Swept or swayed by the tide of change? Translation and interpreting at the interface of cognition and emotion

Abstract

In their introduction to the 2020 IATIS Yearbook,Halverson & Muñoz (2020)invoke the title of a Bob Dylan song to underscore two enduring truths in trans-lation and interpreting studies: the inevitability of change (The Times They AreA-changin’) and the perennial fuzziness of t ranslation and interpreting borders.By reviewing various translation and interpreting tasks (e.g., intralingual andinterlingual translation, sight t ranslation/interpreting), the authors elucidate thedynamic nature of the field while revealing the difficulty to circumscribe theever-evolvingtasks under discussion.Drawing on the metaphorical notion of a tide of change, we can suggest thatcontemporary research in translation and interpreting has been brought t o a crit-ical juncture, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence and the increasingrelevance of mental and physical wellbeing. This inflection point blurs tradi-tional distinctions between cognition and emotion as evolving research topicsand methodologies reveal new insights. The focus of t ranslation and interpretingresearch has shifted progressively toward an examination of the process ratherthan the product, which emphasizes the psychological facets inherent in the actof t ranslation over textual features. However, these changes tend to be a naturalprogression that f oster sustainable and continuous improvement within the field,rather than constituting a revolutionary or radical shift.