The third edition of the volume Introducing Interpreting Studies was published in 2022 by Routledge. The author, professor of Interpreting Studies at the Centre for Translation Studies at the University of Vienna, is regarded as one of the world's leading authorities on Interpreting Studies (IS), besides being an experienced conference and media interpreter himself.
[…] Introducing Interpreting Studies is intended to serve as "a map of the interpreting studies landscape" (p. 205), providing orientation for newcomers to academic research related to interpreting. It succeeds admirably in its aim. This comprehensive, structured, and accessible primer will quickly become the standard textbook around which introductory courses are organised. (Dawrant, 2004, p. 1.)
The author's vision of "unity in diversity" is admirably executed, bringing new cohesion to this nascent field and staking a convincing claim for Interpreting Studies as an academic discipline in its own right. (Dawrant, 2004, p. 2.)
Following the 2016 second edition, Introducing Interpreting Studies has now been updated for the second time. In the 2016 edition, although some topics received more extensive treatment, the original structure of the book was preserved, showing that the original concept of the book had stood the test of time. Now, just six years after the second edition, it has become apparent that the “steady growth” (p. 1) of the discipline, accelerated by demographic, educational, legal and technological developments (Pöchhacker, 2022, p. 148) necessitates another updating. Given the fundamental role that this book has played in IS, a review of this third edition appears to be justified.
The fundamental aim of the third edition, just like that of its predecessors, is to provide a comprehensive overview of the field through mapping the different domains of IS. In the following, I will describe first what has remained almost unchanged from the 2016 edition and then focus on the changes and additions in the 2022 third edition. The latter is most evident in the last three chapters, where new information is found in every chapter compared to the second edition.
Almost unchanged
The main features of Pöchhacker's introductory text include user-friendliness and accessibility, noted by all previous reviewers. These features have been retained. The volume can be efficiently used both as a textbook and as a source of reference, supported by the introductory main points at the beginning of each chapter in Part 1, as well as by the summaries and further reading suggestions closing them. The various chapters and subsections are linked by cross-references that not only make practical but also theoretical connections between concepts, approaches and models. Navigation between these concepts and topics is facilitated by two indexes, a Subject Index and an Author Index. The author recommends the Routledge Encyclopedia of Interpreting Studies (Pöchhacker, 2015) and The Interpreting Studies Reader (Pöchhacker & Shlesinger, 2002) as companion volumes to his introductory textbook.
Like the second edition, the present volume is also divided into three parts and 13 chapters, with the headings and subheadings almost unaltered. In Part I, the foundations are laid for topics discussed in Part II, while directions of further developments for the field are detailed in Part III.
The consolidation of the discipline as an academic area of study is reflected mainly in the typically unchanged content of Part 1, which presents the foundations of the discipline. These chapters contain the basic concepts that are unlikely to change with time and can be kept constant in a textbook. Only where new information was required were minor adjustments made, like the last subsection of Chapter 2 giving account of the growth of the field of study after its consolidation. In Part 1 new developments and trends are reflected in the extended list of references. From the 694 works cited, 143 were published after 2016, including authors from all over the world, beyond Western Europe.
In Chapter 1 the author presents the main concepts related to IS as an object of academic study. The section Main concepts, broadly speaking, comprises a definition of interpreting and a description of the various types of interpreting. The author defines interpreting as a form of translation, distinguished by the fact that “a first and final rendition in another language is produced on the basis of a one-time presentation of an utterance in a source language” (p. 11). In several other places he voices his conviction that IS should be regarded as a subfield of Translation Studies: “the positioning of IS as a subfield of TS is beyond doubt” (p. 32). He cites some new references (published after the second edition) in support of this view, including the Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (Baker & Saldanha, 2019) and the Handbook of Translation Studies (Gambier & van Doorslaer, 2021). This chapter then gives an introduction to the various types of interpreting, according to social setting (e.g. business and legal interpreting), type of interaction (e.g. dialogue, conference and community interpreting) language modality (e.g. spoken vs. signed language), working mode (e.g. consecutive and simultaneous), directionality (e.g. A to B and retour interpreting). Compared to the second edition, a novelty in this chapter is a reference to the increased use of technology and the increasing attention paid to community and signed language interpreting in recent IS research.
Chapter 2 describes the historical evolution of IS as a discipline. This is a fascinating read, which confirms another main idea of the author's, “unity in diversity” (p. 74), that is, that diverse approaches lead towards a unified discipline. He notes the increasing degree of internationalization, which promises further substantial progress in IS. New developments in interpreting practice are identified as “border crossings” (p. 49) because they call into question fundamental assumptions about the concept of interpreting and in this way go beyond its familiar borders, having thus transformative effect on the discipline. Pöchhacker mentions two such border crossings: on the one hand, increasing automation and technological developments in computer-assisted and AI-supported interpreting, and, on the other, the principles of social justice and equal accessibility.
