Sight Translation Research Utilizing Eye Movement Tracking in Taiwan

A Literature Review

Abstract

Sight translation is an activity where an interpreter produces oral output while reading from a source text (Lai, 2010). It is regarded as a type of oral translation, which is mainly used in courts or academic conferences and also as a warm-up exercise prior to simultaneous interpreting training (Agrifoglio, 2004).
Compared to other types of interpretation, the cognitive effort needed in sight translation is less complicated. Also, since the source text input is in written form, eye-tracking techniques can be used to identify the cognitive processes that occur while an interpreter is performing the activity. The results may lead us one step closer to the understanding of the mysterious “black box” inside the brain of an interpreter.
This paper aims to review Taiwan’s past research on sight translation aided by the help of eye-tracking technology. Two closely related studies are selected: one entitled “Tracking eye movements in sight translation - the comprehension process in interpreting” by Huang, C.-C. (2011) and the other “Differences in comprehension process between experienced and novice interpreters – an eye movement study” by Chen D.-I. (2013). This paper focuses on the aims, research methodologies and statistical methods of the above studies, as well as their contribution to translation and interpretation studies as a whole.