Shortterm Memory in Simultaneous Interpreting.docx

Shortterm Memory in Simultaneous Interpreting.docx

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ShorttermMemoryinSimultaneousInterpreting

Short―termMemoryinSimultaneousInterpreting

　　Introduction

　　Thisisanepochofcross-culturecommunicationandexchanges.Wehaveneverbeensoclosethananyperiodinthehistory.Alargenumberofinternationalconferencesarebeingheldeveryyear，fromWorldEconomicForumtotheUNClimateChangeConference，frompoliticalleaders’statevisitstocasualluncheonspeeches.Furthermore，theideaoftime-savingleadstopeople’spreferenceforsimultaneousinterpreting（SI）.ThejobofSIistheproductofourinformationage，indispensableandungentlyneeded，arousingthepubliccuriosityandexcitementwhentalkingaboutit.Tobetterillustratetheshort-termmemory（STM）anditsinfluencefactors，thispaperbeginswiththedefinitionofSTM，andthenanalysesseveralfactorswhichcanaffectthedurationandqualityoftheSTM.ItmainlyanalysetheeffectsonSTMcausedbyseveralfactors，includingstoragecapacity，concentration，stressandemotion.ThemainpurposeofthispaperistohelpreadersunderstandhowSTMworks，throughdemonstratingwhySTMisnotever-lastingandtheinternalandoutercausesofthelossofinformation，andtogiveabasicbutusefulguidelinefortheinterpreterstotakegoodadvantageofandimproveSTMforbetterSIperformance.

　　AtkinsonandShiffrin（1968）concludedthathumanbeings’memorycanbedividedintotwomodels，short-termmemory（STM）andlong-termmemory（LTM）.AccordingtoSusanE.Gathercole’s（1996）analysisofthefourprocessesofinterpretingtask，aftertwostepsofstimulusrecodingandspeechesarticulatoryprocesses，therefollowtheothertwo：

shortmemorysearchandtheretrievalofinformation.Aswecanclearlysee，STMisthehinge，connectinginputandoutput，inotherwords，listeningandinterpreting.TheinterpreterhastorememberthesourcelanguageimmediatelywhenheardandatthesametimeconvertitintothetargetlanguagebyusinghisorherLTM.Psychologically，humanbeings’memoryiscategorisedintoSTMandLTM.Thebrainelectricalimpulsesistransmittedfromoneneurontoanother，connectingthemtogethertoestablishthe“memory”withinafewmilliseconds，althoughitisnotever-lastingandevenquitetransient（BCCNNewsletter，2008）.

　　WhenitcomestothequestionwhatisSTM，G.Vallar（2004）statedthat，‘short-termmemorytoanumberofsystemswithlimitedcapacity，whichsecurethetemporaryretention（intherangeofseconds）ofavarietyofmaterials.’Itlastsforapproximately20-30seconds（A.F.Healy，2004）andisquicklytobeforgotten，varyingfromindividualtoindividual.InordertoretrievetheSTM，theneuralsystemofthebrainneedstodofurtherprocessestotransformitintoLTM，whichwilllastforlonger，forexamplemaybeafewweeksoreventhewholelife-time.LTMisaprocessrequiringconstantlearningandreviewing.SimilartothepositionofSTM，itisequallysignificanttotheinterpretersbecauseitisresponsibletoestablishaknowledgereservoir.Whentheconferenceisover，theinterpreterwillproceedtothenextinterpretingtaskwithaquitedifferentthemeandcontent，soheorshebarelyhastimeorpsychologicallyitisimpossibleforthebraintostoretheinputinformationasLTM.Thus，toreducethetaskload，andincreaseefficiency，howtomakegooduseofSTMisessentialforSI.　　Agoodmemoryisalwaysbeingvaluedbystudentswhentheyarepreparingfortheexamsthenextday.Besides，itisregardedasanequivalenceofintelligenceinmostpeople’seyes.Accordingtothecommonwisdom，thedurationandcapacityofmemoryareendowedbynatureandgenes，shrinkingbyageanddifferentiatedbygenders.TouncoverthemysteryofSTM，wewanttoknow，atthebeginning，thereasonsofforgetting.JohnBrown（1964）proposedthat，

（1）decayofthetrace

（2）interferenceofthetrace（3）inaccessibilityofthetrace（4）competitionfrompreviousorsubsequentlearning.ArethoseprocessesapplicabletoSTM？

Formertheoristsagreedwiththat：

（1）Displacement：

theformermessagesdisplacedbythelatestonewhenthewholestoragecapacityisfull（Waugh，1965）

（2）Decay―oldmessagesdecayastimeelapses（Baddeley，1975）.（3）Interference―theformermessagesdisruptedordistortedbythenewlyinputinformationifthepoolofstorageofinformationisfull（Keppel，1962）.Aswecanseefromtheabove，lossofSTMalongwiththeLTMhappenstoalmosteveryone.Agoodmemoryisnotonlyassociatedwithgenesandinnategifts，butalsodependingonthecapacityofstorage.Around7plusorminus2‘chunks’ofinformationcanbestoredintoourbrainatthesametime，i.e.thelowcapacityofSTM（Miller，1956）.Millerdefineda‘chunk’asansinglepieceofinformationindependentfromothers.Forexample，‘SUN’canbeseenasonechunkwhile‘USN’canbeseenasthreechunks，eachletterregardedasone.“Themagic7”depictsthecapacityofourSTM.

