• Home
• Who we are
• What we do
• Contact

• News
• Glossary

Back to top

Glossary of Translation and Interpreting Terms

This glossary from trans-k provides an explanation to many of the terms frequently used in connection with translation and interpreting. Whether you need to communicate effectively with translators or translation companies, or just want to know what Unicode or translation memory are all about, you’ll find the answers here.

The German translations link to the corresponding term in the German glossary.

Abbreviations are listed separately at the end of this page.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Accredited translator
In the UK a translator who has received accreditation from a professional institute such as the ITI. Accreditation – a requirement for association membership – is usually issued on the basis of examination and experience. The equivalent credential issued by the American ATA is Certified Translator. An approximate German equivalent would be staatlich geprüfter Übersetzer (who has passed a state examination) or staatlich anerkannter Übersetzer (who has passed a state-recognized examination). Unlike the Diploma in Translation issued by the Institute of Linguists, the German   Diplomübersetzer has graduated in translation at degree level.

Ad hoc interpreting
Spoken translation between two languages in informal conversations between two or more people. Used, for example in business meetings, for phone calls, during site visits and social events. The term is sometimes used loosely to include consecutive interpreting.

Adaptation     Adaption
Modifying a text to make it suitable for a different purpose, target readership, region or country. Regional adaptation is a part of localization. In translation, the adaptation can be carried out, for example by the translator, an editor or a copywriter. Whether it is best to adapt the source text before translation or the translated target text depends on the situation.

A language     A-Sprache
The mother-tongue or language of habitual use of a translator or interpreter. (cf. B language and C language)

Atril
Publisher of the Déjà Vu translation memory program.

Background text     Hintergrundtext
Text in the source or target language providing background information about the subject matter of the text to be translated.

Background information     Hintergrundinformationen
Information relating to the subject matter of the source text or the topic of discussion. Facilitates the translator’s or interpreter’s task by providing context, terminology, definitions, etc.

Back translation     Rückübersetzung
A literal translation of a translation. Helps a translation consultant determine whether the original meaning has been preserved in the target language.

Bilingual ( adj or n )    zweisprachig (adj), zweisprachige Person (n)
Someone with communicative skills in two languages. The term is often reserved for someone with native or near-native proficiency in two languages. Bilingualism is one of several required abilities of a translator or interpreter.

B language     B-Sprache
A language that a translator or interpreter can speak, read and write almost as well as their native language (or A language), and well enough to translate into as well as out of. (See also C language)

Certified translation     beglaubigte Übersetzung
A translation that has been reviewed by a translator or translation company and considered an accurate and correct reflection of the source text. To have legal status, certification must be performed by a sworn translator (in the UK) or before a notary public.

Certified translator
(In the US) a translator who has received accreditation from the American Translators Association (ATA). An approximate German equivalent would be staatlich geprüfter Übersetzer (who has passed a state examination) or staatlich anerkannter Übersetzer (who has passed a state-recognized examination). Unlike the Diploma in Translation issued by the Institute of Linguists , the German   Diplomübersetzer has graduated in translation at degree level.

C language     C-Sprache
A language that a translator or interpreter can read and understand well enough to translate

into. (See also A language and B language.)

Computer-aided translation (CAT) , computer-assisted ~, machine-aided or -assisted ~      computerunterstützte Übersetzung
Translation with the aid of computer programs, such as translation memory, terminology management and localization tools, designed to reduce the translator’s workload and increase consistency of style and terminology.

Not to be confused with machine translation!

Conference interpreter     Konferenzdolmetscher
Interpreter with highly specialized skills who provides simultaneous interpretation of a speakers words in one direction only from one language into another.

Conference translator     Konferenzübersetzer

Consecutive interpreting     Konsekutivdolmetschen
Oral translation of a speaker’s words into another language when the speaker has finished speaking or pauses for interpreting. More formal than ad hoc interpreting and used, for example in formal business meetings, for negotiations, training sessions or lectures. (cf. simultaneous interpreting)

Controlled language     kontrollierte Sprache
Language with a restricted vocabulary and restricted rules of formulation. Used, for example, in technical documentation to make the text easier to understand for users or for non-native speakers and to facilitate machine translation.

Copywriting     Werbetexten
Writing of advertising or publicity copy. It cannot be stressed too strongly that advertising copy will not translate satisfactorily due to the different cultural contexts and advertising cultures of other countries and regions. Adverts for foreign countries should therefore always be produced in those countries. There are some advertising agencies who provide this service.

