Last updated on August 10th, 2022 at 06:42 am

Creating and updating terminology and translation glossaries requires time and effort, especially in the initial phases of a project. Organizations and translation agencies that use those tools know that, but understand the importance and usefulness of them. Translators also know that they will save time and effort in the long run, with the additional benefits of maintaining consistency and clarity on the terms. The use of translation glossaries and terminology guide help aid the quality assurance process of the translation project as well.

Term bases and glossaries are databases where we store either the explanation of a term (as in a monolingual dictionary), the equivalence of a given term in a different language (as in a bilingual dictionary) or both. These databases facilitate the translation process particularly preserving consistency throughout all documents, websites, software, manual and user interface.

The use of terminology, term bases, and translation glossaries are very beneficial in technical translation and within subjects that require the use of specific vocabulary. When working on a project with a large amount of documents or with a client that returns regularly, having term bases brings benefits for both the translator and the client.

Benefits of Terminology Management

• Reduces time to market. It reduces translation time. All terms, even internal terminology of the company, forbidden terms, acronyms and accepted translation are approved and ready to be used in the term base and in the translation glossary.
• Facilitates edition and revision of documents.
• Translation will become more and more consistent with time even if multiple translators are involved.
• By eliminating ambiguity in the terminology your message will always be clear for your reader.
• Share knowledge of your business domain with the staff of your company and with outside organizations, among them, your translation company.
• Use of the same terms consistently across the different content and  communication process that support your product or services.

Your translated content should be clear and precise. Your translators are the vehicle to achieve that, the more information and resources you provide them the more time they will have to work in the creative process.