Glossary Management: Consistent Terminology Guide for Fast Localization

One of the many advantages of using glossaries is the significant reduction in time spent on translations. By having a predefined list of terms at their disposal, translators can bypass the often time-consuming process of finding the right terms, thereby accelerating the overall translation process.

Moreover, glossaries on the Taia platform are designed to evolve and adapt to your needs. They allow for the seamless addition of new terms, ensuring your glossary stays up-to-date with the ever-changing linguistic landscape. When a glossary is associated with your project, updating it with new terms is as simple as importing a glossary with those updates. As a result, even existing glossaries are continually refined and expanded to provide comprehensive support for all your translation projects.

Understanding Glossaries and Their Usage

A glossary is a centralized database of terminology specific to your business, product, or industry. It ensures that professional translators use consistent terms across all languages and projects.

Without a glossary, different translators might translate the same term in different ways, creating confusion for your customers and diluting your brand voice. A well-maintained glossary eliminates this inconsistency.

Key benefits of glossary management:

• Speed: Translators don’t waste time researching technical terms or debating word choices
• Consistency: The same term is always translated the same way across all content
• Quality: Reduces errors and misunderstandings in technical or specialized content
• Cost savings: Faster translation times mean lower costs
• Brand protection: Maintains your brand voice across all markets

Glossary File Structure

Your glossary can be uploaded in XLSX, XLS, or ODS formats on the Taia platform.

The glossary in Taia can accommodate as many languages as needed, offering support for context information both at the term level and the concept level. Aside from the locale columns, all other columns are optional. The bare minimum for a glossary file is one containing at least two locale columns.

Download Glossary Import Sample File (.xlsx)

Concept-Level Columns

The first four columns are concept-level and apply to all terms in the respective row. The content in these columns will be relevant for all jobs where the glossary is active, irrespective of the language combination.

• Column A “Forbidden”: Use this column to highlight words that should not be used in the target language. Mark forbidden words with “TRUE” in column A. If a row displays “TRUE” in this column, it signifies the terms in that row are prohibited in the translation.

  If the row contains a term in one language, the term will be marked as forbidden each time it appears in the target language, regardless of the source content. For example, the term “Felino” will be flagged as forbidden every time it appears in any job into it-IT.

  If the row contains terms in multiple languages, they will only be flagged as forbidden when the source text includes a term in the same row. For example, the term “Fish” will be flagged as forbidden only when “Pez” appears in the source of an es-ES > en-US job and vice versa.

• Column B, “Domain”: This column can be used to specify the domain to which the terms in the row belong. It helps disambiguate different domain-dependent translations of the same concept or simply specify the domain of a certain translation.

• Column C, “Subdomain”: Utilize this column to enhance translation accuracy when the “Domain” alone is insufficient.

• Column D, “Definition”: This column is designated to provide a definition for the concept.

Remember: all the concept-level columns are optional. If more than one is included in your file, they must follow the Forbidden-Domain-Subdomain-Definition order for the file to be accepted by Taia.

Term-Level Columns

Term-level columns apply only to the terms for a specific locale. Hence, their content will only be relevant for jobs with that locale as the source or target.

These columns should be positioned to the right of the concept-level columns, if present.

• Locale column: The heading of this column varies based on the locale it refers to. It is used to insert the translation of a concept for the specified locale. Taia’s glossary system is not case sensitive, which means it will match “House”, “house”, and “HOUSE”. For several locales, Taia utilizes advanced matching algorithms to match different forms of words such as plurals, verb forms, etc.

• “Notes” column: This column is for including additional information about the term in that locale.

• “Example of use” column: Here, you can provide an actual example of use for the translator.

For each locale, the term-level columns must adhere to the Locale-Notes-Example of use order for the file to be accepted by Taia.

In case a term is incorrectly saved in the glossary with a space before or after it, Taia automatically applies a trim to avoid issues on the editor page. This means that any form of the term saved in the glossary file (“House”, ” House”, “House ”) will be underlined by Taia on the editor page.

Permutations

Taia provides flexibility in creating jobs for any possible combinations of the locales if your glossary includes between two and ten locales. For example, if your glossary contains en-US, es-ES, and it-IT, you can use it for en-US <> es-ES, en-US <> it-IT, and es-ES <> it-IT jobs.

However, if your glossary comprises more than 10 locales, Taia will only generate combinations between the first locale column from the left and the rest of the locales. For instance, if your glossary starts with en-US, followed by es-ES, it-IT, and 10 more locales, you can use it for en-US <> es-ES and en-US <> it-IT, but not for es-ES <> it-IT.

Importing a Glossary

Currently, users can’t import the glossary by themselves so please reach out to our support team or your dedicated project manager, who will be happy to assist you. Similarly, if you would like to export your glossary, just reach out to our support team.

Your company profile can have multiple separate glossaries, each of them is paired with one of your Translation Memory datasets as stored in our Category logic.

Please note, if a new glossary is imported to a key that already contains an existing one, the content of the existing combinations will be replaced. The content of the new locales, however, will be added to the existing glossary.

