Abstract
This study addresses the consecutive mode of interpreting. With a novel three-way approach to assessing coherence, it investigates whether different ways of delivering the target text - short and long consecutive interpreting - contribute to or impede coherence. Cohesion, paralinguistic features and background knowledge are investigated as possible contributing factors to coherence. Accordingly, the study consists of three parts. The first part involves an analysis of cohesive ties in Turkish and English speeches, and in short and long consecutive interpretations of the English speeches into Turkish. The original English and Turkish speeches are used as a benchmark for comparison between non-interpreted and interpreted speech. Part two of the study involves the textual analysis of paralinguistic features in the short and long consecutive interpretations. Part three is a reception study which assesses the participants’ perception of coherence in the short and long renditions. The participants of the reception study form two different groups: participants who had specialised background knowledge of the topics discussed in the texts and those who had not. The cohesion analysis shows that long consecutive interpretations are more cohesive when compared with short consecutive interpretations. The analysis of paralinguistic features reveals that hesitation markers, pauses, false starts, slips of the tongue, self-repairs, drawn out syllables and word repetitions are more frequent in short consecutive interpretations. The reception study shows that the longer renditions are perceived as being more coherent than the shorter renditions, and this perception is higher for participants with relevant background knowledge. The results of the study thus suggest that specialised background knowledge and cohesion contribute to coherence creation whilst the frequent use of paralinguistic features impedes coherence. This study contributes to filling the knowledge gaps in relation to coherence in consecutive interpreting and Turkish interpretations of English spoken texts. In particular, it contributes to our understanding of the difference between short and long consecutive interpretations with respect to coherence.