TerpTopics: PROCESSING MODELS An Introduction to ASL and Sign Language Interpreting

An interpreted message is a message at risk. Discourse might be flowing fast and furious or from several sources at once and may involve terminology or full topics unfamiliar to the interpreter. Interpretations resulting from challenging or chaotic situations or discourse can suffer a little, or a lot.

Interpretation outcomes are the result of many, many factors. Several of these factors are influenced by interpreter knowledge, choice, and use of processing models.

For this discussion, the word model is used to mean paradigm. But, what does paradigm mean?

"A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices
that constitutes a way of viewing reality
for the community that shares them."

- Yahoo Education definition of paradigm

Over the years, interpreters, their process and production, have been observed, recorded, studied, and analyzed by concerned and informed people, not the least influential of whom have been [listed here in no particular order]: speech pathologist, educator, and counselor Dr. Betty Colonomos; educator Ms. Sandra Gish; and educator and linguist Dr. Dennis Cokely.

On this page is a bulleted overview of the processing models put forth by these renowned professionals. Look it over. Find the differences and similarities. Then, obtain the books, take the workshops, study, practice, and study some more.

The extent to which you internalize models is the extent to which they are available for use at a moment's notice and can save you and your product from going down the drain. Think of them as theoretical scaffolding; use them to crawl around and through your thoughts while interpreting. Processing models offer structure. Use them to organize what you are doing. Having access to a paradigm is like having access to a map. Interpreters are encouraged to ask for directions.

Interpreting, from the viewpoint of its being mental activity, involves three basic steps. Each mental activity step requires specific skills. Under the Colonomos model, the extent to which an interpreter is able to acquire the requisite skills and use them to perform the mental activities will immeasurably impact his/her production.

          strip the source message of language
          experience the message, not the language
          retain the essence feelings, fragrances, images, etc.

          organize message concepts into the structure of the target language and culture
          how best is the message conveyed via the target language and culture
          as needed, seek any required additional information or clarification

Interpreting a source message into a dynamically equivalent target message requires efficient organization and re-organization of data. Ms. Gish has given interpreters an eloquently effective discourse organization tool to use within the framework of a speaker's goal.

Here's a little graphic we put together to help illustrate organization of the conceptual hierarchy.

Factual or statistical information, such as telephone numbers, percentages, URLs.

Interpretation errors (Cokely calls them miscues) can be minimized when an interpreter understands which mistakes s/he most often makes and where they occur during the process.

Morphological: tiny elements that change meaning (ex: "s" shows more than one)

Lexical: word/phrase left completely out

Cohesive: not organizing message parts into contextual relationships

Non-manual: grammatically incorrect

Lexical: word/phrase to contextualize or explain, but incorrect

Cohesive: incorrectly organizing the message; making relationships where none exist

Restrictive: making the message less than it was

Expansive: making the message more than it was

Unrelated: produced the wrong sign/word/concept

Interpreting, from the viewpoint of cognitive processing, involves seven major stages. Interpreters can minimize the occurrence of a particularly challenging miscue by identifying at which stage it happens in the cognitive process, and then analyzing why it occurs and how to stop doing it.

Interpreter must be able to perceive the message
If unable to perceive, the rest of the process cannot succeed

sensory register (can see/hear it and can start to process it)
recognition (comprehending the message)
attention (avoiding distraction and interference)

Attention is given to the form of the source message
Does the message make sense? Is it understandable?

it fits: where we are, who is present, why we are doing what we are doing
message is taking shape within a meaningful context
interpreter has language and culture knowledge required for comprehension
interpreter can begin to make predictions about the message
interpreter's cumulative knowledge supports the present effort

Information is "chunked" for holding then organizing along with other chunked information
Accuracy in understanding each chunk depends upon how deeply it is analyzed
Interpreter appropriately uses "lag-time" to await idea completion and understanding

Stage 4: Semantic Intent Realized

Source language form is dropped
Interpreter focuses on conceptual meaning
Target language and cultural elements are considered

Interpreter mentally formulates the message into the target language
Interpreter mentally rehearses the message for effectiveness and accuracy

Interpreter delivers the interpreted message
Interpreter monitors consumers for comprehension and feedback

This page was edited: 09/15/2009
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