Reading patterns and cognitive processing in an eye-tracking study of note-reading in consecutive interpreting

This article reports on the eye-tracking data collected from 18 professional interpreters while they performed consecutive interpreting with notes. It is a pioneering study in its visualisation of the way in which note-reading occurs. Preliminary evidence suggests that note-reading proceeds in a nonlinear manner. The data collected in this study also report on indicators of cognitive processing in consecutive interpreting, particularly during note-reading, which appears to be a cognitively demanding process. It differs from reading for comprehension in various ways, while staying closer to reading in sight translation. In addition, the data show that the note-taking choices made during Phase I of consecutive interpreting, in which interpreters listen to the source speech and write notes, affect the level of cognitive load in Phase II, in which interpreters read back their notes and produce a target speech.