AbstractAlthough Jakobson’s (1959) seminal classification of translation into three kinds: interlingual, intralingual and intersemiotic has been widely accepted in Translation Studies, so far most research interest has focused on interlingual translation, defined as “translation proper”. Intralingual translation, more often understood as rewording, paraphrasing or reformulation within the same language, is a less prototypical kind of translation, yet we believe that the underlying mental operations needed to perform both tasks include similar processing stages. Bearing in mind the lack of research comparing inter-and intralingual translation we designed the ParaTrans project in which we investigate how translators make decisions in both tasks. In this article we present the results of a comparative analysis of processing effort and cognitive rhythm demonstrated by professional translators who were asked to translate and paraphrase similar texts. Having collected three streams of translation process data with such tools as key-logging, eye-tracking and screen-capture software, we are able to draw some tentative conclusions concerning the similarities and differences between language processing for interlingual translation and intralingual paraphrasing. The results confirm a higher processing effort in interlingual translation most likely due to the need to switch between languages.

This article tackles directionality as one of the most contentious issues in translation studies, still without solid empirical footing. The research presented here shows that, to understand directionality effects on the process of translation and its end product, performance in L2 → L1 and L1 → L2 translation needs to be compared in a specific setting in which more factors than directionality are considered—especially text type. For 26 professional translators who participated in an experimental study, L1 → L2 translation did not take significantly more time than L2 → L1 translation and the end products of both needed improvement from proofreaders who are native speakers of the target language. A close analysis of corrections made by the proofreaders shows that different aspects of translation quality are affected by directionality. A case study of two translators who produced high quality L1 → L2 translations reveals that their performance was affected more by text type than by directionality.

Effective information behaviour is crucial in all translation competence models but our understanding of how information skills develop and how translators interact with information found in online resources is still limited. In this article we focus on information behaviour (needs and use) of bidirectional translators who frequently translate into their native (L1) and their non-native language (L2). The theoretical underpinnings come from information studies: (1) information is needed when cognitive uncertainty arises and -when found -it allows the translator to make an informed decision; (2) translators are driven by economy of effort and will minimise the cost of searching for information. The empirical evidence comes from a study of 30 professional bidirectional translators who translated two texts into their native language of low diffusion (Polish) and into their non-native major language (English). A close analysis of their information behaviour included data obtained by keylogging, eye-tracking and screen recording, and showed that using online resources adds more cognitive effort when translators work into their L2. We use the results to draft a model of information behaviour which shows how the use of online resources is affected by the translation direction.

AbstractAs some scholars view inter-and intra-lingual translation as a parallel activity, it is vital to establish to what extent the products of these processes are alike, and whether the processes themselves differ. This paper investigates stylistic simplification, a frequently hypothesised translation universal which involves, among others, breaking up long sentences in the process of translation (

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