Abstract

Sight translation (ST) is the oral translation of a written text. When performing the task, the sight translator reads a written text, processes the meaning quickly, and orally translates the text while it is still being read. Sight translation involves visual input of a written message and oral output of its meaning, a hybrid form of language mediation that partially resembles both the translation and the interpretation processes. Herbert (1952, quoted in Agrifoglio, 2004) characterizes sight translation as a type of simultaneous interpreting. When used in an interpreting context where a speaker delivers the source message based on a written transcript, which the sight translator has access to while listening to the original speech, the act of sight translation becomes sight interpreting (Qin and He, 2009; Pöchhacker, 2004) or sight interpretation (Lambert, 2004). This chapter aims to provide an overview of sight translation, some issues and debates surrounding this unique communication skill, and its applications in the professional and academic settings.