Court interpreter     Gerichtsdolmetscher
Interpreter with special subject knowledge, providing interpretation during legal proceedings. Requirements regarding accreditation and certification for court interpreting vary from country to country.

Déjà Vu
Translation memory program, published by Atril.

DIN 2345
German standard specifying requirements for translation contracts, published April 1998. Has been replaced by European Standard EN 15038:2006 Translation Services – Service requirements.

EN 15038
European standard “Translation Services – Service requirements”, published in 2006. Overview and purchase.

Freelance translator     freiberuflicher Übersetzer, freischaffender ~
Self-employed translator, who may undertake work for translation agencies, localisation companies and/or directly for end clients. Often specializes in one or more particular fields, such as legal, financial, commercial or technical.

Free translation    (1)  freie Übersetzung, (2)  kostenlose Übersetzung

1. Translation in which more emphasis is given to the overall meaning of the text than to the exact wording (cf. literal translation); 2. Translation completed free of charge. Offered by some translation companies – often online, and usually using machine translation programs. Can be used for gisting, but never of a sufficient quality for publication without comprehensive revision by a human translator.

Gisting
Producing a rough or outline translation of a text to provide an insight into the subject and overall content of the source text. Being less expensive and less time-consuming than a “proper” (or “custom”) translation, gisting can be used, for example, to determine whether a text contains useful information before a custom translation is commissioned. The term gisting is sometimes used in connection with machine translation, which is used by some translation providers for that purpose.

Globalization , globalization     Globalisierung
The process of developing and manufacturing products intended for worldwide distribution. Most commonly applied to software, but also used for websites and other publications and products, it covers two aspects: internationalization and localisation.

Glossary     Glossar
An invaluable tool for the translator. Beside making use of the wealth of specialized mono- and multilingual online-glossaries on the Internet, most translators compile and maintain their own subject-, customer- and project-specific glossaries. Companies publishing documentation in several languages can also benefit from maintaining multi-language glossaries of their own. This not only makes translators’ work easier, but – by reducing the amount of terminology research required – speeds up subsequent translation projects. In addition, it ensures consistent and correct terminology usage in all languages. Some translators and most translation companies offer glossary compilation and maintenance, either as a separate service or as part of a translation agreement. (See the Resources for Translators page for lists of online glossaries and dictionaries.)

Internationalization , internationalization     Internationalisierung
The process of designing or redesigning a product (e.g. software) to allow its localisation for other countries with a minimum of changes to its text content or program code. Internationalized software applications, for example, store their text in external resource files and use character encoding methods (such as Unicode) that support character sets for many different languages.

Interpreter     Dolmetscher
Provides oral (spoken) translation of a speaker’s words from one language into another. (cf. translator)

Interpreting , interpretation     Dolmetschen
The act of rendering spoken words from one language into another. (cf. translating; see also simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting)

Keystroke     Anschlag
Often used as a measure of line or page length in defining the size of a translation job. Includes all visible characters as well as spaces and line breaks/paragraph marks. (See also standard line and standard page.)

Language Engineering     Sprachdatenverarbeitung
The Euromap Report, published in 1998 on behalf of the EUROMAP Consortium, defines language engineering as “the application of knowledge of written and spoken language to the development of systems able to recognize, understand, interpret, and generate human language”. These language technologies include computer-aided translation, speech recognition and synthesis, as well as semantic searches and information retrieval.

Language of habitual use; similar: dominant language
The language that a person is most familiar with, usually the language spoken in the country in which the person lives. More appropriate than mother-tongue ( Muttersprache) as a measure of a translator or interpreter’s ability to work into the given language. In German, the term native speaker is used in this context.

Language pairing, language combination     Sprachpaar, Sprachkombination
The languages between which a translator or interpreter works.

Language service provider (LSP)    Sprachendienst, Sprachendienstleister
Provider of translation and other language-related services that may include typesetting, publishing, project management, internationalization and language teaching (cf. translation company).

Liaison interpreter     Verhandlungsdolmetscher
Interpreter who provides – usually consecutive – interpretation between two languages in both directions. May be affiliated to the host company and act as facilitator in negotiations or undertake some PR activities.

Literal translation, transcription     wörtliche Übersetzung
Translation that closely adheres to the wording and construction of the source text. A literal translation of continuous text usually appears “stilted” and unnatural and is therefore to be avoided unless there is a specific reason for translating literally. (cf. free translation)

Literary translator     literarischer Übersetzer Translator specializing in the translation of literature, such as fiction, biographies and poetry.

