The idea behind maintaining a glossary of any kind is that it encourages terminological consistency and saves translators from having to repeat their research each time they start a new translation project. It is not necessary to use specialized software to maintain a glossary – many translators have long been using card indexes or word processors to create terminology records. Terminology-management software does offer a number of advantages over these conventional approaches, but modern technologies are not without their shortcomings. The benefits and drawbacks of working with TMSs are outlined below.
1. Speed and flexibility
The principal advantages of using terminology management software rather than a card index. TMSs permit more flexible storage and retrieval. In addition, it is easier to update electronic information, and faster to search through electronic files. Even though a word processor allows information to be stored in electronic form, it is not an adequate tool for managing terminology in an efficient way, and its search facilities slow down considerably as the term base grows in size. Another way that a TMS can potentially speed up a translator's work is by allowing terms to be pasted directly into the target text, thus avoiding the need to retype the term. Of course, terms may need to be edited to fit into the context (e.g., a verb may need to be conjugated), which means that time saved on copying and pasting may need to be spent on editing. In some cases, this has led to a new way of recording information on terminology records.
2. Quality
Although any type of glossary can help to improve consistency throughout a translation project, the active terminology-recognition feature of some TMSs takes this one step further. As Clark (1994, 306) notes, there is little point in going to the trouble of ensuring that terminology is agreed to beforehand and stored in a term base if translators choose not to consult this term base. With active terminology recognition, the choice is taken out of their hands because terms in the source text are automatically checked against the term base.
3. Changing the nature of the task
In addition to speeding up the task of searching for terminology, there is some evidence that the technology is beginning to have an impact on the amount and type of terminological information that is being recorded on a term record, as well as on the way in which this information is being recorded.
Although flexible tools do allow users to enter detailed information into glossaries, it is becoming increasingly common to see glossaries used in the localization industry that contain only the source and target term, and perhaps a comment if the source term has multiple possible translations depending on the context. According to O'Brien, there are several reasons for this type of stripped-down glossary format. First, the required turnaround time in the localization industry is often so short that it does not allow for the preparation of detailed glossaries. Second, the terminology used (even by the same client) can change rapidly, warranting new glossaries each time the client has a product localized. Finally, the translator, who also has to produce very fast turnaround times, is interested only in the client-approved translated term and the context in which a term can occur if there is more than one translation for that term. Of course, this trend has been caused more by the nature of the translation market than by the nature of the technology itself; however, the fact that technology makes it easy to compile and transfer information quickly has contributed to the trend of treating glossaries as disposable items, rather than as long-standing records.
The technology is, however, responsible for prompting a change in both the type of data that are being stored and the way in which they are recorded on term records. For example, in integrated packages (packages that are linked with other applications, such as word processors or translation memories), translators can automatically insert terminology from the TMS directly into the target text (e.g., by clicking on the term in the term record). This can save time, as there is no need to retype or cut and paste. One result of this is that some translators are creating term records for phrases or expressions that occur frequently in a specialized subject field but do not qualify as terms in the conventional sense. For instance, a translator working on the translation of a computer manual may create term records for expressions such as "click on OK" or "it's easy to" because it is faster to insert these frequently used expressions directly from the TMS than it is to type them.
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