Evaluation of Remote Interpreting in Terms of Stress and Burnout

Year 2024, Volume: 14 Issue: 28, 139 - 163, 29.07.2024

Beyza Nur Zorlu , Esra Özkaya

https://doi.org/10.33207/trkede.1432715

Abstract

Stress and burnout experienced by interpreters during remote interpreting, which is more adopted after the Covid-19 pandemic in Türkiye, are examined in this study. In the first part of the study, whether the stress and burnout experienced during remote interpreting by the professional conference interpreters in Türkiye differ according to professional qualifications such as years of professional experience, having received training in remote interpreting, specialized language pairs in remote interpreting, specialized fields of interpreters in remote interpreting, and being a member of any professional association are examined. Secondly, the impact of some factors which may affect the level of stress and burnout experienced by interpreters in remote interpreting such as interpreting from a separate environment, the impact of receiving positive feedback, the quality of interpreting, and the income coming from remote interpreting compared to onsite interpreting on interpreters’ preferences for remote interpreting and/or onsite interpreting are examined by taking into consideration the professional conference interpreters in Türkiye. As a result of the analysis, first, it has been found that there is no significant relationship between the stress and burnout experienced by the interpreters in the context of remote interpreting, and their aforementioned professional qualifications. Secondly, it has been found that except the impact of receiving positive feedback factor, there is no significant relationship between the preferences of the interpreters for remote interpreting and/or onsite interpreting and the factors such as interpreting elsewhere, the quality of interpreting, and the income coming from remote interpreting compared to onsite interpreting. Interpreters prefer remote interpreting as much as they are satisfied with the positive feedback received in remote interpreting. Most of the interpreters, willing to adapt to technological developments and considering the many benefits of remote interpreting, think that remote interpreting should be as widespread as onsite interpreting. This study reveals that some improvements should be made in the context of remote interpreting in order to support interpreters’ flexibility and resilience.

Keywords

remote interpreting, onsite interpreting, technology, stress, burnout

Ethical Statement

This study was conducted within the approval of Istanbul University Institute of Social Sciences Ethics Board (Decision: 2023/70 Dated: 06/03/2023)

Supporting Institution

Istanbul University

8- Evaluation of Remote Interpreting in Terms of Stress and Burnout - Beyza Nur ZORLU - Esra ÖZKAYA MARANGOZ

Abstract

Bu çalışmada 2019’da yaşanan Covid-19 salgını sonrası daha çok benimsenen uzaktan sözlü çeviri bağlamında çevirmenlerin yaşadığı stresi ve tükenmişliği ele alınmıştır. Çalışma ilk olarak Türkiye’deki konferans çevirmenlerinin uzaktan sözlü çeviride deneyimledikleri stresin ve tükenmişlik hissinin yıl bazında edinilen mesleki deneyim, uzaktan sözlü çeviri eğitimi almış olma, uzaktan sözlü çevirinin yapıldığı dil çifti, uzaktan sözlü çevirinin yapıldığı konu alanı/alanları ve herhangi bir çeviri meslek örgütüne üye olup olmama gibi bazı mesleki niteliklere göre farklılık gösterip göstermediğini incelemeyi hedeflemiştir. Bu çalışma ikinci olarak çevirmenlerin uzaktan yapılan sözlü çeviride yaşadıkları stres ve tükenmişlik üzerinde etkisi olabilecek olan ayrı bir ortamdan çeviri yapma, uzaktan sözlü çeviride alınan olumlu geri bildirim, yapılan sözlü çevirinin kalitesi ve yerinde yapılan sözlü çeviriye kıyasla uzaktan yapılan sözlü çeviriden elde edilen gelir şeklindeki dış unsurların Türkiye’deki konferans çevirmenlerinin 2019’da yaşanan Covid-19 salgını sonrası daha çok benimsenen uzaktan sözlü çeviriyi yerinde sözlü çeviriye tercih etmeleri veya etmemeleri üzerindeki etkisini incelemiştir. Yapılan analizler sonucunda ilk olarak uzaktan sözlü çeviride yıl bazında deneyimin, uzaktan yapılan sözlü çeviri eğitiminin, uzaktan yapılan sözlü çeviride kullanılan dil çiftinin, uzaktan yapılan sözlü çeviride ilgilenilen konu alanının ve çevirmenlerin herhangi bir meslek örgütüne üye olup olmaması gibi unsurların uzaktan sözlü çeviride yaşanan stres ve tükenmişlik üzerinde olumlu veya olumsuz bir etkisi bulunamamıştır. Uzaktan yapılan sözlü çevirinin yerinde yapılan sözlü çeviriye kıyasla çevirmende her anlamda daha çok stres yarattığı sonucuna varılmıştır. Yapılan analizler sonucunda ikinci olarak Türkiye’de 2019’da yaşanan Covid-19 salgını sonrası daha çok benimsenen uzaktan sözlü çeviride deneyimlenen stres ve tükenmişlik üzerinde etkisi olabilecek olan ayrı bir ortamdan çeviri yapma, uzaktan sözlü çeviride alınan olumlu geri bildirim, yapılan sözlü çevirinin kalitesi ve yerinde yapılan sözlü çeviriye kıyasla uzaktan yapılan sözlü çeviriden elde edilen gelir şeklindeki dış unsurların Türkiye’deki konferans çevirmenlerinin uzaktan yapılan sözlü çeviriyi yerinde yapılan sözlü çeviriye tercih etmeleri veya etmemeleri üzerinde yalnıza olumlu geri bildirim unsurunun etkisinin olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Çevirmenler yerinde veya uzaktan yapılan sözlü çeviride alınan olumlu geri bildirimlerden tatmin oldukları kadar uzaktan yapılan sözlü çeviri ve/veya yerinde yapılan sözlü çeviriyi tercih etmiştir.

