Terminology Management

Our clients often have little experience with or knowledge of our terminology management solutions, and yet they make all the difference when it comes to the continual improvement of translation quality.

What do we mean by terminology management?

When we refer to terminology managent, we’re referring to glossaries and translation memories first and foremost. In order to control the quality and consistency of content produced by our translators, we must begin by precisely defining the framework of the project with our client. The implementation of a glossary is an important part of defining that framework.

The glossare will include technical terms as well as acronyms specific to our client and their trade, as well as terms that appear regularly in their source content.

Thanks to our professional tools, we are able to conserve all content previously translated by our translators in a .tmx file, known as a translation memory.

The implementation of a term base, in itself, will above all have an impact on the quality of the delivered projects: specific vocabulary, consistency between various media.

What is the difference between a term base and a glossary?

The difference is above all in the manner that each is implemented. A term base is drafted by translation professionals on specific CAT tools and in collaboration with the client, and allows these terms to immediately and systematically be taken into account.

A glossary, on the other hand, is simply a list of terms, often drafted in excel and not connected directly with the content to be translated. A translator will not be able to automatically quality control their translation with a glossary, as this process by definition requires human intervention. That means there is a greater risk for error. Few clients continue to use Excel-based glossaries.

When terminology management is necessary

When you continually produce content, it becomes an absolute necessity to pass by a phase of reflection about term management.

Why? It’s simple: when we must translate a large quantity of content every day, we cannot simply rely on a single translator, and when multiple translators intervene on the same project, it’s crucial they share a common base. The translation memory and term base serve as this base, which TradOnline will share with them at the project launch.

Not every translation agency uses these tools. Don’t hesitate to ask what precisely they do to gaurantee the consistency of your translation.

And if you aren’t satisfied by their response, TradOnline is here to help!