Chapter 3 is concerned with the object of study in IS and presents the most important disciplinary, theoretical and methodological approaches, paradigms or research traditions. Based on the concept of memes (Chesterman, 1997) he identifies the following memes of interpreting: verbal transfer, making sense, cognitive information processing skills, text-discourse production and mediation (pp. 60–65). These key ideas are addressed in empirical research by several “paradigms”, the Parish School's Interpretative Theory of Translation (IT), the Cognitive Processing Paradigm (CP), the Neurolinguistic Paradigm (NL), the Discourse-in-Interaction Paradigm (DI) and the Target-Text-Oriented Paradigm (TT). The author looks at these research traditions not as isolated efforts but rather as complementary approaches forming “unity in diversity”.
Chapter 4 presents the models of interpreting. Models can be interaction or process-oriented and can take into consideration the interconnectedness of interpreting with the anthropological, socio-professional, institutional, interactional, textual and neural level.
Following the conceptual outline of IS in the four chapters of Part I, the eight chapters of Part II give a more detailed presentation of the most important topics in IS as an academic field. Instead of introductory main points, in this part summaries and suggestions for further study as well as minimalist, thematically grouped lists of references to relevant entries in the Routledge Encyclopedia of Interpreting Studies close the chapters.
Interpreters are a special type of bilingual persons and interpretation requires a good memory, so it is natural that the topic of language and memory and the workings of the bilingual mind have always been in the foreground of IS. These issues are dealt with in Chapter 5, in which recent developments in the study of language control and multilingual processing are mentioned (p. 109). The main features of the neurocognitive model of simultaneous interpretation (Chmiel, 2018; Hervais-Adelman & Babcock, 2020) are also highlighted.
Chapter 6 is concerned with cognitive processes at the interface of language and cognition. The author addresses issues like the characteristics of processes that take place between intention and articulation as well as the factors underlying hesitations and corrections. Here again we find references to recent studies in lexical, and syntactic and predictive processing (Amos, 2020), cognitive load in collaborative meaning-making in dialogue interpreting, and knowledge-based comprehension and the cognitive background of hesitations and corrections are touched upon (Bóna & Bakti, 2020; Plevoets & Defrancq, 2018).
The following two chapters focus on discourse in interpreting. In Chapter 7 discourse is discussed from a textual perspective. The term ‘text’ is extended from written language to orality, taking into account sign language use, as well as a range of nonverbal signalling systems, like intonation or accent, summarized as situated and embodied multimodal performance, as they influence attitudinal effects and audience judgment, too. Recent studies have placed a major focus on effect and pragmatic impact. However, accuracy also continues to enjoy special significance for quality, a prevailing issue in professional practice, training and research. As in TS, corpus-based research has gained momentum in IS, making it possible to devote increased attention to textural and pragmatic shifts in interpreting. The topic of effect is discussed, primarily in connection with sign language interpreting and interpreting in educational contexts, judicial processes, and in the media, settings inherently linked to the aforementioned border crossing issues related to equal rights and accessibility to interpreting.
Chapter 8 approaches discourse from a sociolinguistic perspective, highlighting the fact that the interpreter has a role as a participant in the interpreted interaction, managing and coordinating the flow of discourse, by implicit or explicit means, using the full range of verbal to nonverbal sign systems. In addition to gestures, gaze, and physical positioning, recent studies have also begun to consider the use of modern technology, like headsets as interactional resources and video-recordings to investigate multimodality in interpreting (Davitti, 2019; Vranjes & Brône, 2020; Warnicke & Plejert, 2018).
Chapter 9 explores the history of interpreting as a practice, encompassing ancient civilizations and modern empires, extending from Europe to the Far East and other regions. The most recent investigations address not only the status of interpreters, but also ethical issues, as well as specific fields, like the role of interpreters in military settings. This chapter has been substantially extended to give a detailed account of historical events in the twentieth century when the professionalization of interpreting unfolded. These milestone events and technological development catalysed the professionalization of interpreting, calling for training programs and the creation of professional organizations like AIIC or RID to meet the demand for quality.
Substantially revised
Professionalization, technology and education, are further elaborated on in the final three chapters of Part II. These are the chapters that were subject to major revisions as a result of recent developments. Without doubt, interpreting as a profession is strongly dependent on technological innovation, which also impacts on interpreter training and the major trends of development in the field.
Chapter 10 bears the title Profession, since IS is fundamentally concerned with interpreters who practice interpreting as a profession, requiring “special knowledge and skills acquired through education” (p. 167). This chapter has a sociological slant: it discusses the identity, status and image of interpreters, their competences, personal qualities, certification, expected and accepted behaviour (ethics), codes of conduct, quality of service and working conditions. The work of scholars from the Far East adds new perspectives to this field, which is a new addition to this chapter.