For instance, if a key contains a glossary that only has the en-US <> es-ES combination in it:

• If you import a new glossary that only has the en-US and it-IT locales, the content of this combination of locales will be added to the key, and the content of the en-US <> es-ES will remain unchanged.
• If you import a new glossary that includes the en-US, es-ES, and it-IT locales, the content of the en-US <> it-IT combination will be added to the key, and the content of the en-US <> es-ES will be replaced.

Tips and Tricks for Handling Glossaries

Case 1: If you only need a blacklist to flag forbidden terms in the target language, create a glossary that only includes the “Forbidden” column, a column for the locale where you want to ban the words, and a column for another random locale. Taia will accept this file, and the words will be appropriately flagged as forbidden during a job.

Case 2: If you need to update a large glossary that takes a long time to upload, upload a file that only contains the updated locales and any other locale with which you want them to be combined. This method yields the same result as re-uploading the entire glossary but does so more swiftly.

Good Glossary—Key to Consistent Terminology

We’re here to help you create it.

In summary, maintaining a well-structured glossary is integral to ensuring consistent, high-quality translations. The glossary serves as the backbone of your localization efforts, helping maintain uniformity in terminology across all languages and projects.

Furthermore, Taia goes the extra mile in assisting you with your translation needs. If you do not have a glossary, our advanced AI platform can scan your content and automatically identify the most frequently used words and phrases. We can then suggest translations for these terms, streamlining the creation of your personalized glossary.

Don’t wait to take your business global with precision and consistency. Harness the power of a well-structured glossary and watch as your communications transcend borders seamlessly. Let Taia simplify your translation process.

Start Your Translation Journey Today

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a translation glossary and why do I need one?

A translation glossary is a centralized database of approved terminology specific to your business, product, or industry. It ensures that technical terms, product names, and brand-specific language are translated consistently across all content and languages. Without one, different translators might use different terms for the same concept, creating confusion for customers and weakening your brand voice. A glossary is essential for technical documentation, software localization, and any business with specialized terminology.

How does a glossary differ from translation memory?

A glossary stores individual terms and their approved translations, while Translation Memory (TM) stores full sentences and paragraphs that have been previously translated. Glossaries ensure terminology consistency (e.g., “submit button” is always translated the same way), while TM ensures sentence-level consistency and reduces retranslation costs. Both work together in a Translation Management System to maximize quality and efficiency.

Can I create a glossary if I don’t have translations yet?

Yes! Start by listing your key technical terms, product names, brand terminology, and industry-specific jargon in your source language. Then work with professional linguists or use Taia’s AI-powered terminology extraction to suggest translations. It’s better to start with a small, high-quality glossary and expand it over time than to wait until you have everything. Taia can scan your content and automatically identify frequently used terms to help build your initial glossary.

What file formats does Taia support for glossary import?

Taia accepts glossaries in XLSX, XLS, and ODS formats. The minimum requirement is a file with at least two locale columns (e.g., English and Spanish). You can add optional columns for forbidden terms, domain specification, subdomain, definitions, notes, and usage examples. For the exact file structure and a sample template, download our Glossary Import Sample File.

How many languages can I include in one glossary?

Taia supports glossaries with unlimited languages. If your glossary contains 2-10 locales, you can create translation jobs for any language combination (e.g., English↔Spanish, English↔French, Spanish↔French). If your glossary has more than 10 locales, Taia generates combinations between the first locale column and all others, but not between the other locales themselves. This ensures optimal performance while supporting large multilingual glossaries.

Can I mark certain terms as forbidden in translations?

Yes! Use the “Forbidden” column (Column A) to flag terms that should never appear in target translations. Mark forbidden words with “TRUE” in this column. If a row contains a term in one language, it will be flagged as forbidden every time it appears in the target language. If the row contains terms in multiple languages, they’ll only be flagged when the source text includes a matching term. This is perfect for blocking outdated product names, competitor brands, or culturally inappropriate terms.

How do I update an existing glossary without starting over?

You don’t need to re-upload your entire glossary to make updates. Instead, create a file containing only the updated locales and any locale combinations you want to modify. When imported, Taia will add new locale combinations while replacing only the specified combinations – leaving all other existing content intact. This makes updating large glossaries much faster. Contact our support team for assistance with glossary updates.

Does Taia’s glossary system handle different word forms automatically?

Yes! Taia uses advanced matching algorithms for many locales to recognize different forms of the same word – including plurals, verb conjugations, and other grammatical variations. The system is also case-insensitive, so “House”, “house”, and “HOUSE” are all treated as the same term. This intelligent matching ensures that glossary terms are flagged even when they appear in different grammatical forms throughout your content.

How does glossary management speed up translation projects?

Glossaries dramatically reduce translation time by eliminating the need for translators to research technical terms or debate word choices. When a glossary is active, translators see approved terms highlighted in the editor, ensuring instant consistency. Combined with Translation Memory, glossaries can reduce overall translation time by 30-50% on technical projects while simultaneously improving quality and consistency.

Can I have multiple glossaries for different projects or departments?

Yes! Your Taia company profile can have multiple separate glossaries, each paired with a different Translation Memory category. This is perfect for companies with different product lines, departments, or brand voices. For example, you might have one glossary for your marketing team (casual tone) and another for technical documentation (formal terminology). Our Translation Management System automatically applies the correct glossary based on project category.