Abstract
The aim of the present exploratory study was to test whether a relationship exists between working memory capacity (WMC) and simultaneous interpreting (SI) performance measures in a sample of professional interpreters.There are two main findings. First, WMC in this sample shows predictable patterns in the structure of interpreters'working memory: there was a dissociation between verbal and spatial memory and a negative relationship between age on the one hand and WMC and general cognitive ability on the other.
This negative relationship goes agains the hypothesis of WMC enlargement with interpreting experience. Secondly, WMC measures were only marginally significantly related to SI measures, and then only to those which have a predictable high memory component, such as figures and lists of nouns.
The results suggest that WMC, where the focus is on storage and maintenance, may not be as important for professional SI as previously thought.