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This study investigated individual differences in prediction during language comprehension in professional and student Turkish (A)–English (B) simultaneous interpreters as a function of simultaneous interpreting (SI) experience and working memory capacity (WMC). A Turkish visual-world eye-tracking prediction task examined whether the accusative versus the nominative case markers on the initial nouns of sentences could be used as cues to predicting an upcoming argument. The participants' WMC was measured using an automated operation span task. We found a prediction effect (a significantly higher increase in fixations to the plausible agent with time in the accusative than in the nominative condition) for the professionals, but not for the students. WMC contributed positively to the prediction effect in the professionals. Our findings indicate an SI-related advantage for prediction in professional versus student interpreters. Importantly, the present findings revealed an SI-related advantage in a prediction task that did not require interpreting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses predictive processes in simultaneous interpreting. A review of experimental findings in the interpreting process literature is carried out on prediction and anticipation – both instances of predictive processes – addressing two questions: (i) what causes prediction and anticipation?, and (ii) is there an experience-related advantage for prediction and anticipation in interpreters? A few gaps are identified in the literature, namely, the need for investigating language-specific cues to prediction and the need for investigating predictive behaviour in both source language processing and target language production. The review is followed by a discussion of future directions in addressing the identified gaps by interpreting process studies, as well as a discussion of how current and future experimental findings can inform our understanding of the processes underlying prediction during simultaneous interpreting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]