Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cognitive Processing Routes of Culture-Specific Linguistic Metaphors in Simultaneous Interpreting

A Corpus-Assisted Study

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Key Issues in Translation Studies in China

Part of the book series: New Frontiers in Translation Studies ((NFTS))

  • 598 Accesses

Abstract

Metaphor processing in translation has drawn much research attention. However, little attention has been paid to the cognitive processing routes of culture-specific linguistic metaphors (CSMs) in simultaneous interpreting (SI). The present study compared professional interpreters’ strategies for interpreting CSMs and literal expressions in the context of simultaneous interpreting (SI) and on this basis attempted to infer their underlying cognitive processing routes in SI with the help of a self-supported bilingual parallel SI corpus. The results showed that (1) the vertical route dominated the interpreting of literal expressions and CSMs, (2) the interpreters relied more on the vertical route in the interpreting of CSMs than that of literal expressions and (3) the grammatical unit of the source items had little influence on the cognitive process of interpreting linguistic metaphors.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Angelone, E. (2010). Uncertainty, uncertainty management and metacognitive problem solving in the translation task. In G. Shreve & E. Angelone (Eds.), Translation and cognition (pp. 17–40). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Chou, I., Lei, V., Li, D., & He, Y. (2016). Translational ethics from a cognitive perspective: A corpus-assisted study on multiple English-Chinese translations. In T. Seruya & J. Justo (Eds.), Rereading schleiermacher: Translation, cognition and culture (pp. 159–173). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dam, H. (2001). On the option between form-based and meaning-based interpreting: The effect of source text difficulty on lexical target text form in simultaneous interpreting. The Interpreters’ Newsletter, 11, 27–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Groot, A. (1997). The cognitive study of translation and interpretation: Three approaches. In J. Danks & G. Shreve (Eds.), Cognitive processes in translation and interpretation. Stephen Fountain, and Michael McBeath, (pp. 25–56). Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Groot, A. (2011). Language and cognition in bilinguals and multilinguals: An introduction. New York, Hove: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • de León, C. M. (2017). Mental representation. In J. Schwieter & A. Ferreira (Eds.), The handbook of translation and cognition (pp. 106–126). Malden: John Wiley.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Defrancq, B., & Rawoens, G. (2016). Assessing morphologically motivated transfer in parallel corpora. Target, 28(3), 372–398. https://doi.org/10.1075/target.28.3.02def.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickins, J. (2005). Two models for metaphor translation. Target, 17(2), 227–273. https://doi.org/10.1075/target.17.2.03dic.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dimitrova, B. E. (2005). Expertise and explicitation in the translation process. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fabbro, F., Gran, B., & Gran, L. (1991). Hemispheric specialization for semantic and syntactic components of language in simultaneous interpreters. Brain and Language, 41(1), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(91)90108-D.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fabbro, F., Gran, L., Basso, G., & Bava, A. (1990). Cerebral lateralization in simultaneous interpretation. Brain and Language, 39(1), 69–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(90)90005-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García, A. (2013). Brain activity during translation: A review of the neuroimaging evidence as a testing ground for clinically-based hypotheses. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 26(3), 370–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroling.2012.12.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gildea, P., & Glucksberg, S. (1983). On understanding metaphor: The role of context. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 22, 577–590. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(83)90355-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gile, D. (1999). ‘Testing the effort models’ tightrope hypothesis in simultaneous interpreting—A contribution. Hermes, 23, 153–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gile, D. (2009). Basic concepts and models for interpreter and translator training (rev ed.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • He, Y. (2010). On translating Alien sources: Its patterns and cognition. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 42(3), 211–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • He, Y. (2019). Chapter 2 translating and interpreting as bilingual processing: The theoretical framework. In D. Li, V. Lei, & Y. He (Eds.), Researching Cognitive Processes of Translation, (pp. 15–48). Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • He, Y., & Li, D. (2015). Translating and interpreting as bilingual processing: The theoretical framework. Paper presented at The 2nd International Conference on Cognitive Research on Translation and Interpreting. November 6–7, 2015. Macao, China: University of Macau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hou, L., Lang, Y., & He, Y. (2019). On research models of corpus-assisted cognitive process of translation. Foreign Language Research, 178(6), 69–75. https://doi.org/10.13978/j.cnki.wyyj.2019.06.012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ilic, I. (1990). Cerebral lateralization for linguistic functions in professional interpreters. In L. Gran & C. Tylor (Eds.), Aspects of applied and experimental research on conference interpretation research (pp. 101–110). Udine: Campanotto Editore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakobsen, A. (2019). Segmentation in translation: A look at expert behaviour. In D. Li, V. Lei, & Y. He (Eds.), Researching cognitive processes of translation (pp. 71–108). Singapore: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jakobsen, A., Hvelplund, K., & Mees, I. (2007). Comparing modalities: Idioms as a case in point. In F. Pöchhacker, A. Jakobsen, & I. Mees (Eds.), Interpreting studies and beyond: A tribute to miriam shlesinger (pp. 217–249). Frederiksberg: Copenhagen Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kövecses, Z. (2010). Metaphor: A practical introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroll, J., & Stewart, E. (1994). Category interference in translation and picture naming: Evidence for asymmetric connections between bilingual memory representations. Journal of Memory and Language, 33(2), 149–174. https://doi.org/10.1006/jmla.1994.1008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lakoff, G. (1993). The contemporary theories of metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 202–251). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, Y., Hou, L., & He, Y. (2018). A cognitive study on memory-pairing in simultaneous interpreting. Modern Foreign Languages, 41(6), 840–851.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, Y., Hou, L., & He, Y. (2019). The effect of multimodal input on the interplay if cognitive processing routes in simultaneous interpreting: A corpus-assisted cognitive study. Journal of Foreign Languages, 42(2), 75–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefer, M.-A. (2012). Word-formation in translated language: The impact of language pair specific features and genre variation. Across Languages and Cultures, 13(2), 145–172. https://doi.org/10.1556/Acr.13.2012.2.2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levý, J. (1967). Translation as a decision process. In J. Levy (Ed.), To honor Roman Jakobson: Essays on the occasion of his seventieth birthday II (pp. 1171–1182). The Hague: Mouton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lörscher, W. (1991). Translation performance, translation process, and translation strategies: A psycholinguistic investigation. Tübingen: Narr.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macizo, P., & Bajo, T. (2006). Reading for repetition and reading for translation: Do they involve the same processes? Cognition, 99(1), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2004.09.012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maier, R., Pickering, M., & Hartsuiker, R. (2017). Does translation involve structural priming? The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70(8), 1575–1589. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2016.1194439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newmark, P. (1988). A textbook of translation. New York: Prentice Hall International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paradis, M. (1994). Toward a neurolinguistic theory of simultaneous translation: The framework. International Journal of Psycholinguistics, 10(3), 319–335.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavlović, N., & Antunovic, G. (2013). The effect of interpreting experience on distance dynamics: Testing the literal translation hypothesis. Translation and Interpreting Studies, 8(2), 233–252. https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.8.2.06pav.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pragglejaz Group. (2007). MIP: A method for identifying metaphorically used words in discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 22(1), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926480709336752.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaeffer, Moritz, & Carl, M. (2013). Shared representations and the translation process: A recursive model. Translation and Interpreting Studies, 8(2), 169–190. https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.8.2.03sch.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaeffer, M., Dragsted, B., Hvelplund, K., Balling, L., & Carl, M. (2016). Chapter 9: Word translation entropy: Evidence of early target language activation during reading for translation. In M. Carl, S. Bangalore, & M. Schaeffer (Eds.), New directions in empirical translation process research (pp. 183–210). Switzerland: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schäffner, C. (2017). Metaphor in translation. In Elena Semino & Z. Demjén (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of metaphor and language (pp. 247–262). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schäffner, C., & Shuttleworth, M. (2013). Metaphor in translation: Possibilities for process research. Target, 25(1), 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1075/target.25.1.08shu.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seleskovitch, D. (1976). Interpretation: A psychological approach to translating. In R. Brislin (Ed.), Translation: Applications and research (pp. 92–116). New York: Gardiner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Setton, R. (2011). Corpus-based interpreting studies (CIS): Overview and prospects. In A. Kruger, K. Wallmach, & J. Munday (Eds.), Corpus-based translation studies: Research and applications (pp. 33–75). London/New York: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shlesinger, M., & Malkiel, B. (2005). Comparing modalities: Cognates as a case in point. Across Languages and Cultures, 6(2), 173–193. https://doi.org/10.1556/Acr.6.2005.2.2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shuttleworth, M. (2013). Metaphor in translation: A multilingual investigation into language use at the frontiers of science knowledge. (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). Imperial College London, London, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjørup, A. (2008). Metaphor comprehension in translation: Methodological issues in a pilot study. In S. Göpferich, A. Jakobsen, & I. Mees (Eds.), Looking at eyes: Eye-tracking studies of reading and translation processing (pp. 53–72). Copenhagen, Denmark: Samfundslitteratur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjørup, A. (2011). Cognitive effort in metaphor translation: An eye-tracking study. In S. O’Brien (Ed.), Cognitive explorations of translation (pp. 197–214). London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjørup, A. (2013). Cognitive effort in metaphor translation: An eye-tracking and key-logging study. (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). Denmark: Copenhagen Business School.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spinolo, N. (2018). Studying figurative language in simultaneous interpreting: The IMITES (Interpretación de la Metáfora Entre ITaliano y ESpañol) Corpus. In M. Russo, C. Bendazzoli, & B. Defrancq (Eds.), Making way in corpus-based interpreting studies (pp. 133–155). Singapore: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Spinolo, N., & Garwood, C. (2010). To kill or not to kill: Metaphors in simultaneous interpreting. Forum, 8(1), 181–211. https://doi.org/10.1075/forum.8.1.08spi.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steen, G., Dorst, A., Herrmann, B., Kaal, A., Krennmayr, T., & Pasma, T. (2010). A method for linguistic metaphor identification. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tirkkonen-Condit, S. (2001). Metaphors in translation processes and products. Quaderns Revista de Traducció, 6, 11–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tirkkonen-Condit, S. (2002). Metaphoric expressions in translation processes. Across Languages and Cultures, 3(1), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1556/Acr.3.2002.1.8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tirkkonen-Condit, S. (2005). The monitor model revisited: Evidence from process research. Meta, 50(2), 405–414. https://doi.org/10.7202/010990ar.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toury, G. (2012). Descriptive translation studies and beyond (rev ed.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tzou, Y. -Z., Vaid, J., & Chen, H. -C. (2017). Does formal training in translation/interpreting affect translation strategy? Evidence from idiom translation. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 20(3), 632–641. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1366728915000929.

