NIC flashcards

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

Simultaneous Interpreting

Mode in which the interpreter listens to the source and produces the target with a short lag while the speaker keeps talking; suited to continuous, moderate-paced speech.

Consecutive Interpreting

Mode in which the speaker pauses at intervals and the interpreter renders each chunk; relies on memory and, for long segments, on note-taking.

Transliteration

Rendering an English source into an English-based signed code such as MCE or PSE, preserving English word order and vocabulary rather than ASL grammar.

Decalage

The lag between receiving a source utterance and producing its target; a longer lag raises working-memory load and the risk of omissions.

Gile's Effort Models

Framework describing interpreting as competing efforts of listening and analysis, memory, production, and coordination; consecutive work adds a note-taking effort.

Demand Control Schema

Dean and Pollard's framework classifying assignment demands as environmental, interpersonal, paralinguistic, and intrapersonal, and pairing them with controls chosen before and during work.

Topicalization Marker

ASL nonmanual signal for a sentence topic: raised eyebrows, head tilt, and often a slight pause before the comment is signed.

Circumlocution

Describing or defining a concept when no direct target-language equivalent exists, rather than borrowing the source term or omitting the item.

Grice's Cooperative Principle

The assumption that talkers cooperate by observing maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner; deliberate violations signal implied meaning.

Illocutionary Act

The intended function of an utterance, such as requesting, promising, or warning, as distinguished from its literal wording.

Adjacency Pair

A two-part sequence, such as question-answer or greeting-greeting, in which the first part makes a particular second part relevant.

Transition-Relevance Place

A point in an utterance where the current speaker's turn could legitimately end, making speaker change a possible next action.

Positive and Negative Face

Brown and Levinson's concepts: positive face is the desire to be approved of and liked; negative face is the desire to be unimpeded.

Hymes SPEAKING Model

Ethnography of communication grid for analyzing speech events: setting, participants, ends, act sequence, key, instrumentalities, norms, and genre.

Linguistic Relativity

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that the language a person uses shapes habitual thought, memory, and categorization of experience.

Topic-Comment Structure

Sentence organization that names a topic first and then comments on it; typical of ASL and unlike English subject-predicate order.

Confidentiality Tenet

CPC requirement that interpreters keep all information from assignments private; legal exceptions include mandated reporting and court orders.

Conflict of Interest

Any personal, familial, or financial stake that could bias an assignment; it must be disclosed and usually results in declining the work.

Scope of Practice

The range of work an interpreter is qualified and certified to perform; assignments outside it are declined and referred to a qualified colleague.

Role Boundaries

Limits holding the interpreter to conveying messages: no advising, counseling, opinion-giving, or performing non-interpreting tasks even when requested.

Impartiality

Rendering every message faithfully regardless of personal agreement, without adding, softening, or omitting content on the interpreter's own judgment.

Ethical Decision-Making Steps

Identify the problem, gather facts, list options and consequences, consult resources, choose and act, then evaluate the outcome afterward.

Ethical Practices System

RID's complaint process that reviews alleged violations of the Code of Professional Conduct and may impose sanctions on certified members.

CEU Maintenance Requirement

RID certified members must earn 8.0 CEUs, equal to 80 contact hours, every four years to keep certification active.

Video Relay Service

Interpreting for telephone calls between deaf and hearing callers over video, with the interpreter working from a remote relay center.

Video Remote Interpreting

On-demand interpreting delivered by video link to parties who share a location, such as a hospital, clinic, or courtroom.

Educational Interpreter Role

Provides communication access in K-12 classrooms; does not design instruction, assign grades, or manage behavior, which remain the teacher's responsibility.

Team Interpreting

Two or more interpreters share one assignment, alternating at set intervals to limit fatigue and to support monitoring and accuracy.

Independent Contractor

A self-employed interpreter paid per assignment, receiving 1099-NEC income, paying self-employment tax quarterly, and supplying personal insurance and equipment.

Two-Hour Minimum

Common billing rule charging for at least two hours of interpreting time regardless of how briefly the assignment actually runs.

Cancellation Policy

A contract term setting the notice window, commonly 24 hours, after which the client still owes a fee for the scheduled assignment.

Pre-Assignment Briefing

A short conversation with consumers before work begins about seating, lighting, communication preferences, logistics, and how the interpreting process will run.