Interpretation or interpreting is oral translation of speech or sign from a language into another. Translation studies is the systematic study of the theory, description and application of interpretation and translation. An interpreter is a person who converts a thought or expression in a source language into an expression with a comparable meaning in a target language either simultaneously in "real time" or consecutively when the speaker pauses after completing one or two sentences. For written speeches and lectures, sometimes the reading of pre-translated texts is used.