同步口譯中的數字

Abstract

數字的處理往往被視為同步口譯中的一大難關，但數字對於同步口譯究竟有什麼影響？相關的實證研究卻相當缺乏。本研究以文獻探討的方式，探究數字有什麼樣的語音特性，以及這些特性對於同步口譯過程可能產生的影響。此外，本研究以實驗方式，探討句中出現數字，對於同步口譯正確度與流暢度的影響。本研究發現，在英到中的同步口譯中，需要單位轉換的數字，以及相鄰出現的數字，容易降低口譯的正確度與流暢度。此結果顯示，口譯這類數字可能需要消耗較多的處理能力（processing capacity）。

Numbers have been regarded as one of the hurdles in simultaneous interpreting (SI), but empirical evidence on the effects of numbers on SI has been lacking. This study focused on isolating and examining the effects of numbers on accuracy and fluency in an experiment setting. The experiment involved 12 participants—4 practicing interpreters and 8 student interpreters. Each group interpreted one of the two versions of the speech material. The interpretation of each sentence containing a number or numbers was compared with the interpretation of a corresponding sentence without numbers but otherwise similar in meaning. The results suggest that numbers requiring number word syntax conversion adversely affected the accuracy and fluency of interpretation. In addition, numbers appearing in proximity in the speech also increased the number of hesitation phenomena in the interpretation. Together, these findings suggest that number word syntax conversion and numbers appearing in proximity pose a heavier processing requirement in SI.