The working terms of the translation profession: translation memory, termbase, post-editing.
Translation glossary
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Last updated: 11 September 2026
Translation glossary
Page
Translation glossary
The working terms of the translation profession: translation memory, termbase, post-editing.
Translation services
mots Tercüme does this work
mots Tercüme provides written translation to organisations: sworn and notarised translation, technical, legal and financial translation, website and software translation.
Pages in this section
- Alignment The operation of pairing an old translation with its source to turn it into a memory, and the risk of error.
- Analysis report The tier distribution table produced by the tools, and its use as the basis of the quote.
- Automated quality control Tools that scan for formal errors: what they find and what they cannot find.
- Back translation The method of checking a translation by translating it back into the source language, and its limits.
- Bilingual working file The intermediate file format that carries source and target segments together, and its relationship with delivery.
- Borrowed term Terms taken over from the source language as they are; when they are kept and when an equivalent is looked for.
- Character count The distinction between characters with and without spaces, and its widespread use in the market in Türkiye.
- Computer-assisted translation tool The working environment that combines memory, termbase and format preservation; how it differs from machine translation.
- Context The surroundings that determine the meaning of an expression, and the errors that translation without context produces.
- Context match The match type with the highest confidence, in which the segments around the sentence are the same as well.
- Controlled language Writing the source text to defined rules, and the effect on translation cost and quality.
- Cultural adaptation Rebuilding the message so that it has the same effect in the target culture, and the limit of authority.
- Delivery unit In which parts the job is delivered, and the definition of staged delivery.
- Desktop publishing specialist The role that places the translated text in the original page layout, and language-specific typesetting problems.
- Editing The service of reworking a text in the target language, and what sets it apart from revision.
- False friend Words that look similar in two languages but carry different meanings, and the risk they pose in corporate texts.
- Internationalisation Designing the product to be adaptable from the start; the preparation that comes before localisation.
- Language assets The accumulated asset made up of the memory, the termbase and the guides; its ownership and handover.
- Language pair Defining the source and target language together, and why direction is a separate piece of information.
- Language service provider The company that offers translation and related services in an organised form; how it differs from a freelancer.
- Language variant The forms of the same language in different markets, and how the target variant is determined.
- Localisation Adapting format, visuals and function as well as the text to the target market; how it differs from translation.
- Localisation engineer The technical role that gets software and digital content ready for translation.
- Machine translation engine The system that translates text automatically; generic and custom engines, and the conditions of corporate use.
- Match rate The percentage that shows how closely a record in the memory resembles the new sentence, and its tiers.
- Native language principle The approach under which translation is done by a native speaker of the target language, and its limits.
- Parallel text Original texts written in the target language on the same subject, as a basis for translation decisions.
- Partial translation Translating only certain sections of a document, and recording the scope.
- Plain language The principle that the reader understands at first reading, and the limit of applying it to official texts.
- Post-editing Correction of machine output by a human; a type of service that is different from translation.
- Post-editing level The distinction between light and full post-editing, and which level suits which purpose of use.
- Pre-editing Simplifying the source text before it is given to the machine, and the effect on output quality.
- Productivity measurement The amount of work produced per unit of time; the purpose of the measurement and its misuse.
- Project manager The role that sets up the flow of the translation job and stands between the client and the team.
- Proofreader The person who reads the text before delivery with a target-language eye, working without looking at the source.
- Quality estimation Predicting the reliability of machine output automatically, and the limits of the estimate.
- Reference text The supporting documents that the client provides and the order in which they are binding.
- Repetition analysis Measuring repetitions within the document and matches from the memory at the start of the job.
- Reviser The second person who checks the translation by comparing it with the source, and the competence conditions.
- Revision The service step in which the translation is checked by comparing it with the source, and its scope.
- Segment The unit into which translation tools divide a text, and the consequences of its not being the same thing as a sentence.
- Source text The original text on which the translation rests, and the direct effect of its quality on the output.
- Standard page The traditional unit that counts a particular number of characters as one page, and how it differs from a physical page.
- Subject-matter expertise The translator's knowledge of the subject field: how it is acquired and how it is verified.
- Summary translation The service of summarising the main lines of a text in the target language, and the limits of its use.
- Synonym management Choosing the preferred equivalent for concepts that have several, and recording the others.
- Tag management Preserving the formatting markers inside the text, and the consequence that arises when they are broken.
- Target text The text produced as the result of translation; the balance between fidelity to the source and readability.
- Technical writing The discipline of conveying technical information to the user, and where it meets translation.
- Term extraction Collecting candidate terms from a text automatically and turning the candidates into approved terms.
- Termbase The structure that holds an organisation's approved word-level renderings; how it differs from a dictionary and a memory.
- Terminologist The role that builds and maintains terminology lists and is responsible for the corporate language.
- Terminology consistency Referring to the same concept with the same term everywhere, measuring it, and the causes and prevention of inconsistency.
- Transcreation (creative adaptation) The service of rebuilding a message in the target market; what sets it apart from translation.
- Translation brief The input document that defines the purpose and conditions of the job; its content and its effect.
- Translation capacity The amount of work that can be taken on in a given period, and its relationship with commitments.
- Translation direction The flow from source to target, and why reverse direction jobs are planned separately.
- Translation for information purposes Translation requested only for understanding, and how it differs from publication-ready translation.
- Translation management system The system that manages workflow, files and resources in one place; how it differs from a translation tool.
- Translation memory The database that stores previously translated sentences; how it differs from machine translation, and its limits.
- Translation memory maintenance Cleaning wrong and outdated entries out of the memory, and the cumulative effect of neglect.
- Translator and interpreter Two separate professions, one for written and one for spoken translation, and what the distinction means in practice.
- Translator's note The explanation a translator adds to the text; when it is inserted and how it is shown.
- Transliteration The operation of finding letter equivalents between different alphabets; how it differs from translation and from spelling by pronunciation.
- Unit of work The units of measurement used other than volume, and which one suits which job.
- Vendor manager The role that builds and assesses the pool of translators and suppliers and plans capacity.
- Volume estimate Estimating the size of the job in files that cannot be measured, and the limit of the estimate.
- Weighted word count The volume counted at a discount according to the match tiers, and the transparency of the tier definitions.
- Word count The most widespread unit for measuring the volume of work; what is counted and what is not.
- Workflow automation Automating the steps that repeat, and the decisions that should not be automated.