error analysis, and memory. Semiotic and psycholinguistic models of sign language interpretation are presented.
... Ingram has later tailored the model to describe the communication process in interpreting, which is elaborated in the following figure, Figure 1.2 (INGRAM, 1985). The communication process is duplicated; where the interpreter decodes the source's message as a receptor and then encodes it in a different language and send it to the receptor, and this process happens within a context, though the focus in this model is on the multiple Shannon-Weaver's model of communication, Vajda, 1950 codes where the interpreter shifts from the source language to the target language. ...
... In addition, he describes the problems that face interpreters in each of the three aforementioned models and the strategies and tactics used. (Gile, 2009) Ingram, 1985Gile(2009 divides the process of consecutive interpreting into two phases, namely listening and reformulation. The efforts of the two phases are as follows: ...
Consecutive interpretation of the medical and economic discourses is a stressing task where interpreters face several difficulties like the time limit for retrieving technical terms, numbers, long sentences, the speed of the speaker in addition to the stress and anxiety which could affect the interpreter’s attention. Thus, interpreters tend to use strategies for solving such problems like omission and approximation. Despite such strategies are frequently and commonly used by interpreters, yet they cannot deliver the accurate and sometimes incorrect meaning. Consequently, some computer tools were introduced to reach a better result, though they still cannot help solving some of the mentioned difficulties. This study introduces a prototype of a CAI tool, namely Daftar - ،دفتر designed specifically for consecutive interpreting. This tool is proposed to be a strategy for solving some of the difficulties that encounter consecutive interpreters like retrieving and taking down technical terms and numbers and the quick speed of the speaker. To illustrate this, the study starts by reviewing the different difficulties that face consecutive interpreters in the economic and medical discourses then the traditional strategies used by interpreters for solving such difficulties and problems. The theoretical framework of the study is based on Baddeley’s model of working memory (2009) and Dalia Mankauskiene’s model (2016) and Gile’s tactics (2012).
The present study assumes that this CAI Tool helps relieve retrieving and taking down the accurate terminology numbers, abbreviations, and proper names particularly in technical interpreting domains requiring an accurate and correct delivery of terms in the medical and economic discourses, in addition to long sentences and quick speed of the source speech. The study experimentally investigates Daftar - دفتر ’s efficiency in reaching a better result than the traditional strategies in English into Arabic consecutive interpreting by experimenting the suggested features of the tool on a group of E/A junior consecutive interpreters in the economic and medical fields who would use it as a problem-solving strategy separately then the combined features together.
... Interaction models emphasize the communicative relationship between the interpreter and other parties involved in the process of interpreting (Pöchhacker, 2004, p. 88). These models include (a) the interactive constellation models (Pöchhacker, 1992;Gile, 1995;Anderson, 2002) according to which the interpreter mediates between other parties in either one-to-one or one-to-many interactions; (b) communication models (Kirchhoff, 1976;Ingram, 1985;Kondo (1990) that concentrates on the consequence of acts of decoding the ST, transferring the message through a channel, encoding the TT, and delivering it to TL audiences; and (c) Text and discourse models (Stenzl, 1983;Kalina, 1998) according to which the actant-information interaction and text-processing are contextualized within the communicative situation. ...
The present study is a survey that explores the difficulties of simultaneous interpreting (SI) for translation students. The survey addressed senior translation students in the Kurdistan Region, asking them about the troubles of SI from English into Kurdish or Arabic in the classrooms. Relying on the available models in interpreting studies, this study aims to assess difficulties in SI from the linguistic, cultural, cognitive, interactional, and translational aspects. For this purpose, a questionnaire has been designed and distributed among translation students, covering the issues relevant to the cited dimensions. Sixty respondents participated in the survey, whose responses were statistically analyzed and discussed. The results reveal that cognitive issues such as comprehending fast speaking, concentration, memorization, controlling stress, encyclopedic knowledge, and strategic thinking make the highest degree of difficulty (22%) for students. In sum, working on all aspects of SI should be emphasized by interpreting teachers in the classroom to pave the way for developing students' skills and abilities in these respects.
... Seleskovitch (1977, p. 28) proposed a cognitive model that viewed interpreting in terms of sense, in other words "the sensing of what is meant as opposed to knowing a language as such is the very foundation of interpretation" and thus introduced a three-step process to decipher the oral message through understanding, visualisation and sense. Ingram (1974Ingram ( , 1985 adopted one of the early communicative models of SI based on a view of interpreting as a complex semiotic process in which the interpreter channels code-loaded meanings. Thus, the interpreter has to decode, transfer and recode multiple messages in "a single act of interpretation" (Ingram, 1985, p. 111). ...
