How to transform accumulated translations into a term base that reduces cost, improves consistency, and preserves brand voice across all markets.
- Start from what you already approved
- Contested terms: we prioritise by consequence
- Three things worth confirming with any vendor
Start from what you already approved
Most organisations already own the answer to most terminology questions — it is sitting in approved labelling, past filings and shipped manuals. It is simply not written down in one place.
Building a termbase usually begins as an extraction exercise rather than a decision exercise. Harvest what has been approved, surface the conflicts, and decide only those.
Contested terms: we prioritise by consequence
Extraction will reveal the same concept rendered several ways. Each conflict needs an owner and a decision, and the decision needs a reason recorded — otherwise it gets re-litigated in six months.
We prioritise these conflicts by consequence: regulated and safety terms first, product naming second, general vocabulary last.
Three things worth confirming with any vendor
A termbase that is not maintained decays into a historical record. Three things determine whether it survives: whether someone owns it and reviews it when product lines or labelling change; whether new terms are required to enter it as projects introduce them, rather than each team improvising; and in what format it is delivered to you.
It is your asset. A vendor maintains it, but it should not live only on their side — you should be able to take it with you if you ever change vendors.