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The current study investigated how the processing of triple cognates (words sharing form and meaning across three languages) is modulated by the semantic bias of sentence context in a reading task. In the study, Polish-German-English trilinguals read English sentences while their eye movements were monitored. The sentences were either semantically biased (high-context) or neutral (low-context) towards target words. The targets were either Polish-German-English cognates whose cross-language form overlap was incomplete (e.g. DIAMENT-DIAMANT-DIAMOND) or English-only controls (e.g. KURCZAK-HÄHNCHEN-CHICKEN). The results revealed a significant effect of context in gaze durations and in total reading time. Importantly, no cognate facilitation effect was identified in any reading measure. The gaze duration data additionally revealed that English-only controls were read slower in low-context sentences than in high-context sentences but gaze durations for cognates were not affected by the sentence context. Thus, prior bilingual findings were only partially replicated in the current study with trilinguals. This suggests that bilingual models of language processing should be carefully adapted to trilinguals. The current data may also mean that non-identical cognates (even those shared across three languages) induce relatively small effects and large samples of participants and items may be needed to detect such effects across reading measures.

This study analyses cognitive load in simultaneous interpreting on the basis of naturalistic data from the Polish Interpreting Corpus (PINC). We wanted to find evidence both for the current load (visible immediately after the exposure to the source text word) and the exported load (visible after the production of the translation equivalent in the target text). We operationalised cognitive load as disruptions in fluency, i.e., silent and filled pauses. We assumed that low-frequency words would trigger higher current cognitive load than high-frequency words and cognates. This could lead to exported load and create a spillover effect, i.e., a decreased interpreting performance somewhere downstream. Our results show increased current cognitive load when processing low frequency words as compared to high frequency words and a directionality effect. We found no evidence for the spillover effect. Our findings suggest that the frequency of source text words affects the current cognitive load especially in B-A interpreting, potentially pointing at comprehension problems. Lexical frequency might not be a good predictor of the spillover effect. The study extends research on cognitive load in interpreting on the basis of naturalistic data and shows future research avenues for studies of the spillover effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to test whether proficient L2 users living in an L1-dominant environment would exhibit significant L2-L1 translation priming in a lexical decision task (LDT) and in a semantic categorisation task (SCT). Only a few previous studies have found significant L2-L1 priming in LDT whereas significant results have often been recorded in SCT but only for exemplars. In the present study, significant L2-L1 priming has been found in both tasks. Furthermore, in SCT L2-L1 priming was significant not only for exemplars but also for non-exemplars. However, the effect was stronger for exemplars than for non-exemplars. Such a pattern of results is discussed with respect to current models of lexical representation and language processing in bilinguals.

Conference interpreters form a special case of language users because the simultaneous interpretation practice requires very specific lexical processing. Word comprehension and production in respective languages is performed under strict time constraints and requires constant activation of the involved languages. The present experiment aimed at shedding more light on the effects of conference interpreting training on word production in the process of translation in sentence context. In the study we tested trilingual interpreting trainees and matched non-interpreting trilinguals. Both groups were required to verbally produce L1 and L2 translation equivalents in response to L3 target words (L2-L3 cognates and non-cognates) presented in two context constraints--high sentence context constraint and low sentence context constraint. This enabled us to investigate whether expertise developed during interpreting training in translation between L1 and L2 (extensively practised) is transferable to translation from L3 to L2 (not practised at all). The study provided evidence for cognate facilitation and context effects on naming latencies. However, we found no significant evidence of enhanced semantic processing of interpreting trainees compared to trilingual non-interpreters.

