NIC cheat sheet

Interpretation conveys meaning between two languages; transliteration renders an English message into an English-based signing form (MCE, PSE), preserving English word order and lexicon.

Simultaneous mode processes source and target with a lag; consecutive mode renders chunks at speaker pauses and may rely on note-taking.

Gile's Effort Models: simultaneous = Listening/Analysis + Memory + Production + Coordination; consecutive adds a Note-taking effort.

Joos's five registers, least to most formal: intimate, casual, consultative, formal, frozen.

ASL yes/no questions use raised brows and a forward head tilt; wh-questions use lowered brows; sentence topics are marked with raised brows plus a pause.

ASL number signs 1-5 are produced palm-in, 6-9 palm-out, with 10 and above incorporating movement or repetition.

Longer decalage (lag time) increases working-memory load; excessive lag raises the rate of omissions and meaning errors.

Repair sequence when a unit fails: request repetition or clarification, expand, circumlocute, and use a generic placeholder only as a last resort.

Team interpreting rotation typically runs 20-30 minutes per interpreter; the support interpreter feeds missed content and monitors accuracy.

Grice's Cooperative Principle: talkers are assumed to observe maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner; flouting signals implied meaning.

Speech act theory (Austin, Searle) separates the locutionary act (what is said), illocutionary act (intended function), and perlocutionary effect (result on the hearer).

Conversation analysis (Sacks, Schegloff, Jefferson): turn-taking is organized by transition-relevance places, adjacency pairs, and repair.

Brown and Levinson: positive face is the desire for approval, negative face the desire for autonomy; politeness strategies address face-threatening acts.

Hymes's SPEAKING model for speech events: Setting, Participants, Ends, Act sequence, Key, Instrumentalities, Norms, Genre.

Cokely's sociolinguistic model: message reception, processing, memory, and production; errors trace to processing rather than to one language alone.

Colonomos's model: concentration, representation, planning, and production, with feedback looping between stages.

Demand Control Schema (Dean and Pollard) sorts demands into environmental, interpersonal, paralinguistic, and intrapersonal, matched against controls.

ASL grammar is distinct from English: topic-comment order, no copula, spatial/classifier verbs, and nonmanual syntax carry grammatical information.

RID Code of Professional Conduct has seven tenets: confidentiality, professional skills and qualifications, conduct, respect for consumers, respect for colleagues, business practices, and professional development.

Confidentiality is not absolute: legal exceptions include mandated reporting of abuse or neglect, court orders, and imminent risk of harm.

A conflict of interest is disclosed and the assignment is declined or reassigned; personal or financial stakes in the outcome are disqualifying.

Role boundaries hold: the interpreter does not advise, counsel, give opinions, or perform non-interpreting tasks even when asked.

Scope of practice: work outside the interpreter's competence or certification level is declined and referred to a qualified colleague.

Impartiality requires rendering all messages faithfully, including statements the interpreter finds offensive or disagrees with.

Ethical decision-making sequence: define the problem, gather facts, list options and consequences, consult, act, then evaluate the outcome.

Alleged CPC violations are filed through RID's Ethical Practices System (EPS), which reviews the complaint and may impose sanctions.

RID certified members earn 8.0 CEUs (80 contact hours) per four-year cycle to maintain certification.

Common settings: community, educational (K-12 and postsecondary), medical, legal, conference, religious, performing arts, and video-based (VRS/VRI).

Educational interpreters provide communication access, not instruction, grading, or behavior management; related services are documented through the IEP process.

Legal interpreting commonly requires separate court certification; the interpreter functions as a conduit and must not summarize or explain proceedings.

Sight translation is oral rendering of a written text and is treated as a distinct skill from interpreting, requiring separate agreement and competence.

VRS connects deaf and hearing callers through a remote relay center; VRI serves on-site parties in medical, legal, or employment settings.

Independent contractors receive 1099-NEC income, pay self-employment tax through quarterly estimates, and supply their own insurance and equipment.

Frequent billing terms: two-hour minimum, portal-to-portal time, mileage or travel fees, and a cancellation window commonly set at 24 hours.

Pre-assignment briefing covers seating, lighting, communication preferences, and logistics; post-assignment debriefing addresses errors and emotional impact.

Team interpreting is warranted by duration, technical density, or emotional intensity, and by settings where continuous rendering is required.