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Sight translation is an oral translation of a written text.
It is often given short shrift in interpreter training; because it appears to be such a simple task, not much attention is devoted to it.
In fact, sight translation is just as difficult as simultaneous interpretation, and involves some of the same mental processes. In the case of sight translation, the input is visual (the written word) rather than oral (the spoken word), but the interpreter still has to process a thought in the source language and generate the target language version of that thought while simultaneously processing the next source language thought, and so on.
Some interpreters find sight translation more difficult than the other modes of interpreting because they have more trouble focusing on meaning rather than words, -the essence of proper interpretation,- when the message is written in black and white on a piece of paper.
Reading comprehension is an important element of sight translation, and the need to improve and maintain reading comprehension is one reason why interpreters should read as much and as widely as possible.
Another aspect of sight translation that should be emphasized is pacing. The interpreter must translate the document quickly, but nothing should be omitted. Going too fast will result in translation errors or in sudden starts and stops and long pauses while the interpreter figures out a difficult translation problem. That sort of jerkiness can be very distracting to the listener. However, going too slowly is disruptive.
The interpreter should be familiar with the terminology and phrasing of the documents so that he or she can render a speedy and accurate translation.
Ideally, a sight translation should sound as if the interpreter were merely reading a document written in the target language.
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