The current study investigated how the processing of triple cognates (words sharing form and meaning across three languages) is modulated by the semantic bias of sentence context in a reading task. In the study, Polish–German–English trilinguals read English sentences while their eye movements were monitored. The sentences were either semantically biased (high-context) or neutral (low-context) towards target words. The targets were either Polish–German–English cognates whose cross-language form overlap was incomplete (e.g. DIAMENT–DIAMANT–DIAMOND) or English-only controls (e.g. KURCZAK–HÄHNCHEN–CHICKEN). The results revealed a significant effect of context in gaze durations and in total reading time. Importantly, no cognate facilitation effect was identified in any reading measure. The gaze duration data additionally revealed that English-only controls were read slower in low-context sentences than in high-context sentences but gaze durations for cognates were not affected by the sentence context. Thus, prior bilingual findings were only partially replicated in the current study with trilinguals. This suggests that bilingual models of language processing should be carefully adapted to trilinguals. The current data may also mean that non-identical cognates (even those shared across three languages) induce relatively small effects and large samples of participants and items may be needed to detect such effects across reading measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respeaking is a method of producing subtitling for live events and TV programmes. Respeakers repeat speakers’ utterances so that they may be changed by speech recognition software into subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. Respeakers need to paraphrase the text so that it conforms with temporal and spatial constraints of subtitling. Due to the similarities between respeaking, interpreting and translation, we tested interpreters, translators and bilingual controls on a paraphrasing task to see whether interpreters or translators would manifest any advantage thanks to experience. Following respeaking training, the participants were asked to paraphrase sentences with semantic redundancies, oral discourse markers and false starts in a simultaneous and delayed condition. Contrary to our predictions, we found that experience did not modulate paraphrasing quality or speed in general, but interpreters did outperform other groups when eliminating semantic redundancies, which were also the most difficult reformulations to tackle for all participants. The data suggest that while interpreters and translators are not better predisposed to become respeakers than regular bilinguals, at least as regards the paraphrasing performance, certain aspects of the interpreting experience (the need to express meaning concisely within time constraints) may offer a slight advantage in producing well-formed respoken subtitles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to test whether proficient L2 users living in an L1-dominant environment would exhibit significant L2-L1 translation priming in a lexical decision task (LDT) and in a sematic categorisation task (SCT). Only a few previous studies have found significant L2-L1 priming in LDT whereas significant results have often been recorded in SCT but only for exemplars. In the present study, significant L2-L1 priming has been found in both tasks. Furthermore, in SCT L2-L1 priming was significant not only for exemplars but also for non-exemplars. However, the effect was stronger for exemplars than for non-exemplars. Such a pattern of results is discussed with respect to current models of lexical representation and language processing in bilinguals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to test whether proficient L2 users living in an L1-dominant environment would exhibit significant L2-L1 translation priming in a lexical decision task (LDT) and in a sematic categorisation task (SCT). Only a few previous studies have found significant L2-L1 priming in LDT whereas significant results have often been recorded in SCT but only for exemplars. In the present study, significant L2-L1 priming has been found in both tasks. Furthermore, in SCT L2-L1 priming was significant not only for exemplars but also for non-exemplars. However, the effect was stronger for exemplars than for non-exemplars. Such a pattern of results is discussed with respect to current models of lexical representation and language processing in bilinguals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conference interpreters form a special case of language users because the simultaneous interpretation practice requires very specific lexical processing. Word comprehension and production in respective languages is performed under strict time constraints and requires constant activation of the involved languages. The present experiment aimed at shedding more light on the effects of conference interpreting training on word production in the process of translation in sentence context. In the study we tested trilingual interpreting trainees and matched non-interpreting trilinguals. Both groups were required to verbally produce L1 and L2 translation equivalents in response to L3 target words (L2–L3 cognates and non-cognates) presented in two context constraints – high sentence context constraint and low sentence context constraint. This enabled us to investigate whether expertise developed during interpreting training in translation between L1 and L2 (extensively practised) is transferable to translation from L3 to L2 (not practised at all). The study provided evidence for cognate facilitation and context effects on naming latencies. However, we found no significant evidence of enhanced semantic processing of interpreting trainees compared to trilingual non-interpreters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]