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Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Journal home page:
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Analyzing the nonverbal culture of consecutive interpreter
Djamilya ABDUGANIEVA
1
Uzbekistan State World Languages University
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received November 2022
Received in revised form
10 November 2022
Accepted 25 December 2022
Available online
25 January 2023
The non-verbal component in interpretation activity as an
object of study is a lacunar area. The three-way interaction of
the speaker, interpreter, and listener is considered for the
interpretation of their gestures, and the position of the div
(and its parts), which are characterized as repetitive. The focus
of attention is focused on the multi-channel information
processed by the interpreter during work. In the process of
translation, a synchrony occurs between the interpreter and the
speaker, showing the degree of involvement in communication,
which allows the speaker to verify the translation. This
indicator gives an understanding of the adequacy of the
transmitted meaning since the speaker has the opportunity to
evaluate it at the level of non-verbal communication and the
listener
’
s response.
2181-3663
/©
2023 in Science LLC.
https://doi.org/10.47689/2181-3701-vol1-iss1-pp36-42
This is an open access article under the Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) license (
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru
Keywords:
nonverbal communication,
multimodality,
gesticulation,
professional culture,
communicative situation.
Ketma-ket tarjimonning noverbal madaniyatini tahlil
qilish
ANNOTATSIYA
Kalit so‘zlar
:
og'zaki bo'lmagan muloqot,
multimodallik,
imo-ishoralar,
kasbiy madaniyat,
kommunikativ vaziyat.
O'rganish ob'ekti sifatida tarjima faoliyatidagi noverbal
komponent lakunar maydonidir. Takrorlanuvchi sifatida
tavsiflanadigan, ma'ruzachi, tarjimon va tinglovchining uch
tomonlama o'zaro ta'siri ularning imo-ishoralarini, tananing
holatini (va uning qismlarini) talqin qilish uchun ko'rib
chiqilmoqda. Diqqat e’tibori ish vaqtida tarjimon tomonidan
qayta ishlanadigan ko'p kanalli ma'lumotlarga qaratilgan.
Tarjima jarayonida tarjimon va ma'ruzachi o'rtasida aloqada
ishtirok etish darajasini ko'rsatadigan sinxroniya yuzaga keladi,
bu ma'ruzachiga tarjimani tekshirishga imkon beradi. Ushbu
1
PhD in Pedagogical Sciences, Uzbekistan State World Languages University. Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
E-mail: jamilya.valiewa@yandex.com
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
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Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
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Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
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№
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37
ko'rsatkich uzatilgan ma'noning adekvatli ekanligig hqida
tushuncha beradi, chunki ma'ruzachi uni og'zaki bo'lmagan
muloqot va tinglovchining javobi darajasida baholash
imkoniyatiga ega.
Анализ невербальной культуры последовательного
переводчика
АННОТАЦИЯ
Ключевые слова:
невербальная
коммуникация,
мультимодальность,
жестикуляция,
профессиональная
культура,
коммуникативная
ситуация.
Невербальный компонент деятельности переводчика
как объект изучения представляет собой лакунарную
область. Рассматривается трехстороннее взаимодействие
говорящего, переводчика и слушателя при интерпретации
их жестов, положения тела (и его частей), которые
характеризуются как повторяющиеся. В
центре внимания
находится многоканальная информация, обрабатываемая
переводчиком в процессе работы. В процессе перевода
между переводчиком и говорящим возникает синхрония,
показывающая степень вовлеченности в общение, что
позволяет
говорящему
проверить
перевод.
Этот
показатель дает понимание адекватности передаваемого
смысла, так как говорящий имеет возможность оценить его
на уровне невербальной коммуникации и реакции
слушающего.
SUMMARY
The non-verbal aspects of the training of interpreters are investigated and the
stages of preparation are described, such as third-party observation, when students are
asked to analyze the material in the form of images, audio and video fragments, i.e.
perform an analysis in two-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces, and then become
direct participants in the communication process and evaluate the events and the work
of an interpreter in four-dimensional space, while feeling the energy of the event. In the
course of the study, it was possible to trace the emergence of synchrony between the
interpreter and the speaker, which shows the establishment of a connection and leads to
the adoption of certain translation decisions. It was also possible to trace the opposite
–
when synchrony does not occur, but there are inaccuracies in the translation or
incomplete translation. On the basis of the analysis, an understanding of the principles of
tripartite interaction in the context of multi-channel information was formed. The
similarity of movements, gestures, and div position of the participants in
communication is the adaptation of the interlocutors to each other
’
s behavior, which
indicates their involvement and coordination of the communicative behavior of the
participants. The more participants in communication are immersed in communication,
the greater the level of synchrony they demonstrate. Thus, the conducted analysis
contributes to understanding the principles of tripartite interaction between the
participants of mediated communication, which is the process of translation, as well as
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tracing the work of an interpreter in a multi-channel environment for obtaining
information.
