On Analyzing Pauses In Chinese To English Simultaneous Interpreting From The Perspective Of Working Memory

The immediacy of simultaneous interpreting determines that it can not be compared with other interpreting forms in terms of accuracy.However,with the increasing requirements on the quality of simultaneous interpreting,assessment of simultaneous interpreting is gaining more and more attention.And it is not an easy task,even for experienced assessors.Pause,as an important criterion to judge the quality of interpreting,influences the fluency of interpreting,and consequently the quality of interpreting.So it is also attracting wide attention in interpreting study.Studies in second language output show that the occurrence of pauses is related to cognitive resources,that is,working memory.Although interpreting output is also subordinate to second language output,yet few studies touch upon the role of the working memory in causing pauses.On the basis of summarizing the predecessors,this paper designs the corresponding experiment under the framework ofBaddeley 's working memory and Gile' s Effort model to explore the reasons of pauses in the Chinese and English simultaneous interpreting and the role of working memory.In this paper,five interpreting production samples were analyzed,as well as their explanation in stimulate recall.The study found that the main reason for the pause is to retrievetarget language and read notes.Further analysis reveals that it is because subjects cannot properly distribute the energy on processing information,reading notes and interpreting.According to the reasons of pauses,the author suggests coping strategies to reduce pauses.One thing the author would like to point out is that whether the pause made by speaker would cause pause in production is not discussed in the paper.This provides author a chance to make further study in this aspect.