All global and multinational companies will at some point face the need to translate their material into another language; these procedures can end up being critical elements for the success of a business.
It is for this reason that they must understand that translating content is something that must be taken seriously, given that many consequences can arise as a result. Additionally, it is a continuous process, because, while an organization creates new material, it must take into account that it must invest in the translation of websites as well as updates to its existing content in other formats.
Considering all of these points, we can affirm that it is essential for a business to have all existing translation tools available so that they can save time and money. In addition, these tools will also allow them to widen their market to new regions throughout the world.
One of these translation assistance tools is a glossary. In the translation industry, a glossary is a document that contains key terminology within a specific area of study, both in the source language and in the corresponding authorized translations in its target language.
A glossary will help a business to maintain the level of precision necessary for key terms. Also, translation glossaries allow businesses to eliminate any doubts in the translation process and maintain consistency across texts, lessen the amount of time needed for a translation, and reduce costs.
Generally, for recurring clients, it is best to create a glossary exclusive to that client in order to avoid inconsistencies and to maintain the same style of text across all of their documents.
For smaller businesses, a glossary can be made quite easily in an Excel spreadsheet, while larger companies will require more advanced tools for managing all of their terms and translations. A glossary can also contain other types of information, such as definitions, context, translations of segments, dates of approval or revision of a project, etc. This will help translators in that each time a key word appears, they will use the appropriate translation consistently and correctly.
For example, the terms “laptop” and “notebook” are synonyms, but only one of them should be used by a company so that the same term appears throughout all product distribution materials. Also, the glossary becomes increasingly more important for maintaining coherence when multiple translators are used. This situation arises in the cases in which there are strict deadlines and many translators are working on various parts of a project at the same time in order to guarantee a timely delivery.
A glossary will help businesses to maintain the level of precision necessary for key terms. Additionally, translation glossaries allow businesses to eliminate any doubts in the translation process and maintain consistency across texts, lessen the amount of time needed for a translation, and reduce costs.