INTRODUCTION
Until the 21st century consecutive interpreting was studied exclusively from the
point of view of transcoding units of translation from language A to language B, taking
into account only the verbal component of the translation act. However, people interact
with each other not only with the help of verbal signals but also with the help of facial
expressions, gestures, gaze, and div position, which play an important role in conveying
meaning and achieving the goal of communication. The non-verbal component in
interpreting appeared in articles as a subject of research not so long ago, but still
represents a research gap in interpreting discourse. The work aimed at the study of the
non-verbal component and the development of gestural communication was presented
by E. Moshchanskaya in 2016. It highlights the national and cultural specificity of
gestures-emblems, presents tasks for preparing students for understanding gestures in
the act of interpreting, presents a classification of gestures, and created a section
dedicated to the culture of non-verbal behavior of an interpreter (Moshchanskaya, 2016).
A. Meyerabian statistically calculated and derived a model of the ratio of verbal
and non-verbal means in interpersonal communication, which later became known as the
55-38-7 rule, where div movements convey 55% of information, voice
–
38%, and
words
–
7% (Cooper, 2019).
In real life, we rarely receive information from only one channel or one modality.
According to E.V. Chistova, visual information facilitates the understanding of speech by
ear, especially in a noisy environment (Chistova, 2019). The Multiple Source Theory [4],
which states that “humans have the ability to multitask, arising from separate limited
mental resources associated with four dimensions: processing step, code choice,
response type, and modality”, conceptually explains the advantage of multimodal
processing in the audiovisual perception of information (Chistova, 2019; Lu et. al, 2013).
Following A.
Kibrik, “to create
a realistic idea of language as a central ability of a
person, several more circumstances must be taken into account: (1) language units are
not only stored as elements of a system but are also used online to form thoughts. (2) In
addition to verbal components, sound includes intonation, emphasis, tempo, loudness,
etc. These elements are closely related to verbal ones. (3) The speaker not only
reproduces the sound, which is subsequently perceived by ear but also makes
movements that are perceived by the interlocutor visually. The approach, in which
different types of communicative behavior are considered together, is called multimodal”
(Kibrik, 2018).
A feature of the act of consecutive translation is the very execution of the
translation using various communication channels (Chistova, 2019). During the act of
consecutive translation, the interpreter has the opportunity to translate the claim
information by hand and subsequently use the notes to reproduce the words of the
speaker. It is important that during the recording (s)he needs to follow the speaker
’
s
speech, its pace, tone of voice and maintain the necessary eye contact.
Despite the little-studied non-verbal communication in translation, much attention
is paid to this issue in linguistics. So, G. Kreidlin believes that the kinetic aspects of
people
’
s behavior
–
their gestures and postures, how people stand or sit, how they are
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located in relation to each other, how they exchange views
–
play a decisive role in oral
communication (Kreydlin, 2002).
However, despite their importance, they cannot be taught, since they arise
subconsciously and cannot be controlled (A. Merabian, D. Morris, S. Ter-Minasova,
P. Ekman) (Kreydlin, 2002). According to D. Burgun, D. Buller and D. Woodall, non-verbal
comm
unication is “unspoken dialogue”, which includes “all messages that people
exchange other than words” (Kreydlin, 2002).
M. Knapp associates non-verbal communication with
“
all those human reactions
that are not described as explicit words (oral or written)
”
(Kreydlin, 2002). Taking into
account the use of non-verbal signals in computer communication, B. De Paulo and
G.
Friedman believe that “non
-verbal communication is a dynamic, mostly personal
exchange of information through signals other than words” (Krey
dlin, 2002).
Following the opinion of E. Moshchanskaya, non-verbal means that we use in our
speech act as a kind of indicator of the internal mental state, relationships and personal
qualities, thereby creating a subtext for verbal communication (Moshchanskaya, 2016).
It is impossible to consider the non-verbal component of communication in a situation of
translation in isolation from other communicative methods of the speaker since non-
verbal signals affect the interpreter, speaker, and other participants in communication
both at the conscious and unconscious levels (Poyatos, 2007).
One of the most exciting features of human communication is the precise timing
and coordination of participants
’
communicative behavior. In non-verbal communication,
one of the interesting phenomena is synchrony, which we understand as
“
coordination of
people
’
s movements in the process of interaction
”
(Bernieri, 2001). One of the
manifestations of synchrony is the similarity of movements, and gestures,
“
mirroring
”
the
position of the interlocutor
’
s div. Interlocutors respond to each other
’
s actions and are
able to coordinate to exchange roles as
“
interlocutor-listener
”
. They also tend to
anticipate each other
’
s next steps and follow each other
’
s behavior, so interaction and
signaling occur simultaneously and can be termed synchronous activity. This kind of
adaptation of interlocutors to each other
’
s behavior is often called
“
leveling
”
(Pickering,
2004; Katagiri, 2005). Other terms that are used to describe and refer to synchronous
behavior are copying or mimicry. Interaction can range from unintentionally copying
another person
’
s behavior to deliberate imitation.
