Genre-specific cognitive processing in translation and paraphrasing: evidence from eye-tracking

Existing literature recognizes a family resemblance between interlingual translation and intralingual paraphrasing, supporting the incorporation of paraphrasing exercises into translation training. However, the impact of text genre on translators’ cognitive mechanisms during these tasks and the modulating role of translator expertise remain underexplored. Using eye-tracking and cued retrospective interviews, this study examined the cognitive processes of 40 participants (20 trainees, 20 professionals) across Chinese-English translation, Chinese paraphrasing, and English paraphrasing. Two contrasting genres, i.e. news reports and tourism promotional materials, were selected. Results revealed that news translation elicited denser source-text fixations and more extensive, non-linear visual scanning than paraphrasing, whereas tourism texts showed comparable processing patterns across both tasks, indicating paraphrasing’s pedagogical value for operative text translation. Professionals demonstrated a trend toward reduced cognitive load in news text production, albeit without reaching statistical significance. These findings underscore the importance of developing genre awareness in translation training through targeted paraphrasing exercises.