AN INITIAL REFLECTION ON THE TRANSLATION/ REVISION PROCESS OF A PORTUGUESE L2 TEXT WRITTEN BY A DEAF PERSON

Abstract

This paper discusses processes involved in the translation/revision of texts written by Deaf people in Portuguese as a second language implemented by professional translators and interpreters of Libras-Portuguese (TILSP), and also by Portuguese language revisors who do not master Libras. The research problem builds on the empirical observation that this kind of translation/revision task is often assigned to TILSP, who do not usually consider themselves qualified enough for that work. Therefore, we aimed to compare TILSP and revisors processing patterns while translating/revising a text written by a Deaf person. Eye tracking data was collected and analyzed from an exploratory experiment with participants from these two groups. The main objective was to verify which group would spend more cognitive effort in the task, and then reflect upon the characteristics of the activity and its implications for the professionals who perform it. The results demonstrated that the activity demands distinct patterns of cognitive effort and, therefore, is performed differently by each group, indicating specific cognitive and behavioral demands.

Keywords
L2 writing by deaf people; Translation; Revision; Brazilian sign language; Eye tracking; Cognitive effort