Mirela
Terminology management is that special something that offers a solution to all sorts of communication headaches. It’s about making sure everyone’s on the same page, from product development to marketing campaigns. Now that we’ve sparked your curiosity, read on as we’ll show you how terminology management can streamline communication, boost efficiency, and ensure your message hits the mark, every time.
Overview
- What is terminology management?
- Termbase vs translation memory
- Why do we need terminology management?
- How terminology management works
- Tools used in terminology management
What is terminology management?
Terminology management is the process of systematically collecting, organizing, and maintaining a standardized set of terms and their definitions within a specific domain, industry, or organization. It ensures consistency and accuracy in the use of language, which is particularly crucial in fields like translation, technical writing, legal documentation, and software development.
You can collect and organize these terms in two ways:
- Building a glossary. This is a simple, often static, list of terms and their definitions. It is usually created to provide quick reference and clarification for users within a specific context, such as a document, website, or field of study.
- Creating a termbase (terminology database). This is a more complex and dynamic tool used for comprehensive terminology management. It is typically a part of a terminology management system and is designed to handle extensive and detailed information about terms.
Businesses and organizations typically use both tools, leveraging the simplicity of glossaries for specific uses and the robust capabilities of termbases for broader, more complex terminology management.
Termbase vs translation memory
Termbases and translation memories are both tools used for consistency and quality in translations. However, while they may seem similar at first, they do serve distinct purposes and function differently. Since they complement each other so well, you will most likely use both.
Termbases focus on the consistent use of specific terms and contain individual terms, definitions, and metadata. Translation memories, on the other hand, focus on the reuse of entire text segments and contain entire sentences, paragraphs, or other text segments and their translations.
Why do we need terminology management?
Whether it’s for internal communication or external presentations, you gain quite a few benefits from terminology management. The core benefit is, of course, consistency. Terminology management ensures everyone uses the same terms throughout your company. As such, you can avoid confusion and misunderstandings. It also strengthens your brand voice by presenting a consistent message.
Having a termbase ensures translators use the most accurate equivalents for your specific terminology. This reduces errors and maintains the intended meaning across languages. A centralized termbase also allows for better quality control of your content. Editors and reviewers can easily check for terminology consistency, improving the overall professionalism of your communications.
Naturally, we should discuss time and money too. A termbase eliminates the need for constant lookups or discussions about terminology. Translators can work faster with pre-approved terms, and there’s less back-and-forth communication for clarification. Faster translation processes, fewer errors, and less rework lead to overall cost savings.
How terminology management works
The process typically consists of the following phases, which we will discuss in more detail:
- Term collection
- Term validation
- Organization and categorization
- Implementation and integration
- Maintenance and updates
Term collection
First, we start by identifying sources of terms, such as industry standards, internal documents, product manuals, and regulatory texts. Once these sources are identified, relevant terms and phrases are extracted using manual or automated methods, such as text mining tools. This comprehensive collection process ensures that all pertinent terminology is gathered for further processing.
Term validation
Next, the collected terms undergo validation. Each term needs to be clearly defined and provided with context for its use, which often requires consulting subject matter experts (SMEs). An approval process follows, where terms and their definitions are reviewed and approved by a terminology committee or relevant stakeholders. This step ensures that only accurate and relevant terms are included in the terminology database.
Organization and categorization
Once validated, terms are organized and categorized. They are stored in structured glossaries or terminology databases, where each entry typically includes the term, its definition, context, synonyms, antonyms, usage notes, and translations if applicable. Organizing terms into a hierarchy or network, known as taxonomy and ontology, helps to show relationships between concepts, facilitating easier navigation and use of the terminology.
Implementation and integration
The implementation and integration of terminology management phase involves using tools and software that support this process. Terminology management systems, also known as termbase systems (TBS), or computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools often integrate with other content management systems (CMS) to streamline the use of standardized terms. Additionally, developing guidelines for consistent term usage and incorporating them into style guides and editorial policies ensures that terminology management is seamlessly embedded into everyday operations.
Maintenance and updates
The terminology should be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect changes in the industry, technology, or organizational practices. A feedback loop from users and stakeholders helps to incorporate practical insights and maintain the applicability of the terminology. Regular maintenance ensures that the terminology remains up-to-date and continues to meet the organization’s needs.
Tools used in terminology management
There’s a variety of tools used in the process of creating, maintaining, and using a database of terms. Firstly, you have terminology management/termbase systems, which are dedicated tools designed to create, manage, and maintain terminological databases. They allow users to store detailed information about each term, including definitions, usage contexts, translations, synonyms, antonyms, and related metadata.
Other specialized software include terminology extraction tools, which are designed to automatically identify and extract relevant terms from large text corpora. They use linguistic algorithms and machine learning techniques to detect potential terms based on frequency, context, and domain-specific criteria.
Computer-assisted translation tools are some of the most used tools in the process too. They typically integrate terminology management functionalities to streamline the translation process. These tools allow translators to access and apply standardized terminology in real-time while working on translation projects. They highlight terms within the source text that have corresponding entries in the termbase, ensuring consistent usage.
Translation management systems such as POEditor encompass a broad range of functionalities for managing translation projects, including workflow automation, resource management, quality assurance, and glossaries. Integrated terminology management within these systems ensures that translators and reviewers can consistently apply standardized terminology throughout the translation process.
One may also find terminology plugins and add-ons, online terminology databases, and content management systems that incorporate terminology management functionalities, to tailor to the specific needs of an organization or project. Choosing the right software requires a thorough understanding of your needs, careful evaluation of features, and consideration of usability, scalability, cost, and security.
Closing thoughts
If you want to maintain consistency, accuracy, and efficiency in your communication and documentation processes, you mustn’t skip the process of terminology management. It’s more than just collecting words; it’s the glue that holds clear and consistent communication together, thus enhancing your translation and localization efforts.