A Study on Mnemonic Strategy in Consecutive Interpretation_英语论文

摘要

会议口译是为国际交往服务的重要手段，分为交替传译和同声传译。因为交替传译信息准确度要高于同声传译，所以在优先考虑准确性的情况下，交替传译是译员首选。

交替传译大体上分为三步，理解源语言演讲的意义，记住意义，用目的语再现源语言意义。其中，记忆至关重要，它有利于整个口译过程的顺利进行。但是，许多场合下，发言人一段话语的长度可能从一句话到整个讲话不等，这可能对人脑中负责处理即时信息的工作记忆构成极大挑战，因为它的容量和记忆时长有限。译员必须借助笔记来帮助解决记忆问题。在交替传译训练中，如何提升译员记忆力是交传训练中的一个主要问题。

本文以Gile的交传精力分配模式为指导，探讨了将地点定位法应用于交替传译，以提升译员记忆力的可能性。经过实验检验及对实验数据的细致分析，该研究表明经过记忆训练以后，被试的记忆水平的确较之前未进行记忆训练有所提升。本文为提升译员记忆力提供了一种新方法。

关键词： 交替传译  地点定位法  精力分配模式

Abstract

Conference interpretation, as a vital service for international communication, falls into consecutive interpretation (CI) and simultaneous interpretation. Since consecutive interpretation boasts of higher accuracy than simultaneous interpretation, it is considered to be the first choice on those occasions where accuracy is prioritized. 

Roughly, a CI task goes as a three-step process: comprehending meanings of source language speeches, memorizing the meanings and reproducing them in the target language. Memorizing is essential to the success of the whole task. However, on many occasions, speakers’ utterance in “one- go” may range from one sentence to the whole speech. This poses a great challenge to working memory which is responsible for handling incoming information, for it has very limited storage size and duration of time. Therefore, interpreters have to turn to note-taking skills to help solve the mnemonic problems. How to improve CI interpreters’ memory performance is one of the major problems in CI training.

Guided by Daniel Gile’s Effort Model of CI, this thesis explores whether the application of the Method of Loci in CI is effective to improve interpreters’ memory. After an experiment and detailed analysis of the data collected from it, we can conclude that participants who received this mnemonic training perform significantly better in terms of memory than they used to be without training. This study offers a new way to improve interpreters’ memorizing performance.

Key words:  consecutive interpretation  the Method of Loci  Effort Model

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction1

1.1 Research Background and Significance.1

1.2 Research Objective and Question.2

1.3 Research Method2

1.4 Structure of the Research.2

Chapter Two  Literature Review3

2.1 Theoretical Studies of Memory of Consecutive Interpretation3

2.2 Empirical Studies of Memory of Consecutive Interpretation4

2.3 Comments5 

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework6

3.1   Gile and His Effort Models .6

3.2   Gile’s Effort Model of Consecutive Interpretation6

Chapter Four  Experiment and Analysis.9

4.1   Research Question.9

4.2   Design of Experiment9

4.2.1 Participants9

4.2.2 Materials9

4.2.3 Procedure.10

4.2.4 A Reference to the Training of the Method of Loci. 11

4.3   Analysis13

4.3.1 Datasheets of the Scores13

4.3.2 An Overview of the Participants’ Memory Performance15

4.3.3 Statistical Hypothesis Test16

4.3.4 Summary 20

Chapter Five  Conclusion. . 21

5.1   Discussion and Finding. 21

5.2   Limitations and Suggestions22

Bibliography

Appendices

Acknowledgements