Units of Translation and the Limited Capacity of Working Memory

Abstract

A unit of translation is a source text fragment of any length or nature that piques a translator’s interest during translation. Alves and Vale proposed the concept of macro and micro translation units based on pauses and times identified in Translog software while translating a document. The objective of this exploratory study was to describe the characteristics of translation units in relation to the limited capacity of working memory (WM) and the information storage-processing capacity. Four trained translators participated in this study, translating a short text about underground mining. The data collection tools were Translog II and Camtasia software. Findings showed that participants used an analytic and sequential processing method and their limited capacity of WM exhibited a lower processing speed, which had an impact on the length of the macro units of translation (UTs).