Speech Disfluencies in Simultaneous Interpretations of Spontaneous and Non-Spontaneous Speeches

Abstract

The present paper is an attempt to examine speech disfluencies in simultaneous interpretations of spontaneous and non-spontaneous speeches from English into Arabic. It focuses on the difference between the rate of disfluencies in renditions of spontaneous and non-spontaneous speeches. The data were collected from authentic sessions of professional interpreters from English into Arabic. The speeches and interpretations were transcribed. The data was divided into two different categories: ‘spontaneous source speeches and their renditions’ and ‘non-spontaneous speeches and their renditions’. Disfluencies in the source and target texts were analyzed and compared. The results of the analysis showed that the rate of disfluencies in spontaneous speeches is significantly higher than the renditions of non-spontaneous speeches. The analysis also demonstrated that silent pauses are the most frequent disfluency in both categories of interpretations, followed by prolongations and filled pauses.