Chapter 11, entitled Technology, covers an area that has become one of the major research focuses of IS, impacting on interpreters' preparation, strategies, cognitive processes as well as interpreter training. Compared to technology used for documentation and preparation, technology designed for computer-assisted interpreting (CAI) and those replacing human skills were the most outstanding developments that have taken place since the publication of the second edition of this volume, together with the appearance of tools that make visual and acoustic sign transmission possible for remote and distant interpreting. The features of these tools are evolving at a rapid pace, and what first was designed for terminology management, became useful for information retrieval from corpora and ultimately for linking knowledge management functions with automatic speech recognition (ASR). The issue of technology is also linked to more traditional questions in IS like accuracy and cognitive processing.
Part II concludes with Chapter 12, updated and completed extensively, since the field of Education has also been profoundly affected by developments related to the profession and technology. The chapter first discusses issues regarding approaches, levels and formats as well as the content and structure of curriculum in interpreting education. The author addresses questions regarding the selection of the right candidates for interpreter training, the competences and skills required for entry and aptitude testing.
Due to recent developments the role of technology in interpreting training has also changed, affecting not only the content of curricula but also the medium through which teaching occurs. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact but as every cloud has a silver lining, videoconferencing-based instruction accelerated the adaptation of skills to the latest developments in digital and virtual-reality technologies, compensating for the very limited in-person interaction, which makes role-play and drama techniques inapplicable in remote instruction.
The chapter concludes with considerations regarding assessment and final testing, an issue underpinned by didactic considerations like ‘competency’ and ‘quality’. Since the second edition, research in this respect has made significant progress giving account of “advanced methods of rater-mediated educational assessment” (p. 215) particularly in China, driven also by efforts towards standardization and enhancement of certification tests. It remains a question how “to minimize the human factor” most effectively in assessment. New research suggests that relying on automated analyses and “adopting metrics used in the evaluation of machine translation output” (p. 215) may contribute to the validity and reliability of examinations.
Educational issues include the requirement of continuous professional development, supported by institutions like the AIIC and RID, as well as the training of trainers to maintain a direct link between the profession and interpreting education. A final point in this chapter is research training, crucial for higher scientific standards and methodological expertise.
Part III, entitled Directions, contains only one chapter, offering useful guidelines and suggestions for future generations of researchers who wish to find their way along the various trends prevailing in the discipline. These developments have an impact not only on the field of study itself and its theoretical and methodological foundations, but also on the profession at its various levels and dimensions, largely due to increasing research efforts, the academization of training, internationalization and the establishment of an ever growing number of academic institutions, journals and publications. At first sight, these trends can seem arbitrary and unpredictable, nonetheless diversification within the field of IS appears to be controlled by a certain pattern of convergence at international, institutional and also at individual level, thanks to interdisciplinary cooperation among scholars active in the various paradigms of IS.
Beyond the basic disciplinary issues Pöchhacker identifies six critical problem areas, the six Ms (manpower, motivation, material, market, means and methods) and elaborates them in more detail than in the second edition of the book.
The author also outlines future perspectives for IS on the basis of mega-trends such as globalization and technologization, taking into account the strong influence of power relations, the need for cultural adaptation, migration and technological development on interpreting practice, training and research.
The conclusion of the book gives a practical list of steps and suggestions on how to get help if one wishes to venture into interpreting research. The book itself constitutes a good basis for the first five steps. Critical reading, selecting relevant literature from the bibliography of this textbook and its complementary reference books pave the way for wording research questions, choosing appropriate research methods and design as steps 6–8. Further steps include successfully implemented data collection, processing and analysis leading to a sound evaluation and interpretation of findings that can be finally reported in publications.
The whole book reflects a genuine and personal commitment to interpreting studies on the part of the author, encouraging the readers to develop their own personal approach to the field and to ultimately contribute to the enrichment of knowledge shared by the IS research community.
References
Amos, R. A. (2020). Prediction in interpreting, Doctoral thesis, University of Geneva. https://doi.org/10.13097/archive-ouverte/unige:148890.
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Bóna, J., & Bakti, M. (2020). The effect of cognitive load on temporal and disfluency patterns of speech: Evidence from consecutive interpreting and sight translation. Target, 32(3), 482–506. https://doi.org/10.1075/target.19041.bon.
Chesterman, A. (1997). Memes of translation: The spread of ideas in translation theory. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.22 (rev. edn: 2016. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.123).
Chmiel, A. (2018). In search of the working memory advantage in conference interpreting – training, experience and task effects. International Journal of Bilingualism, 22(3), 371–384. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006916681082.
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Vranjes, J., & Brône, G. (2020). Eye-tracking in interpreter-mediated talk: From research to practice. In Salaets, H., & Brône, G. (Eds.), Linking up with video. Perspectives on interpreting practice and research (pp. 203–233). John Benjamins. https://benjamins.com/catalog/btl.149.09vra.
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