Cognitive Translation & Interpreting Studies Today. An Introduction for Linguists

Cognitive Translation & Interpreting Studies (CTIS) is a research domain within Cognitive Science that draws primarily and equally from linguistics and psychology, as well as from other disciplines. The field experienced a renewed embrace of multidisciplinarity around the turn of the century. This expansion led to alternative terms such as ‘Translator Studies’ and the more overlapping ‘Translation Psychology’. These alternatives introduced valuable perspectives, but their scopes remain limited: Translator Studies focuses mainly on practitioners, and Translation Psychology narrows the view of the phenomena. The term CTIS now serves as the most accurate and inclusive label for the field. More recent research has begun to examine the roles of authors, revisers, readers, viewers, and other agents. In the past two decades, new forms of communication across time and space have emerged. Technologies such as machine translation have brought attention to non-professional practices, while the range of language services provided by the industry has grown. These shifts have added complexity and broadened the scope of inquiry. What connects this diverse group of communicative events is a shared condition: at least one party uses more than one natural language variety to facilitate communication between others. This defines the field’s linguistic core. It also challenges the relevance of “intersemiotic translation” and affirms the inherently multimodal nature of communication. This text is divided into two parts. The first provides a context for CTIS and traces its development. It is intended for readers who are new to the field. The second introduces ten key notions that reflect ongoing debates and research. The overview is not exhaustive or tightly structured. It offers a descriptive and loosely organized narrative that captures some of the ideas that animate current work. Recent methodological trends include greater use of multimethod designs, increased attention to rigor and ecological validity, a move toward intra-subject designs, and stronger international collaboration.