FAQ: Translation Glossary
A Translation glossary is one of the most powerful tools you can use to maximize the quality of a translation. This document answers your frequently asked questions (FAQs) about translation glossaries.
Why would I need to make a glossary? Aren’t you guys the experts?
Translation experts use glossaries to ensure terms are being consistently used across documents. Just like there is more than one way to say the same thing in English, there is more than one way to say the same thing in other languages. Consistency in word choice helps bring a single voice to your translated documents across all your projects. Any preferences about word choice is welcomed by the client – especially if they want to approve the final version of the copy.
Who chooses which terms are key terms?
Key terms can be “key” based on the source language or target language. Assuming the client knows either one, then the client can contribute to deciding what terms should be logged in a glossary. Our translation team will certainly make contributions, but if the client has an opinion, we certainly welcome it. To help, we wrote an article on how to create a glossary.
How long does it take to create a glossary?
Technically, you can create a decent glossary from memory if you know what names of people, places, products or services are mentioned in the files. It can take as little as a few minutes. If you ask a professional to do it, they will have to read everything and pick out words, so it will take longer (leave that to us). If you read over it yourself, then it takes as long as it takes for your to skim the document.
How many terms will be in the glossary?
Typically, there are only a few dozen terms, but there doesn’t need to be that many. There could also be many more depending on how often you create new content.
Who should check the glossary on our side once it’s complete?
For the source language side, nobody really needs to check it. For the target language side, we will check it.
Will this glossary be used for this project only or for future projects as well?
The glossary transcends projects. It’s used every chance we get. The more it’s used, the more consistently the translations will be between files and projects.
How much does the glossary cost?
There are a few ways to go about creating a glossary – including the “free” way. The free way might not catch every word, but it’s better than nothing. Otherwise, it depends on how much text the team has to go through to find and extract terms.
For future projects, do we add to the existing glossary depending on new terms, or do we create a brand new glossary per project?
One glossary per client or department (you might not want to mix legal and marketing terms). For each additional project you have with us, additional terms will be added to the same glossary.
If you’d like to learn more about how BURG Translations helps you ensure high-quality translations, contact us today.