Rethinking Terminology with the Interpreter in Mind: A Collaborative Approach

In the literature, there is some evidence that accurate terminology is perceived as a quality benchmark in conference interpreting both from the standpoint of the interpreter and of the audience. However, terminology management has been analized in connection with written translation, while it has been almost entirely overlooked in the interpreting field so far. Since the communication channel is different (written vs. oral communication), the results achieved in translation-oriented studies cannot be automatically validated in interpreting-oriented ones. At a cognitive level, terminology processing while interpreting can result in an information overload. If we provide an efficient terminology management solution, cognitive stress may be reduced to the benefit of other cognitive processes. The overall interpreting quality could be thus enhanced. The current main approach to this field of study has been rather theoretical, as it has been almost exclusively investigated by practitioners who already know intuitively how things work in their field. In the aim of setting up an interdisciplinary field of study, we may want allow scholars from neighbouring research fields to join the discussion. In order to provide them a systematic overview, it would be useful to carry out a survey to get an understanding of how interpreters are aware of terminology management strategies and how do they manage terminology on the fly.