Keywords

uzaktan sözlü çeviri, yerinde sözlü çeviri, teknoloji, stres, tükenmişlik

References

• ALBARINO, S. (2021b), UN seeks ‘qualified providers’ of remote simulaneous interpreting. // Slator (8 January) <https://slator.com/un-seeks-qualified-providers-of-remotesimultaneous-interpreting/> (08.10.2021)
• AIIC. (2000), Code for the use of new technologies in conference interpreting. Communicate! March-April 2000. http://www.aiic.net/ViewPage.cfm/ page120.htm (accessed 18 December 2005).
• AIIC (2019), Taskforce on Distance Interpreting. “AIIC Guidelines for Distance Interpreting (Version 1.0)”. aiic.net. Accessed June 2, 2020.
• AIIC. (2020), Covid-19 Distance Interpreting Recommendations for Institutions and DI Hubs. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://aiic.org/document /4839/AIIC%20Recommendations%20for%20Institutions_27.03.2020.pdf.
• AIIC. (2002), Interpreter workload study – Full report. AIIC. Retrieved from http://aiic.net/page/ 657/interpreter-workload-study-full-report/lang/1
• AMATO, A. (2017), Telephone Interpreting for Health Care Service: Potential Problems and Solutions. Vv. Aa., Report, 2, 52-85.
• ANDRES, D. and FALK, S. (2009), Information and communication technologies (ICT) in interpreting–remote and telephone interpreting. Spürst Du, wie der Bauch rauf-runter, 9-27.
• APPLEY, M. H. (1967), On the concept of psychological stress. Psychological stress.
• ARYADOUST, V., NG, L. Y., FOO, S. and ESPOSITO, G. (2022). “A neurocognitive investigation of test methods and gender effects in listening assessment”, Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35.4, 743-763.
• BAILENSON, J. N. (2021), Nonverbal overload: A theoretical argument for the causes of Zoom fatigue.
• BLUMENTHAL, P., BRITT, T. W., COHEN, J. A., MCCUBBIN, J., MAXFIELD, N., MICHAEL, E. B., ... and WALLSTEN, T. S. (2006), “Stress effects on bilingual language professionals' performance”, International Journal of Bilingualism, 10.4, 477-497.
• BÓNA, J. and BAKTI, M. (2020), “The effect of cognitive load on temporal and disfluency patterns of speech: evidence from consecutive interpreting and sight translation” Target, 32.3, 482-506.
• BONTEMPO, K. and NAPIER, J. (2011), “Evaluating emotional stability as a predictor of interpreter competence and aptitude for interpreting”, Interpreting, 13.1, 85-105.
• BRAUN, S. (2013), “Keep your distance? Remote interpreting in legal proceedings: A critical assessment of a growing practice1”, Interpreting, 15.2, 200-228.
• BRAUN, S. (2018), “Video-mediated interpreting in legal settings in England: Interpreters’ perceptions in their sociopolitical context”, Translation and Interpreting Studies, 13.3, 393-420.
• BAKER, M. and SALDANHA, G. (1998), Routledge encyclopedia of translation studies.
• BRAUN, S. and TAYLOR, J. (2012), “Video-mediated interpreting: an overview of current practice and research”, Videoconference and remote interpreting in criminal proceedings, 33-68.
• BRISAU, A., GODIJNS, R. and MEULEMAN, C. (1994), “Towards a psycholinguistic profile of the interpreter”, Meta, 39.1, 87-94.
• CHEN, S. (2018), “A pen-eye-voice approach towards the process of note-taking and consecutive interpreting: An experimental design”, International Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, 6.2, 1-8.
• CHERNOV, G. V. (2004), Inference and anticipation in simultaneous interpreting: A probability-prediction model (Vol. 57). John Benjamins Publishing.
• CHOI, J. (2003), The interpretive theory of translation and its current applications. Interpretation studies: The Journal of the Japan Association for Interpretation Studies, 3, 1-15.
• CHRISTOFFELS, I. K. and DE GROOT, A. M. (2004), Components of simultaneous interpreting: Comparing interpreting with shadowing and paraphrasing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 7.3, 227-240.
• COLLARD, C. and DEFRANCQ, B. (2019), Predictors of ear-voice span, a corpus-based study with special reference to sex. Perspectives, 27.3, 431-454.
