Book review. Psycholinguistic and Cognitive Inquiries into Translation and Interpreting (Benjamins Translation Library 115). Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015.
Table of contents
A few decades back, much effort was invested in developing Translation Studies (TS) as a discipline in its own right. In recent years it is obvious that the main growth has come from exciting new interaction with disciplines like anthropology, ergonomics, expertise theory, and psychology. Perhaps the most fruitful interaction of all has been with cognitive sciences, including neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and psycholinguistics. Volume 115 in the Benjamins Translation Library series aims at illustrating this latter trend by presenting the current state of the art in cognitively oriented Translation and Interpreting (T&I) research. The volume is evidence of the continued methodological strengthening of T&I research that has taken place and the increasing use of new technology. Inspiration from cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics has increased the focus on empirical investigation, laboratory experimentation, technological tools, and advanced statistical data analysis. All of this has turned T&I research into a highly demanding discipline in its pursuit of what goes on in translators’ and interpreters’ heads as they exercise their still somewhat intriguing and mysterious skill.