Scientists also talk about the transfer of human behavior to characters created in
the virtual space, paying special attention to facial expressions and their expressiveness
(Caridakis et al., 2007). Researchers analyze the movements of the human div for a
more detailed study of virtual agents (Caridakis et al., 2007). They must respond
appropriately when interacting with a live interlocutor. In their work, an important role
is played by the interpretation and perception of facial expressions, the prediction of
emotions shown by a living person. The character is designed not to exactly duplicate the
emotions that (s)he sees, but to be based on models that represent the original
expressive behavior of the user. Such synchrony is more directed toward the recipient.
We can also distinguish between a synchronicity that is more oriented towards the
agent rather than the recipient of the communication. It also requires the agent to
perceive and interpret the behavior of the interlocutor. However, such synchrony
suggests that the agent exhibits behavior similar to the recipient in a natural way. This
means that the simultaneous response is the result of the agent waiting for the recipient
’
s
response. The agent evaluates the behavior of the interlocutor in relation to his/her
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(agent
’
s) goals and intentions. Synchrony is the unconscious planning of behavior, and it
is not intentional copying from the interlocutor (Jokinen, Parkson, 2011).
The difference between mimicry and synchrony is hardly visible at the descriptive
level. However, according to Natalie Sebants, this difference is related to the expectation
and coordination of communicative actions: in synchrony, the action arises from the
partner
’
s intention to present something in a manner that matches his/her behavior,
while in mimicry only the external manifestation of the partner
’
s behavior is copied
(Sebanz et al., 2006).
In general, any gestures can be of communicative importance, it all depends on the
interpretation of the interlocutor. Sometimes it is difficult to give unambiguous meaning
to gestures and div movements, and often it is even impossible. From the point of view
of synchrony, it is not necessary to look for semantic similarity in gestures and
movements. Since it is necessary to convey not a specific conceptual meaning but to point
to a kind of
“
cooperation
”
established between the speakers. Thus, any movement can
serve as the starting point for a chain of
“
joint
”
gestures, as listeners unconsciously
respond to the speaker
’
s gestures. The speaker also unconsciously reacts to the behavior
of the listener. In the future, it is possible to further study the roles of the speaker and
listener, as well as to trace the changes in synchrony when changing roles.
In this study, research attention is focused on the phenomenon of synchrony that
occurs between participants, since it signals that all interlocutors are involved in
communication and can predict each other
’
s behavior (Jokinen, Parkson, 2011). The
hypothesis of this study is that the manifestation of synchrony indicates the emergence of
cooperation and understanding between the participants: the better they understand
each other and the more they are immersed in communication, the more synchronous
behavior they will demonstrate unconsciously (subconsciously).
Due to the little-studied area described, it is assumed that the data obtained will
help to better understand the functions of synchrony in communication and translation.
Filling in the research gaps will create a basis for further more detailed research, apply
the acquired knowledge in practice, and create teaching aids.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The material of the study was publicly available videos with the participation of
speakers, interpreters and journalists from different countries, with a total duration of
2 h 37 min 12 s.
Each video is an interview and negotiations at different levels. The working
languages of the event are Russian, and English.
Annotation of the micro composition of the multimodal context was used as the
main method, which allows us to visually demonstrate the phenomenon of synchrony
and highlight the factors that affect the success of communication.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the analysis of works on cognitive linguistics in the field of translation,
much attention is paid to the “declassification” of the interpreter’
s thought processes in
the course of decoding a message in language A and recoding it into language B,
describing what contributes to achieving equivalence in translation (Chistova, 2020).
In the analyzed works, the authors mainly focus on the verbal component of translation,
drawing conclusions about the adoption of translation decisions based on the text-centric
approach (Chistova, 2019). In this paper, we shift the focus from the verbal to the non-
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verbal component, trying to understand how important non-verbal semiotics is in the
translation process and what functions it can perform.
According to G. Kreidlin, the semiotic classification of gestures begins with the
division of all gestures into three large classes. These are (a) emblems or emblematic
gestures
–
units that have an independent lexical meaning and are capable of conveying
meaning regardless of the speech context; (b) illustrators or illustrative gestures
–
units
accompanying some speech or other fragment of communication or illustrating some
object or aspect of communication.
In turn, they are divided into two subclasses: illustrators proper
–
gestures that
actually illustrate something, and accompanists
–
gestures that accompany speech and
structure or rhythmize it; (c) regulators or regulatory gestures
–
units that control the
course of the communicative process, that is, establish, maintain or complete
communication (Kreydlin, 2014).
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