Effect of Perceived Translation Difficulty on the Allocation of Cognitive Resources Between Translating and Consultation: An Eye-Tracking and Screen-Recording Study

Cui, Yixiao; Zheng, Binghan

Abstract

This chapter investigates whether and how an increase in perceived translation difficulty would affect student translators’ allocation of cognitive resources between translating and consultation, using eye-tracking and screen-recording data. To this aim, we conducted an experiment in which 38 MA translation students were recruited to translate two 100-word texts from English (L2) into Chinese (L1), with their translating and consultation processes being recorded by an eye-tracker. Our observation of the data reveals three major findings: 1) when student translators perceive an increase in translation difficulty, they allocate more time to consultation, which accounts for a larger proportion of the entire translation process; 2) when translating a difficult text, they consult more types of online resources to fulfil the increased information need; and 3) they tend to conduct more transitions between translating and consultation.

Citation

Cui, Y., & Zheng, B. (2021). Effect of Perceived Translation Difficulty on the Allocation of Cognitive Resources Between Translating and Consultation: An Eye-Tracking and Screen-Recording Study. In C. Wang, & B. Zheng (Eds.), Empirical Studies of Translation and Interpreting: The Post-Structuralist Approach (51-73). Routledge

• Online Publication Date: May 31, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Jan 28, 2022
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 51-73
• Series Title: Routledge Advances in Translation and Interpreting Studies
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Book Title: Empirical Studies of Translation and Interpreting: The Post-Structuralist Approach
• Chapter Number: 3
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1623015
• Publisher URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003017400-6/effect-perceived-translation-difficulty-allocation-cognitive-resources-translating-consultation-yixiao-cui-binghan-zheng