FCICE key terms

The level of formality and the specialized vocabulary a speaker or writer selects for a particular audience and setting, ranging from casual conversation to formal legal or academic prose.

A habitual word pairing that native speakers expect to appear together, such as 'file a motion' or 'heavy rain,' which sounds unnatural when a near-synonym is substituted.

A word or phrase, such as a pronoun, conjunction, or repeated term, that links sentences and signals how the ideas in a text relate to one another.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as 'to plead the Fifth,' requiring an equivalent expression rather than a literal rendering.

Turning a verb or adjective into a noun, as in 'the implementation of the policy,' a structure common in formal English that is often heavier than the Spanish verb form.

The grammatical marking of possibility, obligation, or permission through words like 'may,' 'must,' or 'should,' whose force varies with context and must be preserved in the target.

Omission of words the reader can supply from context, as in 'Some pleaded guilty; others not guilty,' which can become unclear when carried over too literally.

A Spanish word that resembles an English word but differs in meaning, such as 'actual' (meaning current) versus English 'actual,' which invites serious mistranslation if assumed equivalent.

The contrast between the two Spanish verbs for 'to be,' where 'ser' marks inherent or defining traits and 'estar' marks state or condition, a difference English does not encode grammatically.

The Spanish verb mood used in subordinate clauses expressing doubt, wish, emotion, or unrealized action, triggered by expressions such as 'esperar que' or 'a menos que.'

The Spanish past-tense contrast between completed events (pretérito) and ongoing background or habitual situations (imperfecto), which shapes how a witness's timeline is understood.

A Spanish suffix such as -ito or -illo that conveys smallness, affection, or politeness rather than literal size, so 'ahorita' or 'un momentito' cannot be rendered word for word.

The Spanish choice between informal 'tú' and formal 'usted' address, which encodes social distance and relative status and has no single fixed English equivalent.

A traditional Spanish saying or proverb that carries folk wisdom in fixed wording, often requiring a functional English equivalent rather than a literal translation of its parts.

A loan translation that copies a foreign structure word for word, such as using 'realizar' for English 'realize,' which careful Spanish avoids as nonstandard usage.

A short unstressed Spanish pronoun such as me, te, lo, le, or se that attaches to or precedes a verb, whose referent and grammatical case must be resolved from context.

A Spanish construction using 'se' plus a third-person verb to express a general or unspecified agent, as in 'se dice que,' commonly rendered in English with a passive.

Dividing a written text into manageable sense groups while reading it aloud in another language, so each unit can be planned and delivered without losing the thread.

The gap between the point the eyes have read to and the point the voice has reached, which the sight translator must calibrate so delivery stays smooth and accurate.

The classification of a document by function and convention, such as legal, medical, journalistic, or administrative, which guides how literal the rendering should be and which terminology applies.

Physically flagging key items in a source text, such as numbers, names, and clause boundaries, before or during delivery so they are not dropped or garbled.

Converting numbers, dates, and units into the target language's format and pronunciation, a frequent source of error when the two languages follow different conventions.

Rendering the meaning and effect of a source text rather than its word forms, the usual goal unless a legal or ceremonial text demands close formal correspondence.

The time lag between hearing a source utterance and producing its interpretation, kept short enough to hold the meaning in memory but long enough to resolve ambiguity.

Repeating a source speech aloud in the same language as it is heard, a training exercise that builds split attention and listening stamina for simultaneous work.

Predicting how a sentence will end from context, collocations, and formulaic patterns, allowing the interpreter to begin producing before the speaker has finished.

Expressing the meaning of a source utterance in a new target-language structure that preserves sense while fitting the target's grammar and preferred word order.

Whispered simultaneous interpreting delivered to one or two listeners without equipment, common in courts and small meetings where no booth is available.

A mode in which one interpreter works from the original language into a common language and a second interpreter renders that output into a third language.

The interpreter's continuous checking of their own output for errors, omissions, or register slips, with immediate correction when the meaning is at risk.

The ability to hold concentration and accuracy over long stretches of simultaneous work, requiring management of fatigue and awareness of declining performance.

A personal shorthand of symbols, abbreviations, and spatial layout used to record the logical structure and key content of a speech for later reconstruction.

A single complete proposition in a speech, the natural chunk an interpreter listens to, records, and renders before moving on to the next one.

The logical connectors of cause, contrast, condition, and sequence captured in notes so that the argument's structure survives, rather than only isolated facts.

Leaving out source content in the target rendition, acceptable only for redundancy or meaningless repetition and an error when it removes substantive meaning.

Supplying words or brief explanations the target language needs for the message to make sense, such as making an implicit referent explicit, without introducing new information.

The management of who speaks and when in an interpreted exchange, which the consecutive interpreter must coordinate so each side's contribution is fully rendered.

The standard of conveying the source message completely and without distortion, including its tone and intent, while adapting the form to the target language.