BEI Sight Translation Techniques 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Sight translation in court interpreting is best defined as:
- Translating a written document orally in real time (Correct answer)
- Interpreting spoken testimony into a written transcript
- Silently reading a document and summarizing its key points
- Translating a document in writing after thorough review
Correct answer: Translating a written document orally in real time
Sight translation involves rendering a written source-language document into the target language orally and in real time.
Question 2: Which of the following documents is MOST commonly subject to sight translation in a court setting?
- A defendant's written statement or police report (Correct answer)
- A judge's oral ruling delivered from the bench
- A witness's verbal testimony given during cross-examination
- An attorney's closing argument delivered in court
Correct answer: A defendant's written statement or police report
Written documents such as police reports, written statements, and evidentiary exhibits are the typical targets for sight translation in court.
Question 3: The technique of reading several words ahead of what is currently being spoken aloud during sight translation is called:
- Anticipation or eye-voice span (Correct answer)
- Chunking
- Shadowing
- Decalage
Correct answer: Anticipation or eye-voice span
Eye-voice span (anticipation) refers to keeping the eyes ahead of the voice to allow the interpreter to process syntactic structure before speaking.
Question 4: When an interpreter encounters an unfamiliar term while performing sight translation, the BEST immediate course of action is to:
- Provide the closest equivalent and, if needed, briefly flag uncertainty to the court (Correct answer)
- Stop entirely and request a full dictionary before continuing
- Skip the term and continue without acknowledging it
- Substitute a general term without informing the court
Correct answer: Provide the closest equivalent and, if needed, briefly flag uncertainty to the court
Accuracy and transparency require the interpreter to render the best available equivalent and alert the court if there is genuine uncertainty rather than omitting or silently substituting.
Question 5: Sight translation differs from consecutive interpretation primarily because sight translation:
- Involves a written source text rather than a spoken one (Correct answer)
- Requires note-taking to retain long stretches of speech
- Is always performed simultaneously with live testimony
- Allows the interpreter to prepare extensively before speaking
Correct answer: Involves a written source text rather than a spoken one
Sight translation's defining characteristic is that the source material is a written document, whereas consecutive interpretation processes spoken utterances.
Question 6: Which of the following is a recognized challenge unique to sight translation compared to other interpreting modes?
- Managing complex written sentence structures while speaking fluently (Correct answer)
- Retaining spoken information in memory between chunks
- Maintaining simultaneous output lag (decalage) with a speaker
- Decoding spoken dialect variations in real time
Correct answer: Managing complex written sentence structures while speaking fluently
Written legal documents often feature complex syntax that must be understood and restructured orally without pausing, which is the key challenge specific to sight translation.
Question 7: Under BEI standards, the interpreter's primary obligation during sight translation is to:
- Render a complete and accurate oral translation of the written text (Correct answer)
- Paraphrase the document to make it more understandable for the listener
- Summarize key legal points and omit procedural language
- Translate only the sections highlighted by the attorney
Correct answer: Render a complete and accurate oral translation of the written text
BEI requires complete and accurate rendition; summarizing, paraphrasing, or selectively translating violates the standard of completeness.
BEI Sight Translation Techniques 1
Sight translation in court interpreting is best defined as: