Cognitive Approaches to Translation

Abstract

Cognitive scientific approaches to translation investigate the development and workings of the underlying processes that make the complex cognitive behavior of translation possible. They refer to and expand existing cognitive scientific models of the mind to explain the behavior and choices of translators. Cognitive models have been oriented to the metaphors of the computer (translation as information processing, code switching, and symbol manipulation), neural networks (connectionist models of translation), and sociocognitive theory (translation as situated interaction). Cognitive translation research uses a variety of methods to investigate the activity of translating by different groups of participants with a range of text types and in a variety of contexts. The methods used to date have included, for example, introspection, neurological EEG measurements, theoretical analysis, interviews, think‐aloud protocols, participant observation, screen logging, and eye‐tracking. Recent cognitive approaches to translation emphasize the social organization of translation and the ergonomics of the computer‐supported cooperative work in which complex activities are negotiated. Defining professionalism and expertise has also become one of the current themes in cognitive translation studies. In addition, affective and emotional aspects shift into the focus of attention as essential elements of cognition, and their impact on translation performance is being increasingly investigated.

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