Analyzing recursiveness patterns and retrospective protocols of professional translators in L1 and L2 translation tasks

Abstract

This study aims to investigate cognitive processing during translation by eight professional translators. In particular, it examines the extent to which the translation process is modulated by the direction of the translation: from English (L2) to Brazilian Portuguese (L1) and vice versa. The data collection was based on the triangulation of translation process data, combining different data elicitation tools to investigate the translation process (Alves 2003a; Jakobsen 1999). The analyses of the translation data drew on linear representations of the variable recursiveness. The recursive movements were calculated and classified, and the results from various tasks were compared. The quantitative data analyses revealed a higher number of recursive movements in L1 when compared to the L2 translation when the participants translated texts on the same topic. However, recursiveness was less in L1 translation when the same participants translated texts on different topics. These quantitative data were analyzed in parallel with the qualitative data provided by the retrospective protocols, permitting meta-reflection instances to be evaluated during decision-making processes (Alves and Gonçalves 2007). Results show that recursiveness and retrospective protocols can be used as indicators to measure translation task difficulty.