Exploring the Situational Interface of Translation and Cognition: (101 Benjamins Current Topics)

The contributions of this volume explore the dynamics of the interface between the cognitive and situational levels in translation and interpreting. Until relatively recently, there has been an invisible line in translation and interpreting studies between cognitive research (e.g., into mental processes or attitudes) and sociological research (e.g., concerning organization, status, or institutions). However, rapid developments in translation and interpreting practices (professional, non-professional) have brought to the fore the need to rethink theoretical perspectives and to apply new research methods. The chapters in this volume aim to contribute to this discussion through conceptual and/or empirical research. Drawing on different theoretical and methodological frameworks, they offer insights into diverse translation and interpreting situations, in a number of different countries and cultures, and their consequences for individual and collective cognition. Originally published as special issue of Translation Spaces 5:1 (2016).

Review :
The thematic focus chosen for this book certainly makes it an inspiring and timely addition to our field. The great value of the book lies in that it demonstrates the wealth of insights that can be gained from workplace research that bridges diverse theoretical traditions and places humans front and centre. This book will be a rewarding read for anyone taking an interest in the complexity of real-world translation, interpreting and multilingual text production. This well-selected volume of articles delves into the intricacies of the human mind in social interaction during translation activities and integrates new theoretical, applied and methodological perspectives on translation, interpreting and multilingual text production. It offers fascinating insights into the sociocognitive interface of which individual mental processes form part and challenges traditional views on the division between the cognitive and the social in translation. These papers are rich explorations of the complex ways in which cognition is embedded in context – human, institutional and technical. Explicitly, the studies focus on varieties of translating and interpreting, yet the book is also, implicitly, a fascinating illustration of the role of theoretical concepts and categories as tools for thinking. Examples are the heuristic value of forming a new concept such as “live translation”, reinterpreting an existing one such as “affect”, and the usefulness (or not!) of distinguishing between cognitive act and sociological event. This special issue volume impresses with its breadth and depth. Highly recommended and worthwhile read, not only for graduate students who seek to understand translation and interpreting process research in general but also for more experienced researchers keen to follow advances in the field of translation and interpreting cognition in situ. The different research methods and interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks adopted in the studies reported in the book will be particularly useful for newcomers in this field of research.