EPSO Translator flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

False friend

A word in the source language that resembles a target-language word but differs in meaning, such as English 'actual' versus French 'actuel' (current); check sense independently before translating.

Register

The level of formality and style appropriate to a text's function and audience; institutional EU texts typically require formal, consistent terminology rather than colloquial renderings.

Calque

A literal word-for-word rendering of a source expression into the target language; it is acceptable only when the resulting target expression is idiomatic and established.

Transposition

A translation procedure that changes the grammatical category of a source item, for example rendering an English noun as a French verb, while preserving meaning.

Modulation

A translation shift in point of view, such as expressing a negative source statement positively in the target, used when a literal rendering would be unidiomatic.

Cohesion

The network of pronouns, ellipsis, conjunctions, and lexical repetition that ties a text together; translators must re-create it with target-language devices to keep references unambiguous.

Terminology consistency

Using the same target-language term for the same source concept throughout a text, as required by EU style guides and terminology databases for institutional documents.

Explicitation

Making implicit source information explicit in the target when required by target grammar or clarity, for example supplying a subject pronoun in a language that cannot drop it.

Theme and rheme

The theme is the starting point of a clause (given information); the rheme is what is said about it (new information). This structure guides emphasis in translation.

Scope ambiguity

A situation where a quantifier or negation could attach to more than one constituent, as in 'all that glitters is not gold'; resolve before translating.

Co-reference

The relationship between a pronoun or ellipsis and the expression it refers to; translators must identify the antecedent before choosing a target-language anaphor.

Non-compositional idiom

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be derived from its individual words, such as 'kick the bucket'; it must be matched by a target-language equivalent, not translated literally.

Modality

The grammatical marking of obligation, permission, or possibility (shall, may, must, should); in legal texts it carries binding force and must be rendered precisely.

Text type

The classification of a text by function, such as legal, technical, journalistic, or promotional; it determines terminology density, register, and translation strategy.

Collocation

A habitual word combination, such as 'heavy rain' or 'file a complaint'; collocations help disambiguate word senses and must sound natural in the target language.

Hedging

Language that softens or limits a claim, such as 'may', 'appears to', or 'to some extent'; translators must preserve the degree of commitment expressed.

Cannot say

The verbal-reasoning answer when the passage neither states nor logically entails the claim; outside knowledge is inadmissible, so plausible inference alone is insufficient.

Necessary assumption

A premise the argument requires for its conclusion to follow; test it by negating it-if the argument collapses, the assumption is necessary.

Quantifier trap

An answer option that changes the strength of a passage's quantifier, for example turning 'some' into 'all' or 'most' into 'every'; compare quantifiers exactly.

Correlation versus causation

A passage may show two events occur together without asserting that one causes the other; an option claiming causation when only co-occurrence is stated is unsupported.

Double negation

Two negative elements in one statement that cancel each other; rewrite the statement in positive form before comparing it with the passage to avoid polarity errors.

Extreme wording

Answer options containing words like 'only', 'entirely', or 'impossible'; they are usually unsupported unless the passage uses the same degree of strength.

Inference question

A question asking what must follow from the passage alone; the correct option adds no new entities or relations beyond those stated or entailed.

Scope of negation

The part of a sentence that a negative word applies to; misreading it reverses meaning, so identify the negated constituent before evaluating a statement.

Percentage points

The arithmetic difference between two percentages; a rise from 20% to 25% is 5 percentage points but a 25% relative increase.

Successive percentage change

Combined changes multiply rather than add: a 20% rise followed by a 20% fall gives ×1.2 ×0.8 = 0.96, a net decrease of 4%.

Reverse percentage

Recovering an original value from a post-change value: if 92 results from a 15% increase, divide by 1.15 to get 80, not multiply by 0.85.

Weighted mean

An average that accounts for differing group sizes or weights, computed as Σ(w·x)/Σw; it differs from the simple mean when weights are unequal.

Combined work rate

When two agents work together, their rates add: 1/a + 1/b per unit time, giving a combined time of ab/(a+b) for two workers.

Number series rule

The pattern governing a sequence, found by testing differences, then ratios, then alternating or second-difference patterns; confirm the rule on at least two steps.

Matrix rotation rule

In abstract reasoning, a pattern where an element turns by a fixed angle (90° or 180°) across rows or columns; the rule must hold for every row or column.

Part-to-whole ratio

The share of one part in the total, computed as a/(a+b) for a ratio a:b; convert to a common unit before comparing ratios.