The object of this paper is to situate simultaneous interpreting (SI) as textually strategy-specific (micro level) and discursive practice (macro level) drawing on Norman Fairclough’s (1989) critical discourse model in Language and Power. Considering its diverse nature, this article treats UN interpreted discourse as a form of particularised organisational discourse where -taxis relations are surface features of language at the micro level. On a deeper level, it contributes to the collective ideological framing at the macro level. A micro-macro continuum substantiates a more unified representation of SI through collaboration across a myriad of approaches and that is where originality lies. SI is incorporated with CDA and Corpus-based methods to make it possible for valid simultaneous interpreting strategies (SISs)to be identified. This model helps to reveal (i) the patterns expert interpreters establish to simultaneously interpret textual features, namely, hypotaxis and parataxis (micro level); and (ii) the functions of interpreted textual features and whether they keep original ideologies or depart from them (macro level).
... Despite their ostensibly "neutral" positioning, evidence suggests that interpreters are active participants in communication encounters (see Llewellyn-Jones & Lee, 2014;Hauser, Finch, & Hauser, 2008;Metzger, 1999;Roy, 2000;Wadensjö, 2004). Historically, professional signed language interpreters have struggled to determine and explain the "role" they should assume when providing their services (see Cokely, 1984;Frishberg, 1986;Ingram, 1985;Witter-Merithew, 1986). But what is the role of interpreters and translators in forms of collective action like protests? ...
Purpose: In this chapter, I explore how American Sign Language/English
interpreters came to enact an ally role with members of the American deaf
community during the 1988 Deaf President Now (DPN) protest. The DPN
protest, led by students at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, was a
historic moment in the deaf community’s struggle for civil rights (Christiansen
& Barnartt, 1995). During the events that unfolded over the week-long rebellion, students engaged in a variety of claims-making activities (Lindekilde,
2013), such as participating in media interviews and organizing rallies. To share
their message with the world, the deaf protesters developed alliances with
American Sign Language/English interpreters, who mediated a wide variety of
protest-related activities.
Method: The data I analyze in this chapter come from (1) archival review and
(2) semistructured interviews I conducted with DPN stakeholders, including
interpreters and protesters.Findings: Through these data, I explore how the protesters and interpreters came to develop shared understandings and expectations of allyship, including the roles that interpreters enacted in the protest.
Implication/Value: I frame this discussion within the context of a variety of
metaphors that have been used to describe the role of signed language interpreters (Roy, 1993, 2002) and the concept of role-space (Llewellyn-Jones & Lee, 2014) to demonstrate the process of interpreters becoming allies in contentious political settings.
... İletişimsel modeller dağıtık biliş yaklaşımına daha uygun bir altyapı sunarlar ancak bu modeller bilişsel süreçlere odaklanmasalar dahi iletişimi modelleme ve şemalaştırma konusunda bilgi-işlemsel zihin kuramı anlayışını benimserler (bkz. Ingram, 1985). ...
Dağıtık biliş, bilişsel görevlerin tek bir biyolojik organizmanın kafatası ile sınırlı zihninde gerçekleştirilmesi yerine, bilişin bireysel ve izole zihinden taşarak çevredeki biyolojik/biyolojik olmayan yapılara dağılması/yayılması şeklinde özetlenebilecek bir zihin yaklaşımıdır. Dağıtık biliş, bilgi-işlemsel zihin kuramına tepki olarak ortaya çıkmış; bellek ve dil gibi temel bilişsel yetileri yeniden değerlendirmek için kullanılmış; bilişsel yük boşaltma, geçişken bellek ve tekno-sosyal sistem gibi çeşitli kavramların ortaya çıkmasına öncülük etmiştir. Çeviribilim kapsamında yazılı çeviri, bilgisayar-destekli çeviri, teknik iletişim ve çeviri eğitimi bağlamlarında ele alınan bu araştırma programının, sözlü, özellikle de konferans ortamındaki profesyonel andaş çeviri sürecini daha iyi anlamak ve araştırmak için potansiyel taşıdığı düşünülmektedir. Dağıtık biliş ve dağıtık bilişle kavramsal düzeyde aynı şemsiye altında yer alan yayılmış zihin ve gömülü-bedenlenmiş biliş tezleri, 1990’lardan bu yana zihin felsefesi, bilişsel bilimler ve bilişsel psikoloji içinde varlığını sürdürmektedir. Ancak alan yazınında andaş çeviriyi bu çerçevede sistematik olarak inceleyen bir çalışma mevcut değildir. Bu boşluğu gidermeyi amaçlayan bu kuramsal çalışmada, 1960’lardan bu yana bilgi-işlemsel zihin kuramı ve bilgi işleme yaklaşımı temelinde ve çoğu kez akış şemaları ile modellenen andaş çeviri, dağıtık biliş kapsamında yeniden ele alınmış ve buna uygun bir yaklaşım geliştirilmiştir. Gelecekteki çalışmaların bu yaklaşımı test edecek ve önceki modellerle karşılaştıracak deneysel veriler sunması büyük önem taşımaktadır.
