The Effect of Right-ear Advantage on Iranian Translation Students’ Simultaneous Interpretation Quality

Abstract

Since in simultaneous interpretation the act of comprehension and production occur at the same time, it is one of the most difficult aspects of translation studies. In order to improve this important aspect of translation studies this study sought to examine the effect of the right-ear advantage on the interpretation quality in a simultaneous interpretation situation. Nine Iranian English translation students chosen based on purposive sampling, from two universities in Iran participated in this study. The participants were asked to listen to two tapes through earphones, one of the tapes with the right ear and the other one with the left ear and to translate them like a simultaneous interpreter. Using Carroll (1965) interpretation quality model, students’ interpretations were analyzed.  The results of the study revealed that students who used right ear had more acceptable interpretation than those who used their left ear in a simultaneous interpretation.