‘Monitoring’ in translation

Abstract

We assume that visual feedback from the written trace during translation plays an important role in monitoring the emerging translation. In this study, 44 participants translated with and without visual feedback from the target text (TT). Numerous measures were used to explore the differences between the texts that were created in the two conditions and the characteristics of the task performance in the two conditions. The impact of ST-TT semantic and syntactic relationships showed that there were differences on two of three behavioural measures across conditions. In the comparison of features of the translation process, findings show that ST reading times were longer without visual feedback, while increased translational choice (implying more monitoring) affected eye movements on the source text (ST) in the same way in both conditions. We found that, without visual feedback, when faced with more translational options, translators read the ST less linearly. Participants were more likely to look at the TT screen or read the TT the longer they read the ST and the more the more translational options the ST offered, even if the TT window was blank.