Presentation of Theoretical Frameworks

The study presented in this dissertation is interdisciplinary in nature. As discussed in the previous section, it arises from the well-established paradigm of process-focused translation and

5 In the Interpreting Studies literature, the term ‘online’ is commonly used to indicate that some thing or process occurs concomitantly with an interpretation—i.e., during performance, usually of simultaneous conference

interpreting. In borrowing the term to describe dialogue interpreting, I use the term more broadly, applying it to the entirety of the performance phase, including moments when the interpreter is not speaking.

interpreting research (Pöchhacker, 2004; Muñoz Martín, 2014) and is informed by scholarly research into dialogue interpreting (e.g., Wadensjö, 1998; Metzger, 1999; Roy, 2000; Mason, 1999, 2001; see also the volumes mentioned in the concluding paragraph of Section 1.1).

Inasmuch as process-focused research draws on the literature on expertise and skill acquisition (Ericsson, et al., 2006; Liu, 2008) and on working memory, attention, and executive control (Cowan, 2000/1, 2005; Timarová, 2008; Hofmann, et al., 2011; Baddeley, 2012), these bodies of knowledge are also highly relevant to the study. Another major strand of research and theory shaping this study is that involving the study of self-regulation and self-regulated learning (Pintrich, 2000; Zimmerman, 2000; Vohs & Baumeister, 2004; Dinsmore, et al., 2008; Carver &

Scheier, 2011). See Figure 1, below, for a graphic representation of the theoretical influences on this study.

Figure 1 Situating this study within the field of Interpreting Studies

The theoretical portion of the dissertation thus begins with an overview of a number of relevant concepts related to memory, in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 discusses expertise studies and Chapter 4 discusses self-regulation. Chapter 5 discusses self-regulation in dialogue interpreting. In the immediately following sections, I briefly introduce expertise studies and self-regulation and the rationale for their use as the theoretical basis of the research study described and reported on in Chapters 6 through 9.

1.3.1 Expertise Studies: Describing the Trajectory of Skill Acquisition and the Characteristics of Competent Performance

The proposition that experts at a task or skill perform differently than novices is widely accepted (Ericsson, 2006a); indeed, research into expert performance has identified a number of cognitive and processing differences between novices and experts in many disciplines, including simultaneous conference interpreting (Hoffman, 1997; Ericsson, 2000; Liu, 2008; Moser-Mercer, 2007, 2010). Although intuition would suggest the existence of comparable differences in novice and expert dialogue interpreters, there is little research aimed at verifying the existence of such differences or describing them (see Englund Dimitrova & Tiselius, 2016, discussed above). This study is, therefore, novel in adopting an expertise-informed approached to studying dialogue interpreting.

Muñoz Martín (2014:55) describes expertise studies as seeking to identify “the potential range of cognitive, motivational and personal traits, habits and dispositions that will yield sustained outstanding performance.” Although describing the characteristics of superior

performance is one goal of expertise studies, it is not the only aim of such research. Describing differences in performance in more- and less-expert performers (i.e., in novices and in competent performers of a skill) provides insight into the developmental trajectory associated with skill acquisition (Chi, 2006), which, in turn, can lead to a better understanding of the demands of the skill and to improvements in training. As Liu (2008:160) puts it, “knowing how expert

interpreters perform their craft differently from novice interpreters and how expertise progresses along a developmental course is crucial to the success and efficiency of interpretation training.”

Gaining insight into interpreters’ performance at different points on the developmental trajectory is a fundamental step toward understanding the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of skill acquisition in dialogue interpreting. An expertise-studies approach is thus well suited to situating the interpreter-as-task-performer as the principal focus of inquiry. Expertise studies is further discussed in Chapter 3.

1.3.2 Self-Regulation: A Framework for Exploring Online Monitoring & Control

The high demands on cognitive processing involved in simultaneous conference interpreting are well-documented in the scholarly literature, which has explored issues such as simultaneity of listening and speaking, time constraints, and allocation of cognitive resources (e.g., working memory, parallel processing), all of which have been shown to potentially affect performance (Lambert and Moser-Mercer, 1994; Setton, 1999; Liu, 2008; Timarová, 2008; Gile, 2009, 2015;

Moser-Mercer, 2010; Englund Dimitrova & Tiselius, 2016). In contrast, there has been little systematic inquiry into the variables influencing performance in dialogue interpreting.

The fundamental cognitive processes of comprehension, language transfer, and production are assumed to be involved in both simultaneous conference interpreting and dialogue

interpreting (Hale, 2007; Englund Dimitrova & Tiselius, 2016). However, the many differences between conference interpreting and dialogue interpreting—especially with regard to

simultaneity of listening and speaking in the case of the former⁶ and interaction management in the case of the latter—suggest that while the variables influencing performance in the two subdomains of interpreting may overlap to some extent, they do not do so entirely.

For example, while the possibility of failures in performance due to cognitive overload exists in both types of interpreting, the existing literature, as well as intuition and experience, suggest differences in the factors that might lead to difficulties with allocation of cognitive resources.

While dialogue interpreters do work under a time constraint (i.e., they are expected to produce a target language utterance immediately after hearing a source language utterance), that time constraint is qualitatively distinct from the time constraints experienced by simultaneous

conference interpreters. In contrast to the situation faced by the conference interpreter in his/her booth, the dialogue interpreter does not usually face the need to speak and listen simultaneously, and, in most situations, has recourse to strategies or coping mechanisms not commonly available to simultaneous conference interpreters, such as modifying the pace of the interaction (by asking speakers to slow down or to pause for interpretation) or requesting a repetition or explanation of a portion of the source language utterance. At the same time, dialogue interpreting involves potential variables affecting performance that are generally not of central importance to conference interpreting, such as managing turn-taking and the flow of communication.

The research presented in this dissertation takes as its starting point the proposition that a systematic exploration of (1.) the variables influencing dialogue interpreters’ performance and (2.) the control mechanisms employed by dialogue interpreters during performance is a

necessary step toward formulating a process model of dialogue interpreting. This exploratory effort requires an analytical framework that is sensitive to the interactional, management, and affective factors that inevitably affect performance and to the range of control mechanisms that interpreters may employ.

The theoretical lens through which I approach this exploration is self-regulation, which focuses on “the many processes by which the human psyche exercises control over its functions, states, and inner processes” (Vohs & Baumeister, 2004:1). Inasmuch as the study of

self-regulation is inherently focused on the individual and his/her achievement of performance goals

6 Spoken-language dialogue interpreting is generally performed in the consecutive mode, although whispered simultaneous interpreting or simultaneous with remote equipment may be employed. Simultaneous interpreting is also frequently employed when the interpreter is working between a signed and a spoken language (i.e., bimodally).

(Pintrich, 2000; Dinsmore, et al., 2008; Carver & Scheier, 2000, 2011), it provides a productive theoretical and analytical framework for focusing attention on the interpreter-as-performer, and, more specifically, for exploring the parameters and features of the interpreting task that

interpreters monitor during performance, as well as control mechanisms they employ. As Hild (2014:129) argues, “by integrating self-regulation and cognition within the purview of process research, one can move closer to gaining insights into how translators and interpreters operate in real-life situations.” Self-regulation is further discussed in Chapter 4.