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Glossaries and Your Translation and Localization Projects

Have you considered how many different meanings your school district’s terminology, course offerings or school policies could potentially have when your material is translated or localized? It can be dizzying for those inside your organization and even more so for those you’re trying to communicate with outside your school district! Translation and localization of your school’s material requires a translation team to decide on the definition of a variety of phrases or terms that communicate your message most effectively to a target audience. Creating a glossary for education- and school-specific terms is crucial when communicating in other languages and your Language Service Provider can help your team get started.

First, let’s define what is meant by a glossary. Glossaries can contain lists of course names, educational concepts or a list of terms specific to your school district. These lists are sometimes accompanied by their definitions in English or notes about how these terms are used in different types of documents. Next to the terms in the source language (in this case, English) are the same terms in another language (e.g. Spanish).

One of the main benefits of creating a glossary is the resulting consistent use of the same terms in every translation. Plus, translation teams are less likely to be confused by terms and to wonder which variation of a term’s meaning they should use. In an educational translation, when a team knows they should use a specific term in Spanish for “Individualized Education Plan” every time it comes up in your documents, the resulting communication to students and families across translations will be consistent and accurate.

Translation teams, consisting of a translator and proofreader, are often the experts who put together a glossary for a school or other education organization. Of course, it’s very helpful to have strong input from an in-house or community reviewer. These reviewers are usually bilingual experts in the education industry who can help finalize the most accurate and appropriate terms to use. Reviewers associated with the school and the community will also know which translations of educational terms will project the intended message to students and families.

Your organization and your translation agency should decide on a lead person to implement glossary changes and distribute new glossary revisions to translation teams and members of your team. This way there is one person responsible for final decisions about updates and team members can direct questions or requests to one resource person.

As for the format of your glossary, these are usually easiest to use when they’re in table or spreadsheet form so that the terms and definitions in both languages are alphabetized and side-by-side. It’s also an option to incorporate the glossary into your translation memory so that translators can use the memory and the glossary simultaneously. Your translation agency can recommend the option that will be most conducive to future use in translations.


	viaLanguage Translation Articles Glossaries and Your Translation and Localization Projects Have you considered how many different meanings your school district’s terminology, course offerings or school policies could potentially have when your material is translated or localized? It can be dizzying for those inside your organization and even more so for those you’re trying to communicate with outside your school district! Translation and localization of your school’s material requires a translation team to decide on the definition of a variety of phrases or terms that communicate your message most effectively to a target audience. Creating a glossary for education- and school-specific terms is crucial when communicating in other languages and your Language Service Provider can help your team get started. First, let’s define what is meant by a glossary. Glossaries can contain lists of course names, educational concepts or a list of terms specific to your school district. These lists are sometimes accompanied by their definitions in English or notes about how these terms are used in different types of documents. Next to the terms in the source language (in this case, English) are the same terms in another language (e.g. Spanish). One of the main benefits of creating a glossary is the resulting consistent use of the same terms in every translation. Plus, translation teams are less likely to be confused by terms and to wonder which variation of a term’s meaning they should use. In an educational translation, when a team knows they should use a specific term in Spanish for “Individualized Education Plan” every time it comes up in your documents, the resulting communication to students and families across translations will be consistent and accurate. Translation teams, consisting of a translator and proofreader, are often the experts who put together a glossary for a school or other education organization. Of course, it’s very helpful to have strong input from an in-house or community reviewer. These reviewers are usually bilingual experts in the education industry who can help finalize the most accurate and appropriate terms to use. Reviewers associated with the school and the community will also know which translations of educational terms will project the intended message to students and families. Your organization and your translation agency should decide on a lead person to implement glossary changes and distribute new glossary revisions to translation teams and members of your team. This way there is one person responsible for final decisions about updates and team members can direct questions or requests to one resource person. As for the format of your glossary, these are usually easiest to use when they’re in table or spreadsheet form so that the terms and definitions in both languages are alphabetized and side-by-side. It’s also an option to incorporate the glossary into your translation memory so that translators can use the memory and the glossary simultaneously. Your translation agency can recommend the option that will be most conducive to future use in translations.