Managing Information Loss: The Role of Lexical Simplification and the Omission Strategy in Consecutive Interpretation

Simplification is one of the translation universals alongside explicitation and generalization. It refers to the idea that interpreted or translated messages are often rendered with reduced complexity compared to the source text. Accurate and complete information transmission to the target audience is crucial for successful communication; any loss or distortion in this process might limit the audience’s ability to comprehend and interpret the intended message. Therefore, this study analyzes the effectiveness of simplification strategies and investigates how they influence the informativeness and communicative function of interpreted texts.The study adopts an integrated model combining the lexical simplification strategies suggested by Blum-Kulka and Levenston (1983), the syntactic simplification strategies developed by Mountford (1976), the emergency strategies suggested by Kalina (1998), and the information density formula developed by Laviosa (2002). It analyzes extracts of news reports consecutively interpreted by third-year translation students at the University of Mosul in a classroom setting.The study hypothesizes that during the consecutive mode of interpreting, translation students employ simplification strategies at different rates, which may result in information gaps and an incomplete flow of information. Furthermore, less-used strategies could better maintain the informativeness of the source text, whereas the most popular ones are not always the most effective. The study concludes that, due to a lack of experience or understanding, students tend to favor particular simplification strategies—especially omission. However, omission often causes essential information loss, distorting the message. Conversely, strategies like approximation, paraphrasing, and superordinate terms demonstrate higher success rates and enhance comprehension.