Localisation , localization     Lokalisieren
The process of adapting a product (usually software, but also, for example, websites) to a specific locale, i.e. to the language, cultural norms, standards, laws and requirements of the target country.

Machine translation (MT)     automatische Übersetzung

1. Translation produced by a computer program; 2. Use of a translation program to translate text without human input in the actual translation process. The quality of machine-translated text, in terms of terminology, meaning and grammar, varies depending on the nature and complexity of the source text, but is never good enough for publication without extensive editing. Machine translation (usually using highly customized MT programs) is occasionally used by some translators and translation companies to assist them in their work, but rarely to translate entire documents. Some search engines interface with a translation program to provide translations of websites. To get an idea of what MT can and cannot do, visit Babelfish, which provides a free online MT service (see Resources for Business page). Not to be confused with computer-aided translation!

Mother-tongue     Muttersprache
One’s native language. Often used as an indicator of a translator or interpreter’s ability to translate into a particular language. Because a person who has lived in another country for many years (perhaps from childhood) may be more fluent in their “new” language than they are in their original mother-tongue, the terms language of habitual use, dominant language and native language are often used instead.

MultiTerm
Terminology program. Developed by Trados, now published by SDL International. A component of the Trados translation memory program, but also available as a separate product.

Native speaker     Nativespeaker
A person with native-speaker competence in a particular language.

Native-speaker competence     muttersprachliche Kompetenz
Oral and written command of a language equivalent to that of a person who not only learned the language as a child and has continued to use it as his/her language of habitual use, but who also has had some language training.

ÖNORM 1200, ÖNORM 1201
Austrian standards specifying requirements for translation services and translation contracts respectively. Published in 2000. Can be ordered online at www.on-norm.at.

ÖNORM 1202, ÖNORM 1203
Austrian standards specifying requirements for interpreting services and interpreting contracts respectively. Published in 2002. Can be ordered online at www.on-norm.at.

Parallel text     Paralleltext
Text in the source or target language that is comparable to the text to be translated in terms of subject matter or text type. Includes previous translations of the same type of text.

Plain English     bürgernahe Sprache
A form of English that is clear, concise, direct, and natural. Advocated by an increasing number of people as a style of language that should be used by authors of technical texts – such as user manuals, legal documents, articles and speeches –, plain English is easier and more enjoyable to read than legalese or texts laden with technical jargon and complex sentences for both experts and laypersons. (Ffi. see the Style Guides page.)

Proof-reading , proofreading     Korrekturlesen
Strictly, checking a proof before printing to ensure that no mistakes have been made in typesetting. The term is often used by translators in the sense of revising. When typesetting a translated text, it is advisable to let the translator who performed the translation proofread the typeset document, especially when the text is written in a language foreign to the typesetter.

Revising     revidieren, überarbeiten
Reading a text to identify errors, inconsistencies, incorrect grammar and punctuation, poor or inappropriate style, and, in the case of a translation, conformance with the source text, and making appropriate changes and corrections to the text. In general, the number of revision stages is proportional to the demands on the text quality: a translation intended for publication may, for example, be revised by the translator and by one or two third parties (e.g. the author, a subject expert, a second translator, an editor), whereas an internal memo may not require any revision after translation. (What exactly revising and editing entail and how they differ is the subject of much debate. What is important is that the person commissioning the work communicates clearly what is expected of the editor.)

SDL
Publishers of the SDL Trados CAT suite, which consists of the former products Trados and SDLX.

Simplified English (SE)
A set of writing rules and a dictionary of controlled vocabulary aimed at improving the readability of technical documentation. Developed by the Association of European Airlines (AEA), it is also used to write texts for translation using machine translation tools.

Simultaneous interpreting     Simultandolmetschen
Oral translation of a speaker’s words into another language while the speaker is speaking. The interpreter usually sits in a booth and uses audio equipment. (cf. consecutive interpreting)

Source language     Ausgangssprache
Language in which the text to be translated is written.

Source text     Ausgangstext
The text to be translated.

Specialized language competence     fachsprachliche Kompetenz
Familiarity with the relevant subject matter and command of its special language conventions.

Standard line     Normzeile
A standard measure of the size of a text. The standard line length varies from country to country. In Germany, for example, it is usually 55 keystrokes, in Belgium 60. Translation projects are often priced on a per line basis.

Standard page , calibrated page     Normseite
A standard measure of the size of a text, used esp. in the publishing industry and in literary translation. The standard page length may vary from country to country and depending on the sector, but is generally in the region of 1500 to 1800 keystrokes. Translation projects are sometimes priced on a per page basis, although – except in the case of literary translation – this practice is becoming less common, being replaced by the standard line.

