Creating and managing terminology is a crucial first step towards localizing material into multiple languages. Do it well, managing the process at source level, and you have the building blocks for successful delivery with fewer queries, less editing, greater consistency and increased profitability. Today at LocWorld 44,  Belen Rubalcaba gave us a masterclass in doing it very well indeed.

Almost two decades ago, PTC set out on a mission to deliver terminology management that would be accurate, consistent and inclusive. With the buy-in of product management, product development, design and localization professionals, this has been achieved to a point where language can be a driver of tolerance and calm.

PTC’s offensive terminology replacement initiative has proved invaluable in recent years, and in May 2020, amidst grief and rising anger following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis,  PTC conducted a thorough review of terminology, removing anything that might be seen to promote racial stereotyping. Companies such as SAP and Microsoft took similar action. PTC researched and identified potentially inappropriate language, swiftly replacing it and finding suitable alternatives in all target languages. The process was handled with efficiency and sensitivity in equal measure, and potential problems were nipped in the bud.

Belen Rubalcaba’s words today struck a chord with XTM International. Language matters to us, too, and XTM Cloud incorporates a comprehensive terminology module. These databases include concepts, definitions, context, images, multilingual translations and comments and deliver consistent use of agreed terminology throughout the translation process. Users can import and export the terminology in XTM and edit or add new terms direct from XTM Workbench. With XTM 12.7 we’ve also enabled auto-bilingual term extraction to run on bilingual files such as TMX or XLIFF. The multilingual glossaries and style guides enabled in XTM Cloud deliver consistency and preserve brand values in any market, saving linguists the time and expense of having to research terminology, companies and sectors. The benefits that Belen Rubalcaba and her colleagues at PTC have worked so hard to deliver are game-changing. They improve product usability, optimise machine translation output and deliver language solutions that engage audiences without ever alienating them. Thank you Belen for sharing your expertise today.