What makes terminology management so crucial?

Terminology management involves the systematic management of the technical terms used by an enterprise. The objective is to ensure that terminology is used consistently and precisely so that communication is as effective as possible and misunderstandings are minimized. The relevant terms must be identified, documented, and defined, preferably using specialized software developed for this purpose, such as a terminology database. This is the only way to ensure that the terminology is always up to date and can be translated seamlessly. The translation of terminology is one of the most important tasks in the terminology management of an international company.

Below we look at various reasons why terminology management is so crucial for an enterprise.

Clear communication for uniform understanding

Standardizing the understanding of a company’s products or services through clear communication is an essential aspect of terminology management. When terminology is standardized and precise, all team members and customers have a shared understanding of certain technical terms. In this way, all parties always know exactly what is meant – and this avoids or minimizes time-consuming queries.

Improving quality through consistent terminology

Clear communication ties in to the following point: consistent terminology increases the quality of products and services. Why? If everyone communicates in a standardized way, from development and production through to marketing and support, the company makes fewer mistakes overall, ultimately leading to improvement in the quality of its products or services.

Ensuring legal certainty by using precise language

In many sectors, such as technology and healthcare, the use of correct terminology is essential to the establishment of legal certainty. In technical documents or medical records, even minor ambiguities or unclear phrasing can have serious consequences. It is crucial to use precise terms to prevent misunderstandings and ensure that all parties share a common understanding of the meaning of a specific term. This is because misinterpreted or poorly defined terms can lead to legal problems. In addition, there are legal requirements and standards in many industries that necessitate the use of precise terminology.

Managing knowledge for sustainable success

Having well-organized and consistent terminology is crucial for effective communication in the short term and contributes significantly to the long-term success of a business. If the terminology is defined, knowledge can be documented more efficiently within the enterprise. Using standardized terminology allows for clear categorization of content and makes it easy to find. Effective terminology management also facilitates the onboarding of new employees by enhancing their comprehension and access to new information.

Translation and global presence

Translation is a key reason why terminology management is so important.

Effective terminology management is essential for ensuring accurate and standardized translations in international enterprises. It is essential to use well-maintained terminology to ensure consistent communication across different languages. Using standardized terms ensures that the key messages and information are correctly conveyed in translations.

Terminology management also helps improve the efficiency of translation processes. Using standardized terms allows translators to work more quickly and accurately, as they do not need to navigate through ambiguous or inconsistent language. This accelerates the entire translation process and reduces costs.

Last but not least, terminology management allows for the consideration of cultural nuances, as precise terminology encompasses both linguistic and cultural dimensions. This is especially crucial for effectively operating in different regions and meeting the specific expectations of local customers.

Managing terminology for the use of machine translation

In addition to a translation memory, a well-maintained terminology database is essential for the successful implementation of (custom) machine translation (MT) engines.

If you are considering using machine translation in your enterprise, you should invest in terminology work in advance. After all, the quality of the results produced by a machine is dependent on the quality of the information it has been programmed with (according to the principle of “garbage in, garbage out”). For the output of the machine translation to be usable, you need to use terminology that is as “clean” as possible. Post-editors also benefit from this, as uniform terminology helps them work more efficiently and effectively.

By providing your terminology databases and translation memories to the machine translation provider, you can enable the creation of a customized engine that delivers better translation results than generic engines. The result will also better align with your corporate communication style.

For further details on incorporating terminology work into your company, please refer to the article “What is terminology work?” or contact us – we would be happy to provide you with assistance and support.