Abstracts
Abstract
Automaticity is a key construct in skill acquisition. This study explored how time pressure and work experience affect the degree of translation automaticity in novice (N = 35) and experienced translators (N = 30) using eye-tracking and keystroke-logging metrics. Four aspects of automaticity in translation were examined, namely, processing speed, degree of parallel processing, effort taken to produce each production unit and attention allocation pattern to the source/target text areas. Results showed that time pressure rendered more automatic translation at the micro-level as evidenced by increased speed, deeper parallel processing and less effort (measured by time) required for each production unit. Translators’ professional experience affected automaticity at the macro-level since experienced translators displayed a significantly more automatic comprehension process as compared to novices. In conclusion, whilst time pressure enhances automaticity in certain translation behaviours, the most fundamental factor for automaticity development in translation skills is experience. The findings could provide implications for translation practice and training.
Keywords:
- automaticity in translation,
- time pressure,
- work experience,
- eye-tracking,
- key-logging
Résumé
L’automaticité est un concept clé dans l’acquisition des compétences. Cette étude emploie les techniques d’oculométrie et d’enregistrement des frappes afin d’explorer l’influence de la pression temporelle et de l’expérience professionnelle sur le degré d’automaticité en traduction chez les traducteurs novices (N = 35) et expérimentés (N = 30). On analyse ici quatre aspects de l’automaticité en traduction : la vitesse de traitement, le degré de traitement parallèle, l’effort nécessaire pour produire chaque unité de production et le schéma d’allocation de l’attention entre les zones de texte source et cible. Les résultats démontrent que la pression temporelle induit une plus grande automaticité dans le processus de traduction au niveau micro, comme en témoignent l’augmentation de la vitesse, un traitement parallèle plus important et la diminution de l’effort (mesuré en temps) requis pour chaque unité de production. L’expérience professionnelle des traducteurs influence l’automaticité au niveau macro, les traducteurs expérimentés démontrant un degré d’automaticité significativement supérieur à celui des novices au niveau de la compréhension. En conclusion, bien que la pression temporelle améliore l’automaticité dans certains comportements traductionnels, l’expérience demeure le facteur le plus déterminant dans le développement de l’automaticité des compétences en traduction. Ces résultats peuvent avoir des implications pour la pratique et la formation en traduction.
Mots-clés :
- automaticité en traduction,
- pression temporelle,
- expérience professionnelle,
- oculométrie,
- enregistrement des frappes au clavier
Resumen
La automaticidad es un concepto clave en la adquisición de habilidades. Este estudio explora cómo la presión temporal y la experiencia laboral afectaban el grado de automaticidad en la traducción en traductores novatos (N = 35) y experimentados (N = 30), utilizando métricas de seguimiento ocular y registro de pulsaciones. Se examinaron cuatro aspectos de la automaticidad en la traducción: la velocidad de procesamiento, el grado de procesamiento paralelo, el esfuerzo requerido para producir cada unidad de producción y el patrón de asignación de atención a las áreas del texto fuente y meta. Los resultados muestran que la presión temporal conduce a una traducción más automática a nivel micro, evidenciada por un aumento en la velocidad, un mayor grado de procesamiento paralelo y un menor esfuerzo (medido en tiempo) requerido para cada unidad de producción. La experiencia profesional de los traductores influye en la automaticidad a nivel macro, ya que los traductores experimentados demuestran un proceso de comprensión significativamente más automático en comparación con los novatos. En conclusión, aunque la presión temporal mejora la automaticidad en ciertos comportamientos traductológicos, el factor más fundamental para el desarrollo de la automaticidad en las habilidades de traducción es la experiencia. Los hallazgos podrían tener implicaciones para la práctica y la formación en traducción.
Palabras clave:
- automaticidad en la traducción,
- presión temporal,
- experiencia laboral,
- seguimiento ocular,
- registro de pulsaciones
Appendices
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