Search

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]

We report a study on prediction in shadowing and simultaneous interpreting (SI), both considered as forms of real-time, 'online' spoken language processing. The study comprised two experiments, focusing on: (i) shadowing of German headfinal sentences by 20 advanced students of German, all native speakers of English; (ii) SI of the same sentences into English head-initial sentences by 22 advanced students of German, again native English speakers, and also by 11 trainee and practising interpreters. Latency times for input and production of the target verbs were measured. Drawing on studies of prediction in English-language reading production, we examined two cues to prediction in both experiments: contextual constraints (semantic cues in the context) and transitional probability (the statistical likelihood of words occurring together in the language concerned). While context affected prediction during both shadowing and SI, transitional probability appeared to favour prediction during shadowing but not during SI. This suggests that the two cues operate on different levels of language processing in SI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]