　　Therefore，broadeningthememorystoragetoavoidinformationcrashandoverlapsisthekeytogoodshort-termmemory.Throughpracticesandexperiments，peoplehavefoundthatSTMdurationcanbelengthenedviadesignedexercises.Thereareseveraldominantmemorytrainingmethods，suchasshadowingexercisesandretelling，etc.Scientistsrevealthat，neurogenesis―theprocessallowingthenewbraincellstogenerateanddevelop―isinvolvedinnewmemoryformation.Whateverstageapersonisbeingat，infant，childhoodoradulthood，thousandsofhippocampalneuronswillbegeneratedperday.Intheanimalexperimentswhereratsweredividedintotwogroups，groupAperformeddesignedbehaviouraltasks，whilegroupBdidnot.TheresultshowedthatthegroupAgeneratedonetimesmoreneuronsinthehippocampithangroupB.ThatalsocanexplainwhyLondontaxidrivershavelargerhippocampithannormalpersons.Becausetheyhavetorememberthesuper-complicatedstreetsnetworks，thehippocampistimulatesalargeamountofnewneuronsinthebrain，helpingthemtohavelongermemoryandgoodsenseofnavigation（theFranklinInstitute）.　　Notwithstanding，afterwehavelearntthatSTMisdeterminedbystoragecapacitytoalargeextent，itisstillhardtopredicthowmuchaninterpretercanrememberafterlisteningtoaseriesofphoneticsignals.（Here，theauthorismainlydiscussingauditoryverbalmemoryintheprocessofdoingsimultaneousinterpreting.）Iftheamountofinformationcanremainaslongaspossible，andcanberetrieveddependsonseveralfactorsasfollows：

howmuchheorshehasacquaintedthefirsttimewhenthematerialswerepresented.Thisisdeterminedby，firstly，thecomprehensionabilityofthepersonandsecondly，concentration.Generallyspeaking，agoodcomprehensionderivesfromLTM，i.e.theinterpreter’slanguagelevelandmasteryofknowledge，predictingasuccessfulinterpretingresult.Inaddition，quitedifferentfromwrittentranslationandconsecutiveinterpreting，themodeofSIrequiresinterpreterstolistenandspeakatthesametime，sothetaskisverydemandingandconcentrationisneeded.GoodattentionrepresentslongerandmoreeffectiveSTM.Thatiswhyinterpretershavetoworkinpairsandalternateafterevery20minutesto30minutes.Duetothestructureandmodeofprocessofthebrain，humanbeings’concentrationcannotmaintainastablelevel，Statisticsshowsthat，thedurationoftotalfocusofmindaveragesat15minutes.Concentrationcanalsobeaffectedbytheenvironment，whichiscouldnotalwaysbeingclearwithoutdistractions.

　　Besides，itcouldalsobeinfluencedbythelisteningmaterialitself.Asmostofusknow，generallyspeaking，themoreinterestingandhilariousthewordssoundandthemorestunningeffectthemeaningtheyexerts，thefasterwecanstorethemintoourmemory，andthelesspossiblewewillforgetthem.Verbalandvisualstimuliaresometimesveryinstrumental，contributingtotheenhancementoftheshorttermmemory.Forexample，wearemorelikelytorememberthejokesandstoriesthantediousstatements.Inotherwords，thehumanbrainhatesbored-somewhilelovesvividness.Inthesameway，ourbraincaneasilyattractedbyfastmovingobjects.Inanexperiment，aclassofstudentswereaskednottolookattheclosedcircuitTVinthefrontoftheclassroomwhileoneoftheirteachers，thestrictestone，givingalecture.Theresultsshowedthat，nomatterwhattimestheteacherstatednottobedistracted，thestudentscouldnothelpsquintingatthemovingpicturesontheTV.EmotionallyCompetentStimulus（ECS）isoneofthemostsubtleandeffectiveexternalstimulitothebrain.AntonioDamasio（2003）statesthatanepisodeofemotingistriggeredbyanemotionallycompetentstimulus.Thoseemotionsincludeanger，happiness，scareandotherextremefeelings.Afterabsorbingandprocessingthatkindofinformation，aphysiologicalresponseiscreated，whichissophisticatedanddelicate，accompaniedbyfasteningpulse，forinstance，andstrengthenedmuscles.Thatisbecauseaseriesofresponseisrecordedandprocessedbythousandsofneurons.Takingtheaboveresearchesandotherneuropsychologicalstudies，wecanseethat，emotionsaresignificanttoSTMwhendoingsimultaneousinterpreting.　　Notonlydoestheemotiveinputaffectthelistener，butalsothelisteners’mindstatusinfluencetheirownbehavioursandinterpretingresults.Itisworthwhiletopointoutthatinterpretersneedtocopewithstress，distinctivefromthechronicstresspeoplearesufferingfrom，whichhasadverseeffectsonoutorgansandblood，makingusbecomedepressed，anxiousandleadingtoheartdisease，diabetesandotherchronicdiseases.Short-termstressfulnessisoneofthemajorfeaturesofinterpretingjobandatthesametimeitisinevitable.Obviously，stressaffe