Terminology management is an essential part of the translation and localisation process as it saves research time and increases final translation quality. Terminology management is performed with the help of specific tools that allow translators to compile a database of subject-specific terms with their grammatical information and usage.Terminology management tools are either standalone or integrated within a translation environment. When integrated, these tools automate the look up of terms and match database entries to text in new documents. Many tools allow for the automation of quality checks against the terminology database to confirm correct usage. Additional functions can include an automated terminology extraction feature that allows users to quickly identify useful terms and add them to their term base.
Corpus query tools
e.g. Integration of SketchEngine in SDL Trados Studio
Import/export of glossaries
Issues with import/export of glossaries?
Interpreter-oriented terminology
Basics
Interpreters do terminology work differently from terminologists and translators. They often compile ad-hoc glossaries that are specific to an upcoming assignment or a client. Interpreter glossaries tend be less structured and can contain general terms or turns of phrases in addition to technical terms.
Platforms
- Simple tables in documents (using Microsoft Word or Google Docs) are one of the simplest tools used by interpreters to manage terminology. These tables are not very flexible, however, and make it difficult to repurpose terminological data.
- Spreadsheets such as implemented with Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets are still very common among interpreters. They are easy to use and offer options to import and export word lists. In addition, a cloud component enables interpreters to easily collaborate on terminology from different places and independent of time constraints. More information can be found in this article on the AIIC website.
- InterpretBank. Claudio Fantinuoli from Germersheim University has created his take on the interpreter terminology app, InterpretBank, which includes cutting-edge technologies like speech recognition and term extraction.
- Interplex. This terminology tool has been around for two decades at least. Interplex is developed by freelance interpreter Peter Sand and programmer Eric Hartner. It started as Windows-only software and is now also available on mobile devices.
- Intragloss. Intragloss is another example for an interpreter (Dan Kenig) teaming up with an IT specialist (Daniel Pohoryles). The focus of this Mac-only terminology app is more on preparation and working with meeting documents.
- Interpreters' Help. The team is composed of developers Benoît Werner and Yann Planqueel and interpreters Céline Corsini and Lourdes de la Torre (Benoît, Yann and Céline are the co-founders; Benoît got the idea for developing the app from his sister Céline.) The team strives to be professional in both developing and interpreting, and they actively participate in the interpreting community.
- General-purpose database software: Airtable
Termbase maintenance
Edit, delete, detect duplicates in termbase entries.
Termbase structure
Issues with structure of termbases?
(Semi)-automatic terminology extraction
Issues with automatic terminology extraction? What is the future of automatic term extraction tools integrated in CAT tools? Is this feature useful? Is it used? Still wanted?
Terminology referencing
Rather than spending a lot of manual labor to create terminology extracts before a given translation project, it should be possible to create a client- and subject-specific corpus of some kind and have terminology automatically be verified between what is in the corpus and what the translator enters. A condition for that would of course be some kind of morphological processing for most languages.
Terminology Workflows
Issues around new terminology validation in collaborative workflows.
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