  • Wang, F., & Mei, D. (2017). Information processing and working memory in different interpreting directions: Revisiting the revised hierarchical model. Chinese Translators Journal, 4, 38–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiland, H., Bambini, V., & Schumacher, P. (2014). The role of literal meaning in figurative language comprehension: Evidence from masked priming ERP. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00583.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang, X., & Zheng, B. (2011). Understanding the reformulating metaphors: An empirical study on English-Chinese sight translation. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 43(3), 422–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiang, X., & Zheng, B. (2015). Background information and interpreting quality of metaphorical expressions: Looking into the products of English-Chinese sight interpretation. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, 280(1), 69–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, C. (2002). Syntactic linearity in simultaneous interpretation—An exploration study of its operation through the use of the minimalist program. Chinese Translators Journal, 6, 29–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zasiekin, S. (2016). Understanding translation universals. Babel, 62(1), 122–134. https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.62.1.07zas.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, B., & Xiang, X. (2013). Processing metaphorical expressions in sight translation: An empirical-experimental research. Babel, 59(2), 160–183. https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.59.2.03zhe.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, B., & Zhou, H. (2018). Revisiting processing time for metaphorical expressions: An eye-tracking study on eye-voice span during sight translation. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 50(5), 744–759.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by The National Social Science Fund of China [Project No. 19BYY126].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006, China

    Yue Lang

  2. The University of Macau, Macau, China

    Defeng Li

Authors
  1. Yue Lang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Defeng Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yue Lang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Languages and Translation, Macao Polytechnic Institute, Macao, China

    Lily Lim

  2. Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Macau, Macao, China

    Defeng Li

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Lang, Y., Li, D. (2020). Cognitive Processing Routes of Culture-Specific Linguistic Metaphors in Simultaneous Interpreting. In: Lim, L., Li, D. (eds) Key Issues in Translation Studies in China. New Frontiers in Translation Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5865-8_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5865-8_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-5864-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-5865-8

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation