The impact of verbal working memory on written translation: Empirical evidence and an initial model

Authors

  • Jie Li Leipzig University Beijing Foreign Studies University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52034/lanstts.v19i0.558

Keywords:

Cognitive translation studies, cognitive translation effort, working memory and translation, verbal working memory, translation process

Abstract

Working memory refers to a metaphorical mental workspace involved in the temporary storage and processing of information which has been considered a key construct in Cognitive Translation Studies. This study investigates whether verbal working memory in the translator’s first and/or second language is related to written translation speed and quality. Through three selection tests, 33 student translators in the second or third year of their Master’s in Translation and Interpreting at nine Chinese universities were selected to participate. In the first test, processing and storage capacities of verbal working memory in their first and second language were assessed separately by means of a dual-task paradigm implemented in the e-Prime software suite. In the second study, participants translated a technical text from their second language to their first language. Their behavioural data were collected with a keylogger and the quality of their translations was evaluated by four expert translators. The correlation analysis suggests that the processing function of verbal working memory in the second language does affect logged translation speed; and that the processing function of verbal working memory in the first language has an effect on translation quality. Furthermore, through regression analysis, an initial model was established, which shows the precise structure of the impact of bilingual working memory on written translation. These findings have significant implications for translation skills training. It appears that additional verbal working memory training for both first and second languages would enhance the students’ translation skills.

Author Biography

Jie Li, Leipzig University Beijing Foreign Studies University

Jie Li (b. 1990) is doctoral student at Leipzig University, supported by Chinese Government Scholarship (201606900022). She is also doing a second PhD at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Her research interests include cognitive translation, language for special purposes, psycholinguistics, and contrastive linguistics. Her publications include “Innere kulturelle Werte – Äußere Partnerschaftsbeziehungen: Interkulturelle Begegnungen von Philosophie und Liebe” [Internal cultural values – external partnership relations: Intercultural encounters between philosophy and love] (2019), “An Inter-Linguistic Analysis on Multimodal Coupling of German and Chinese Tourism Video Commercials – A comparative Study based on ELAN” (2019).

References

Baddeley, A. D. (1986): Working memory. Oxford University Press.

Baddeley, A. D. (2003). Working memory and language: An overview. Journal of Communication Disorders, 36(3), 189–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9924(03)00019-4

Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 8, pp. 47–89). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60452-1

Bao, G. (1998). An overview of interpretation theory. Tourism Education Press.

Barrouillet, P., Bernardin, S., & Camus, V. (2004). Time constraints and resource sharing in adults' working memory spans. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133(1), 83–100. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.133.1.83

Bayliss, D. M., Jarrold, C., Gunn, D. M., & Baddeley, A. D. (2003). The complexities of complex span: Explaining individual differences in working memory in children and adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.132.1.71

Cai, X. H. (2001). 交替传译过程及能力发展——对中国法语译员和学生的交替传译活动进行实证研究 [Process of consecutive interpreting and competence development: An empirical study of consecutive interpreting by Chinese-French interpreters and students of interpreting]. 现代外语 [Modern Foreign Languages ], 3, 276–284.

Case, R., Kurland, M., & Goldberg, J. (1982). Operational efficiency and the growth of short-term memory span. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 33(3), 386–404. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0965(82)90054-6

Christoffels, I. K., De Groot, A. M. B., & Kroll, J. F. (2006). Memory and language skills in simultaneous interpreters: The role of expertise and language proficiency. Journal of Memory and Language, 54(3), 324–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2005.12.004

Christoffels, I. K., De Groot, A. M. B., & Waldorp, L. J. (2003). Basic skills in a complex task: A graphical model relating memory and lexical retrieval to simultaneous interpreting. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 6(3), 201–211. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728903001135

Cohen, N. J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Taylor & Francis.

Conway, A. R. A., Kane, M. J., Bunting, M. F., Hambrick, D. Z., Wilhelm, O., & Engle, R.W. (2005). Working memory span tasks: A review and a user’s guide. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 12, 769–786. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196772

Cowan, N. (1988). Evolving conceptions of memory storage, selective attention, and their mutual constraints within the human information-processing system. Psychological Bulletin, 104(2), 163–191. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.104.2.163

Cowan, N. (2000). Processing limits of selective attention and working memory: Potential implications for interpreting. Interpreting, 5(2), 117–146. https://doi.org/10.1075/intp.5.2.05cow

Daneman, M., & Carpenter, P. (1980). Individual differences in working memory and reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 19(4), 450–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90312-6

Danks, J. H., Shreve, G. M., Fountain, S. B., & McBeath, M. K. (1997). Cognitive processes in translation and interpreting. SAGE.

Darò, V., & Fabbro, F. (1994). Verbal memory during simultaneous interpretation: Effects of phonological interference. Applied Linguistics, 15(4), 365–381. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/15.4.365

Gile, D. (1997). Conference interpreting as a cognitive management problem. In J. H. Danks, G. M. Shreve, S. B. Fountain, & M. K. McBeath (Eds.), Cognitive process in translation and interpreting (pp. 196–214). SAGE.

Harrington, M., & Sawyer, M. (1992). L2 working memory capacity and L2 reading skill. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 14(1), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263100010457

He, S. N. (2015). 翻译质量评估模式研究 [Research on translation quality assessment models]. 中央编译出版社 [Central Compilation and Translation Press].

He, S. N., & Zhang, Y. H. (2012). 层次分析法在翻译质量评估中的应用 [Application of analytic Hhierarchy process in translation quality assessment]. 当代外语研究 [Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies], 11, 57–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2012.06.084

Just, M., & Carpenter, P. (1992). A capacity theory of comprehension: Individual difference in working memory. Psychological Review, 99(1), 122–149. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.99.1.122

Juffs, M., & Harrington, M. (2011). Aspects of working memory in second language learning and teaching. Language Teaching, 44(2), 137–166. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444810000509

Kintsch, W. (1998). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. Cambridge University Press.

Lederer, M. (1978). Simultaneous interpretation: Units of meaning and other features. In D. Gerver & H. W. Sinaiko (Eds.), Language interpretation and communication (pp. 323–332). Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9077-4_28

Lederer, M. (1994). La traduction aujourd’hui. Le Modèle Interprétatif, 40(4), 659–663. https://doi.org/10.7202/003121ar

Li, J. (2019). The impact of bilingualism on storage and processing functions in working memory: An experimental dual-task study. Language and Cognitive Science, 5(1), 21–35.

Linck, J. A., Osthus, J. T., Koeth, P., & Bunting, M. F. (2014). Working memory and second language comprehension and production: A meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 21, 861–883. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-013-0565-2

Liu, F. Q. (2003). Research on the theory of oral translation. China Foreign Translation.

Liu, W. Y. (2015). Study on Working Memory in Written Translation. Journal of Wanxi University, 1(3), 103–106.

Manafi, A. S. (2004). A functional-based approach to translation quality assessment. Translation Studies, 1(4), 31–52.

Marton, K., Campanelli, L., & Farkas, L. (2011). Grammatical sensitivity and working memory in children with language impairment. Acta Linguistica Hungarica, 58(4), 448–466. https://doi.org/10.1556/ALing.58.2011.4.4

Marton, K., & Schwartz, R. G. (2003). Working memory capacity and language pro-cesses in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 46(5), 1138–1153. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2003/089)

Marton, K., Schwartz, R. G., Farkas, L., & Katsnelson, V. (2006). Effect of sentence length and complexity on working memory performance in Hungarian children with specific language impairment (SLI): A cross-linguistic comparison. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 41(6), 653–673. https://doi.org/10.1080/13682820500420418

Maurits, V. D. N., Bosch, P., & Hugdahl, K. (2006). Foreign language profi-ciency and working memory capacity. European Psychologist, 11(4), 289–296. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.11.4.289

Miyake, A., & Friedman, N. (1998). Individual differences in second language proficiency: Working memory as language aptitude. In A. F. Healy & L. E. Bourne (Eds.), Foreign language learning: Psycholinguistic studies on training and retention (pp. 339–364). Lawrence Erlbaum.

Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Rettinger, D. A., Shah, P., & Hegarty, M. (2001). How are visuospatial working memory, executive functioning, and spatial abilities related?: A latent-variable analysis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(4), 621–640. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.130.4.621

Mizuno, A. (2005). Process model for simultaneous interpreting and working memory. Meta, 50(2), 739–752. https://doi.org/10.7202/011015ar

Moser-Mercer, B. (2000). Simultaneous interpreting: Cognitive potential and limitations. Interpreting, 5(2), 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1075/intp.5.2.03mos

Oberauer, K. (2002). Access to information in working memory: Exploring the focus of attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 28(3), 411–421. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.28.3.411

Oberauer, K. (2009). Interference between storage and processing in working memory: Feature overwriting, not similarity-based competition. Journal of Memory & Language, 37(3), 346–357. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.37.3.346

