Chernigovskaya, T. V. 1 , Parina, I. S. 4 , Konina, A. A. 1 , Urikh, D. K. 1 , Parin, S. B. 2, 3 , Chikov, M. B. 4 , Chernova, M. A. 3 , Yachmonina, Y. O. 3 , Polevaya, S. A. 2, 3 & Alexeeva, S. V. 1
1 Saint Petersburg State University, Russia
2 Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy, Russia
3 Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
4 Dobrolyubov State Linguistic University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Simultaneous interpreting is labelled as one of the most stressful tasks. We studied how work conditions affect the level of stress in such an activity. Using telemetric heart rate recording, we set up an experiment to compare how interpreters react at their booth partners` performance, and if one direction of the translation is more energy-consuming than the other. Six subjects were examined (4 interpreted into and from German and 2 - into and from English) with 4 tasks: shadowing in foreign language and mother tongue and interpreting into and from mother tongue. The measurements were performed via Zephyr HxM Smart Heart Rate Monitor with event-related telemetry technology and by psychophysiological tests before and after performance: emotional disadaptation, campimetry, sensomotor activity, laterometry and Stroop.
Subjects who performed at high level tended to show more stress during their partners less qualified performance along with increased parasympathetic control and wider heart rate variability, while the latter found themselves calmer in the same situation and more stressed during their own performance. Heart rate variability revealed that for one of the participants shadowing in her mother tongue was more difficult than interpreting into a foreign language.
Funded by RFH # 15-06-10894_a and RFBR #16-06-00501_a.