1. Introduction

This paper introduces the high cognitive load faced by interpreters in simultaneous interpretation, and the potential of speech recognition and machine translation technology in assisting simultaneous interpreting. This paper emphasizes the importance of human-computer cooperation in interpreting practice in the era of artificial intelligence, and probes into the new simultaneous interpreting mode assisted by technology, including the use of real-time subtitles of the original text and machine translation of the translation by translators in the actual stage of translation. In addition, the influence of eye tracking on cognitive load and translation quality and its relationship with simultaneous interpreting ability are also mentioned.

2. Technology assisted simultaneous interpreting research

Explored in depth the impact of technology assisted simultaneous interpretation (TI) on the cognitive load and translation quality of interpreters. The research shows that technical tools can significantly help interpreters in the practical stage of simultaneous interpreting, but the related research is still in its infancy. Lu Xinchao's research found that machines can complement human translators' cognitive deficiencies, providing empirical support for technology assisted simultaneous interpreting. Current research mainly focuses on the impact of technology on the quality of interpretation during the practical stage of translation, and has found that technological assistance can improve the accuracy of translations, especially in the translation of numbers and proper nouns. However, most of these studies focus on the translation process, with less exploration of the translation process.

3. Eye Movement Experiment

An eye tracking experiment was conducted on the cognitive load and translation quality of a new type of simultaneous interpretation assisted by technology. A total of 25 participants were recruited for the experiment, divided into two groups: student translators and professional translators. Their native language is Chinese and their foreign language is English. They have normal vision and voluntarily participate. The experiment adopts a 2 × 2 two factor design to investigate the influence of technical assistance on the process and quality of simultaneous interpreting, and the moderating effect of simultaneous interpreting ability on technical assistance simultaneous interpreting. The experimental materials include two sets of Chinese audio and text on educational topics, which are comparable. The experimental equipment used Tobii Pro Spectrum eye tracker and Tencent simultaneous interpreting software to record eye movement data and oral translation. Use R software to construct a linear mixed effects model for data analysis and evaluate the accuracy of the translation. The consistency coefficient of the raters is high, and the evaluation criteria are clear.

4. Experimental results

This paper studies the influence of simultaneous interpreting mode on cognitive load and translation quality and its relationship with simultaneous interpreting ability through eye movement index average fixation duration and translation accuracy index. The results show that simultaneous interpreting with technical assistance can significantly reduce the average fixation time of student interpreters, improve the overall translation accuracy and the translation accuracy of slides that do not show the original segments, but has no significant impact on professional translators. In addition, simultaneous interpreting with technical assistance can significantly improve the accuracy of student interpreters' translation of the post structure of the central language.

5. Discussion

The impact of technology assisted new simultaneous interpretation on the cognitive load and translation quality of student and professional interpreters was discussed. Research has found that technological assistance has significant advantages in reducing the cognitive load of student translators and improving translation accuracy, while its advantages for professional translators are relatively limited. The application of speech recognition technology and machine translation technology effectively reduces the cognitive load of student interpreters in simultaneous interpretation, which is consistent with the research results of Cheung U0026 Li (2022) and Chen U0026 Kruger (2023). Technical assistance has also improved the accuracy of translations and reduced the occurrence of untranslated or mistranslated cases. However, for professional translators, technical assistance only shows a significant advantage in the overall translation accuracy, which may be related to the "ceiling effect", that is, professional translators have high simultaneous interpreting ability, and can produce accurate translations with low cognitive load even without technical assistance. In addition, the direction of interpretation may have an impact on the accuracy of translation, and subsequent research should further analyze the similarities and differences between the directions of technology assisted simultaneous interpreting in translation and in translation. Nevertheless, technical assistance has not had a negative impact on professional interpreters' simultaneous interpreting practice, but has to some extent brought a positive impact.

6. Conclusion

Summarized the impact of technology assisted simultaneous interpretation on the cognitive load and translation quality of student and professional interpreters. Research has found that technological assistance can significantly reduce the cognitive load of student translators and improve the accuracy of translations, while the impact on professional translators is relatively small, possibly due to the "ceiling effect". In addition, there was no significant improvement in the accuracy of the translated text for the original text segments, numbers, and central sentence structures that were not displayed on the slides. The research results support the application of speech recognition and machine translation technology in simultaneous interpretation, especially for student interpreters with weak simultaneous interpreting ability, in order to optimize the cognitive process and improve the quality of translation.