Oberauer, K., & Lewandowsky, S. (2008). Forgetting in immediate serial recall: Decay, temporal distinctiveness, or interference? Psychological Review, 115(3), 544–576. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.115.3.544

Olive, T. (2003). Working memory in writing: Empirical evidence from the dual-task technique. European Psychologist, 9(1), 32–42. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.9.1.32

Osaka, M., Osaka, N., & Groner, R. (1993). Language-independent working memory: Evidence from German and French reading span tests. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 31(2), 117–118. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334156

PACTE. (2003). Building a translation competence model. In F. Alves (Ed.), Triangulating translation: Perspectives in process-oriented research (pp. 43–66). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.45.06pac

Rabiaa, S. A. (2003). The influence of working memory on reading and creative writing processes in a second language. Educational Psychology, 23(2), 209–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410303227

Raven, J. C. (1941). Standardization of progressive matrices, 1938. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 19, 137–150. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8341.1941.tb00316.x

Roscoe, J. T. (1975). Fundamental research statistics for the behavioral science. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Rothe-Neves, R. (2003). The influence of working memory features on some formal aspects of translation performance. In F. Alves (Ed.), Triangulating translation: Perspectives in process oriented research (pp. 97–119). John Benjamins https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.45.09rot

Saaty, T. L. (1980). The analytic hierarchy process. Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.21236/ADA214804

Saito, S., & Miyake, A. (2004). On the nature of forgetting and the processing-storage relationship in reading span performance. Journal of Memory & Language, 50(4), 425–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2003.12.003

Seleskovitch, D. (1978). Interpreting for international conference: Problems of language and communication. Pen and Booth.

Shah, P., & Miyake, A. (1996). The separability of working memory resources for spatial thinking and language processing: An individual differences approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 125, 4–27. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.125.1.4

Smithies, J., & Hale, A. (1968). Verfahren zur Umwandlung von Wechselstrom in Wechselstrom anderer Frequenz und/oder Phase oder in Gleichstrom und Einrichtung zur Durchführung des Verfahrens (Patenschrift Nr. 441497). Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft: Eidgenössisches Amt für Geistiges Eigentum.

Sun, C. Y., Peng, P., Chen, H. X., & Tao, S. (2012). The effects of the processing and the storage in English and Chinese working memory on English reading comprehension among Chinese middle school students. Psychological Development and Education, 1(1), 61–69.

Sun, S. J., & Xiao, K. R. (2019). Chinese scholarship in cognitive translation studies: A survey of researchers. Translation, Cognition & Behavior, 2(1), 125–146. https://doi.org/10.1075/tcb.00024.sun

Süß, H.-M., Oberauer, K., Wittmann, W. W., Wilhelm, O., & Schulze, R. (2002). Working-memory capacity explains reasoning ability and a little bit more. Intelligence, 30(3), 261–288. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(01)00100-3

Swanson, H. L., Sáez, L., Gerber, M. M., & Leafstedt, J. (2004). Literacy and cognitive functioning in bilingual and nonbilingual children at or not at Risk for reading disabilities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.96.1.3

Timarová, Š. (2008). Working memory and simultaneous interpreting. In P. Boulogne (Ed.), Translation and its others: Selected papers of the CETRA research seminar in translation studies 2007 (pp. 1–28). KU Leuven. https://www.kuleuven.be/cetra/papers/papers.html

Towse, J. N., Hitch, G. J., & Hutton, U. (2001). On the interpretation of working memory span in adults. Memory and Cognition, 28(3), 341–348. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198549

Wagner, S. (2002). Verbales Arbeitsgedächtnis und die Verarbeitung ambiger Wörter in Wort- und Satzkontexten: MPI series in cognitive neuroscience. Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Wang, F. X., & Xu, Q. L. (2009). An empirical study of the relationship between translationese and the complexity of translation tasks & working memory capacity. English Education in China, 26(4), 105–109.

Zhang, W. (2011). 口译认知研究:同声传译与工作记忆的关系 [Cognitive research into interpreting: Relationship between simultaneous interpretation and working memory]. 外语教学与研究 [Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press].

Zhou, Z. F., Gao, Z. X., & Li, Y. (1990). 层次分析法评估科技译文质量初探 [A preliminary study on the quality of scientific translations by analytic hierarchy process]. 河海大学科技情报 [Hehai University Science and Technology Information], 3, 107–110.

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

20-01-2021

How to Cite

Li, J. (2021). The impact of verbal working memory on written translation: Empirical evidence and an initial model. Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series – Themes in Translation Studies, 19. https://doi.org/10.52034/lanstts.v19i0.558