• COOPER, C. L., DAVIES, R. and TUNG, R. L. (1982), Interpreting stress: Sources of job stress among conference interpreters.
• DAVITTI, E. and BRAUN, S. (2020), “Analysing interactional phenomena in video remote interpreting in collaborative settings: Implications for interpreter education”, The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 14.3, 279-302.
• DEFRANCQ, B. and PLEVOETS, K. (2018), “Over-uh-load, filled pauses in compounds as a signal of cognitive load”, Making way in corpus-based interpreting studies, 43-64.
• DEPUE, R. A. and MONROE, S. M. (1986), “Conceptualization and measurement of human disorder in life stress research: the problem of chronic disturbance”, Psychological Bulletin, 99.1, 36.
• DOĞAN, A. (2012), “Andas Çeviriye Anokhin’in İşlevsel Sistem Kuramı ve Chernov’un Etkinlik Kuramı Kapsamında Yaklaşım” Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi, 52.1, 113-132.
• FAN, D. C. M. (2022), Remote Simultaneous Interpreting: Exploring Experiences and Opinions of Conference Interpreters in Taiwan. 編譯論叢, 15.2, 159-198.
• GILE, D. (1995), Basic concepts and models for translator and interpreter training. Amsterdam y Filadelfia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
• GILE, D. (2009), Basic concepts and models for interpreter and translator training. Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training, 1-299.
• GONG, Z., CHEN, Y. and WANG, Y. (2019), “The influence of emotional intelligence on job burnout and job performance: Mediating effect of psychological capital”, Frontiers in psychology, 10, 486722.
• GRACIA-GARCIA, R. A. (2002), Telephone interpreting: A review of pros and cons. In Proceedings of the 43rd annual conference (pp. 195-216). Alexandria, Virginia, American Translators Association.
• GRAVIER, M. (1978), Preface to Seleskovitch 1978, p. iv.
• GÜVEN, M. (2014), “Distance learning as an effective tool for medical interpreting training in Turkey”, Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 29.2, 116-130.
• FRAWLEY, W. (1992), “Ernst-August Gutt, Translation and relevance: cognition and context”, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991. Pp. ix+ 222. Journal of Linguistics, 28.2, 516-519.
• HEH, Y. C. and QIAN, H. (1997), Over-the-phone interpretation: A new way of communication between speech communities. In Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference. Alexandria, Virginia: American Translators Association (pp. 51-62).
• ISO, TC 37, SC 5. Translation, interpreting and related technology. (2020). ISO/PAS 24019:2020. Simultaneous interpreting delivery platforms — Requirements and recommendations. https://www.iso.org/standard/77590. html
• ITU, ETI, Swisscom (1999), Background paper to interim report on remote interpretation, International Telecommunications Union, École de traduction et d’interprétation, Swisscom, Report published for IAMLAPD (1999), Rome, WFP, Geneva, ITU/ETI.
• KORPAL, P. (2016), Interpreting as a stressful activity: Physiological measures of stress in simultaneous interpreting. Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, 52.2, 297-316.
• KORPAL, P. (2017), Linguistic and psychological indicators of stress in simultaneous interpreting. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM.
• KURZ, I. (2002), Physiological stress responses during media and conference interpreting, In Interpreting in the 21st Century (pp. 195-202), John Benjamins.
• LAZARUS, R. S. and FOLKMAN, S. (1984), Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer publishing company.
• LEDERER, M. (1994), La Traduction aujourd’hui – le modèle interprétatif. Paris: Hachette.
• LEE, J. (2007), Telephone interpreting—seen from the interpreters’ perspective, Interpreting, 9.2, 231-252.
• MACKINTOSH, J. (2003, January), The AIIC workload study. In FORUM. Revue internationale d’interprétation et de traduction/International Journal of Interpretation and Translation (Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 189-214), John Benjamins.
