Think-Aloud Protocol Analysis in Translation Studies

Think-aloud protocols (TAPs) have often been used to study the cognitive aspect of translation. This paper shows their usefulness for investigating the linguistic aspect of translation. Examples are drawn from material collected in 40 think-aloud sessions over several years. The participants were professional translators or trainee translators. The language pairs involved are French-German and French-Swedish. The translational linguistic problems discussed fall into the following categories: a) grammatical (the interpretation of French participial clauses), b) textual (the use of connectors), c) functional (different realizations of one and the same linguistic function in French on the one hand, and in German and Swedish on the other), and d) sociolinguistic (the rendering of the formal vous into Swedish by the more formal ni or the less formal du).

1999

In the last decade, Think Aloud Protocols (TAPs) have become a major instrument in process-oriented Translation Studies (TS). However, the serious questions regarding the experimental validity of this research methodology when applied to the translation process has been systematically reviewed in the literature.

2002

Abstract: Over the last decade, Think-aloud Protocols (TAPs) have been used extensively in process-oriented Translation Studies (TS). The serious questions regarding the experimental validity of this research methodology when applied to translation have nonetheless often remained unspoken.

Mainly structured around issues revealed in a questionnaire survey among 25 eminent translation process researchers worldwide, this paper deals with methodological issues in think-aloud-based translation process research from two perspectives: theoretical and practical. It argues that there is no strong evidence suggesting that TAP significantly changes or influences the translation process, though TAP’s validity and completeness in a specific study might depend more or less on several variables. TAP and such recording methods as keystroke logging and eye tracking serve different specific research purposes, so they can be combined in a multimethod study to answer more complex research questions. Several research designs are available for a multimethod study, and researchers are encouraged to try designs other than one-shot case studies or convergence design. As for the research procedure, this paper touches upon how to transcribe and analyze the protocols. Many stereotypes in this f...

İstanbul Üniversitesi Çeviribilim Dergisi, 2023

Among many definitions, translation can be described as decision making, which involves the concepts of problem solving, strategies, and choices, situating translation as a process which is oriented to study what goes on in the mind of the translators. Then, decision making can be addressed in studies concerning the translator, rather than the product, and can be tackled within the field of translation process research. This is already the case for think-aloud protocols (TAP), studied by many scholars within the framework of decision making. In spite of the criticism it gets, it is obvious that TAP provide rich data on decision making in translation, enhancing a wider perspective on the process-oriented approaches. Based on this perspective, then, TAP can also be studied within the situated and distributed cognition approaches to translation as a valuable research method that has access to the "black box" that will also provide an awareness of the fact that translation decision making and problem solving are not only restricted to texts. In this review, how decision making and translators are studied in translation process research will be reviewed, making some suggestions for future studies.

2020

To produce a smooth relationship between countries that have different languages, the English language functions as Lingua Franca. To understand the information in English, a good understanding is needed. Being able to translate English texts is one of the basic forms of understanding itself. Unfortunately, numerous English language learners; from junior high schools to university levels, are still experiencing problems in this translation. This study aims to uncover the strategies of students in translating English texts into Indonesian by using the Thinking Aloud Protocol method. The subjects of this study were students in semester V (five) who had gone through Structure I to Structure IV subjects. This research was conducted in the scope of the University of Muhammadiyah Palu. From this research, the most widely used translation strategy is done by students as well as the prototype of the translation process to produce good translations.

Meta Journal des traducteurs, 2023

The process of translation has been dramatically influenced by the latest developments in technology. Students’ behaviours during the translation process have also changed as they try to seek information and use different resources. This study aims to investigate the translation behaviour of students in an English translation department. For this purpose, 11 students were recruited. The students were asked to translate a scientific text from English into Turkish. For the analysis of their translation behaviour, Think-Aloud Protocols (TAPs) and their translated texts were used. Monologue Protocol was used to see what goes on in a prospective translator’s mind. The students were audio-recorded while translating. Then, the translations were scored and the transcriptions of the recordings were coded. The results were presented under three main themes: (i) Recruiting translation tools: when and how, (ii) Following a pattern of translation process, and (iii) Challenges: language(s), context and more. All in all, the present study highlights the importance of guiding students in the use of the appropriate tools for the translation of specialised texts, and also suggests that student translators should be more critical of Machine Translation outputs and should practice post-editing procedures in their courses.

Anadiss, 2012

In den letzten Jahren das Studium der Übersetzung hat eine beträchtliche Verlagerung des Interesses von präskriptiven und eher anekdotischen Einstellungen, hin zu mehr beschreibend, wissenschaftliche Positionen durchlaufen. Eine der Folgen dieser Verschiebung des Interesses war die Zunahme in der empirischen Forschung in den Übersetzungsprozess. Dies wurde durch die Überzeugung, dass, was im Kopf der Übersetzer geht, während sie gegenüber dem, was Wissenschaftler hatte behauptet, könnte auf mindestens so entscheidend für das Verständnis der Übersetzung als einer vergleichenden Analyse des Endprodukts, der übersetzte Text gehen, ist die Übersetzung angetrieben, Bezug auf den Quelltext.

Since translation research in Indonesia is more about the product (the translation text) rather than the process, this paper tries to see translation in the process. Translation process is interesting to discuss because of the following reasons. First, there are a lot of things happening in translators minds before the translated text is produced; second, culture brings more difficulties in the translation process. This paper tries to describe the difficulties that are encountered by the translators in translating the texts that have culture-bound terms or words and which strategies are taken to solve the difficulties.