... Therefore, traditional definitions of translation fail to account for sign language interpretation as sign languages do not have a written form, although there is an attempt to represent sign elements orthographically called "sign writing". It is interesting to notice that translation is valid to sign language interpretation as well when transfer of thoughts and idea includes natural language and secondary, or contrived, representations of language (Ingram, 1985). ...
The article discusses the current state of sign language interpreting in Bulgaria. It analyzes a range of historical, social and professional issues regarding policymaking, sign language education and methodology. Presented here are three interrelated factors influencing the interpreting practice in the country such as limited knowledge about the linguistic status of Bulgarian Sign Language, traditions in Bulgarian deaf education and social attitude of the hearing majority regarding the linguistic skills of deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
... A large number of SLI research studies have adopted linguistic analyses of interpreting output, focusing on: psycholinguistic aspects of the interpreting process (Cokely, 1992a;Haas, 1999;Ingram, 1985;Isham & Lane, 1993); comparative text analyses of monologic interpretations into a signed language (Sheridan, 2009;Steiner, 1998;E. Winston & Monikowski, 2003); sociolinguistic analyses of interpreter-mediated interactions (Bélanger, 2004;Sanheim, 2003); SLI and bilingualism (Isham & Lane, 1994;J. ...
... All of this research points to the numerous challenges of providing accurate simultaneous interpretation in the field of spoken language interpreting. During the 1980s, Cokely (1984), Colonomos (1987), and Ingram (1985) contributed to a body of literature on simultaneous signed language interpreting by describing models of cognitive processing and the impact of these on providing effective interpretation. All these research studies, and the models of the process that have been proposed, have served to draw our attention to the some of the important stages of cognitive processing required to comprehend a message, analyze it for its salient features, and then determine the appropriate linguistic structure and features needed to convey the message accurately in the second language. ...
In this paper, I explore how social movement participation may impact the personal and professional lives of interpreters. To do so, I studied the American Sign Language/English interpreters who worked in the 1988 Deaf President Now protest at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. I conducted semi-structured oral history interviews with 21 interpreters who worked during the protest, and I employed narrative inquiry to identify critical events and analyze the personal outcomes interpreters experienced as a result of their participation. Specifically, the analysis reveals that interpreters' experiences in the protest contributed to their evolving views on the roles of interpreters and of deaf people, as well as to unforeseen personal and professional benefits. Taken together, the findings suggest that the experiences of signed language interpreters in contentious political settings may differ markedly from their work in other environments, contributing to personal transformation. Further, this data demonstrate how interpreters are embedded in protests in ways that parallel the experiences of other social movement actors.
Conditional clauses and topics are marked identically in a number of unrelated languages. This is a surprising fact, since they are not usually considered to be related categories. Nevertheless, if formal similarity reflects similarity in meaning, they must indeed be related. A review of analyses of conditionals (in the philosophical literature) and of topics (primarily in linguistics) reveals that, in fact, their definitions are very similar. Moreover, it is possible to motivate revisions to these definitions by which they become virtually identical. This paper thus justifies the method of basing semantic analysis of a construction on a cross-linguistic examination of its superficial form.
Summary A point at issue in simultaneous interpreting is the time lag between the speaker of the original and the interpreter. The length of the time lag depends on objective and subjective factors. The objective factors can be described in linguistic terms and are something for the interpreter to go by when timing the moment of transposition. However, the optimum time lag between hearing and interpreting rests also on subjective factors arising from the individuality of the interpreter. An examination of the problem involved in the time lag leads us to a number of well-grounded conclusions of relevance to methodological simultaneous interpreting.