Sworn translator     vereidigter Übersetzer
(In the UK) a translator who has taken an oath and can therefore produce certified translations.

Target audience     Zielpublikum
The group of people that an interpreter addresses. Used mostly in connection with simultaneous interpreting. Sometimes used (incorrectly) in the sense of target readership

Target language     Zielsprache
Language into which a text is to be translated.

Target readership     Zielleserschaft
The group of people for which a text is translated, for example subject experts, novices, prospective customers. It is important to specify the target readership when commissioning a translation so that the translator can choose an appropriate style and vocabulary.

Target text     Zieltext
The translation, i.e. the result of the translation process.

TermStar
Terminology program published by Star. A component of the Transit translation memory program, but also available as a separate product.

Text function     Textfunktion
The function served by a text, e.g. to sell a product, to provide instruction on the use of a product, to convey information about an event. It is important to specify the text function when commissioning a translation to so that the translator can choose an appropriate style and vocabulary.

Text type     Textsorte
Class of text (e.g. abstract, news report, light fiction, commentary) with specific characteristics of style, sentence formation, terminology, etc.

TMX
Standardized translation memory exchange format, designed to allow easier exchange of translation memory data between tools and/or translation vendors with little or no loss of critical data during the process. Supported by the latest versions of most leading translation memory programs.

Trados
Former publishers of translation memory program of the same name. Now part of the SDL Trados CAT suite.

Transcription  -> Literal translation     Transkription

Transit
Translation memory program published by Star.

Translating , translation     Übersetzen
The act of rendering written text from one language into another. (cf. interpreting)

Translating competence     übersetzerische Kompetenz
Ability to render text into the target language correctly in terms of language, subject matter and idiomatic style, having regard to the text function of both the source text and the target text.

Translation agency     Übersetzungsbüro
Provides translation and interpreting services, acting as middleman between customers and freelance translators. May offer value-added services such as typesetting, publishing, project management.

Translation company     Übersetzungsbüro
Provides translation services using mainly in-house translators. May specialize in a particular field – such as legal, patents or technical – and may offer value-added services such as typesetting, publishing, project management. The term is often used synonymously with translation agency.

Translation environment tool (TEnT) , translation environment (TE)
A computer program, or a suite of programs, that provides functions to aid human translators in their translation tasks. Includes Translation memory, CAT, localisation and terminology management tools.

Translation Manager
1. Translation memory program published by IBM; 2. ( Syn.: project manager ) person in charge of managing a translation project. In large translation projects, the translation manager is responsible for liaising between customer and translators, coordinating the translation work (which may be carried out by several translators for each language), maintaining the terminology database, ensuring consistency of style and terminology, etc.

Translation memory (TM)     Translation Memory
Computer-aided translation program that stores translated sentences ( translation units or segments ) with their respective source segments in a database (usually called the “memory”). For each new segment to be translated, the program scans the database for a previous source segment that matches the new segment exactly or approximately (fuzzy match) and, if found, suggest the corresponding target segment as a possible translation. The translator can then accept, modify or reject the suggested translation.

Translator     Übersetzer
Renders written text from one or more languages into an other language, usually into her language of habitual use. May offer additional services, such as desktop publishing or proofreading. (cf. interpreter)

Translator’s Workbench (TWB)
Translation memory program published by Trados.

Transliteration     Transliteration
Transforming text from one script to another, usually based on phonetic equivalences. For example, Russian text might be transliterated into the Latin script so that it can be pronounced by English speakers.

Unicode
Character encoding standard which, unlike ASCII, uses not 8 but 16 bit character encoding, making possible the representation of virtually all existing character sets (e.g. Latin, Cyrillic, Japanese, Chinese). The use of Unicode simplifies multiple language document and program creation. (See also internationalization.)

Whispering, whispered interpreting     Flüsterdolmetschen
Similar to simultaneous interpreting, whereby the interpreter sits close to the listener and whispers the translation without technical aids.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Abbreviations

CAT  Computer-aided translation

DTP  Desktop publishing

l10n   Localisation

LSP  Language service provider

MT  Machine translation

SRX   Segmentation Rule eXchange (standardised exchange format forTE segmentation rules)

TE  Terminology extraction

TE  Translation environment

TEnT  Translation environment tool

TET  Terminology extraction tool

TM  Translation memory

TMX  Translation memory exchange format

TWB  Translator’s Workbench

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z