Modern Social Science Research

Simultaneous interpreting is a highly complex linguistic task that requires interpreters to listen to the source language while almost simultaneously producing the target language. To understand the underlying cognitive mechanisms, this paper builds on Poeppel’s dual-stream model and proposes a Dynamic Dual-Stream Framework to account for the psychological processes involved in translation. This framework highlights the division of labor between two neural pathways: the ventral stream, which is responsible for semantic comprehension of the source language, and the dorsal stream, which transforms the interpreted meaning into phonological encoding and speech production in the target language. These two streams operate in dynamic coordination through working memory and cognitive control mechanisms, enabling interpreters to perform parallel processing and real-time switching between input and output. Drawing on neuroimaging and behavioral evidence, this study systematically articulates the neural basis of simultaneous interpretation and discusses its implications for translator training and cognitive research. The proposed model offers a refined theoretical perspective on the neurocognitive mechanisms of translation and contributes to the broader understanding of multilingual information processing.

Simultaneous interpreting; Dual-stream model; Sensorimotor integration; Working memory; Cognitive control; Neurolinguistics