Exploring Lexical Challenges of English for Arab Interpreters in Consecutive and Simultaneous Translation: An Error Analysis Approach
Keywords:
Interpretation, trnaslation, simultaneous, consecutive, lexical challenges, MA students, time constraints.Abstract
This study examines the lexical challenges faced by Arab M.A. translation students at Yarmouk University, Jordan, during consecutive and simultaneous English-Arabic interpreting. Adopting an Error Analysis framework, it identifies and categorizes lexical errors from students’ final examinations, evaluating their frequency, types, and impact on meaning transfer and interpretation quality. The findings reveal that lexical errors often distort the original message, sometimes resulting in a hybrid or disjointed output. The study argues that interpreting into English presents greater difficulty for Arab students due to linguistic and cultural asymmetries, and that many lexical errors arise not only from knowledge gaps but also from cognitive and situational pressures, such as time constraints and psychological stress. By offering a detailed taxonomy of lexical errors and exploring their underlying causes, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the cognitive demands of interpreting and proposes pedagogical strategies to enhance interpreter training in Arabic-English contexts.
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