Simplification in interpreting and translation

Authors:

• Marta Kajzer-Wietrzny

Abstract

Baker's idea to make use of various corpus linguistics methods in translation studies (1993, 1995, 1996) was quickly taken up by other scholars and the approach has on many occasions been applied in the investigations of translation universals. Simplification is one of the most frequently tested hypotheses in this context. In her seminal corpusbased study of simplification, Laviosa (1998) proved that the range of vocabulary used in translations is narrower, which is indicated by lower lexical density, greater percentage of high frequency words and by the fact that the list head of a corpus of translated texts accounts for a larger area of the corpus. The present study will employ Laviosa's (1998) methodology to examine whether the language of simultaneous interpretation from German, Dutch, French and Spanish into English displays traces of simplification when compared to speeches originally delivered in English and whether the same patterns are observed in English translations of the same speeches.