• MASLACH, C. (1993), Burnout: A multidimensional perspective.
• MEIJMAN, T. F. and SCHAUFELI, W. B. (1996), Psychische vermoeidheid en arbeid. De Psycholoog, 6, 241.
• MONETA, G. B. (2022), Cognitive flow. In Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior (pp. 1493-1497), Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• MOSER-MERCER, B., KUNZLI, A. and KORAC, M. (1998), Prolonged turns in interpreting: Effects on quality, physiological and psychological stress (Pilot study). Interpreting, 3.1, 47-64.
• MOSER-MERCER, B. (2003), “Remote interpreting: assessment of human factors and performance parameters”, Joint project International.
• MOSER-MERCER, B. (2005), “Remote interpreting: issues of multi-sensory integration in a multilingual task”, Meta, 50.2, 727-738.
• MOUZOURAKIS, P. (2006), “Remote interpreting: a technical perspective on recent experiments”, Interpreting, 8.1, 45-66.
• NAPIER, J., SKINNER, R. and BRAUN, S. (2018), Here or there: Research on interpreting via video link, Gallaudet University Press.
• NORD, C. (1992), “Text Analysis in Translator Training.” In Teaching Translation and Interpreting –Training, Talent and Expertise, Cay Dollerup & Anne Loddegaard (eds), 39–48. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
• ÖZKAYA, E. (2018), “Konferans Çevirmenliğinde Psikoloji Konusuna Genel Bir Bakış: Stres ve Diğer Etkili Faktörler”, Çevirmen Psikolojisi (pp.59-83), İstanbul: Gece Kitaplığı.
• PLEVOETS, K. and DEFRANCQ, B. (2016), The effect of informational load on disfluencies in interpreting: A corpus-based regression analysis. Translation and Interpreting Studies. The Journal of the American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association, 11.2, 202-224.
• MACIAS, M. P. (2006), Probing quality criteria in simultaneous interpreting: The role of silent pauses in fluency, Interpreting, 8.1, 25-43.
• POCHHACKER, F. (2016), Introducing interpreting studies, Routledge.
• RICCARDI, Alessandra (2015), “Stress” in Franz Pöchhacker (ed.): Routledge Encyclopedia of Interpreting Studies, London / New York: Routledge, 405-407.
• ROSENBERG, B. A. (2007), A data driven analysis of telephone interpreting. Benjamins Translation Library, 70, 65.
• ROSIERS, A., EYCKMANS, J. and BAUWENS, D. (2011), A story of attitudes and aptitudes?: Investigating individual difference variables within the context of interpreting, Interpreting, 13.1, 53-69.
• ROZINER, I. and SHLESINGER, M. (2010), Much ado about something remote: Stress and performance in remote interpreting, Interpreting, 12.2, 214-247.
• RUNCIEMAN, A. J. (2020), Community interpreting and the Covid-19 crisis: Present relevancy and future directions.
• SCHOFIELD, J. W. (1990), Increasing the generalizability of qualtitative research, WW Eisner ve A. Peshkin (Ed.). Qualtiative inquirv in education: The continuing debate (s. 201-232).
• SHIROM, A. (1989), Burnout in work organizations/CL Cooper, I. Robertson (Eds.), International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Wiley, Chichester.
• SWELLER, J. (1988), Cognitive load during problem solving: effects on learning, Cognit. Sci, 1.2, 257-86.
• SWELLER, J. (2011), Cognitive load theory and E-learning. In Artificial Intelligence in Education: 15th International Conference, AIED 2011, Auckland, New Zealand, June 28–July 2011 15 (pp. 5-6), Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
• SWELLER, J. (2017), The role of independent measures of load in cognitive load theory. In Cognitive load measurement and application (pp. 3-7). Routledge.
• TKTD (2020), TKTD Uzaktan Sözlü Çeviri Anketi Sonuç Raporu. Erişim Adresi: https://www.tktd.org/wp-content/uploads/TKTD_RSI-anketi-raporu_ 220620.pdf
• United Nations (1999), A Joint Experiment in Remote Interpretation, UNHQUNOG-UNOV, Geneva, United Nations, Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services.
• YILDIRIM, A. ve ŞİMŞEK, H. (1999), Sosyal Bilimlerde Nitel Araştırma Yöntemleri (11 baskı: 1999-2018) BRADLEY, A. C. (1992), Shakespearean Tragedy, Macmillan Education, New York.