Ambiguity resolution in Italian-German Simultaneous Interpreting

For interpreters, ambiguity is meant as a potential obstacle, as they have to simultaneously translate in the shortest time possible and find a prompt solution to resolve the lexical or syntactic ambiguity by applying different strategies, i.e. omission, reformulation, increase of décalage, self-correction, already investigated by other researchers (Kalina 1998; Riccardi 1996, 1998, 2003, 2006; Bevilacqua 2009). Ambiguity is a variable that can hinder both students and professional interpreters during simultaneous interpreting (Morelli 2010). The aim of this paper is to present the results and observations of an empirical study regarding ambiguity resolution in Italian-German Simultaneous Interpreting and to compare results with the findings obtained from a previous investigation carried out for the Italian-Spanish language pair (Morelli 2005, 2010). The present study involved 6 participants: 2 professional simultaneous interpreters, 2 new graduate students (with no working experience) and 2 LM1 students (i.e. students at the beginning of their Master’s Degree) in order to compare the different strategies adopted in coping with ambiguous segments. The analysis of results is based on recordings and transcriptions (Heritage & Hatkinson, 1984) of the interpreted texts, with the intention of analysing the strategies adopted by the interpreters during the experiment and not the mistakes (Morelli 2005, 2009). Results are compared with the findings obtained from a previous investigation on ambiguity resolution carried out for the Italian-Spanish language pair (Morelli 2005, 2009).