A Study On Figure Interpreting In Simultaneous Interpretation From The Perspective Of Cognitive Psychology

In recent years, with the further deepening of globalization, interpreting industry witnesses its popularity, capturing growing attention and increasing study on this field. Simultaneous interpreting (SI), being time-saving and highly efficient, is frequently applied in a number of occasions, like international conferences and news conferences. Usually, no matter what field interpreting is involved in, numerical information is hardly avoidable. Therefore, how to improve figure interpreting in SI is of realistic significance.Based on the theory of cognitive psychology, this dissertation takes literature review, case analysis and comparative analysis as its study methods in a bid to uncover the difficulty and relevant cognitive factors in figure interpreting. It is discovered that due to the unique features of numeral information, like low redundancy and lower predictability, figure interpreting has been widely recognized as a "hard nut" for interpreters. Moreover, SI places a more demanding requirement for its almost real-time delivering.This dissertation focuses on two cognitive factors, attention and memory, to analyze the cognitive processing activity in simultaneous figure interpreting. And it is found that the selection and allocation of interpreters’attention is pivotal to the success of interpreting.In addition, a good memory is also a must for any interpreters. Sensory memory can help receive information immediately, improving the integrity and accurateness of the rendering. What’s more, short-term memory also plays a vital role in SI. The capacity of the short-term memory and the efficiency of the working memory have a huge bearing on the success of the SI. Furthermore, a vast long-term memory can lay a good foundation for interpreters as it can largely reduce the cognitive burden during interpreting. Finally, the author puts forward some practices for figure interpreting, including ways to enlarge short-term memory span, deepen long-term memory and overcome the mental block in dealing with figure interpreting.This thesis is aimed at helping interpreting learners to improve their ability in figure interpreting and hopefully providing some insight for the research in this field.