BEI Sight Translation Techniques

Question 1

Sight translation in court interpreting is best defined as:

Accepted Answer

Translating a written document orally in real time

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

A defendant's written statement or police report

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Anticipation or eye-voice span

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Provide the closest equivalent and, if needed, briefly flag uncertainty to the court

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Involves a written source text rather than a spoken one

Answer

Sight translation's defining characteristic is that the source material is a written document, whereas consecutive interpretation processes spoken utterances.

(BEI) Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Practice Test

(BEI) Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Practice Test

BEI Sight Translation Techniques