Common Sense Advisory

Native language or a foreign language spoken with native proficiency from which an interpreter can render all modes of interpretation.

Foreign language from which an interpreter can render interpretation.

Variable-length character encoding form that can represent Unicode or ISO characters in a 16-bit series suitable for storage or transmission in data networks. Commonly abbreviated UTF-16.

Fixed-length, four-byte method for encoding Unicode characters. Commonly abbreviated UTF-32.

Variable-length character encoding form that can represent any character from almost all the languages in the world. Commonly abbreviated UTF-8.

Small symbol placed above or near a letter, usually to distinguish its pronunciation from a similar word.

Formal process by which the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities of an individual – such as a translator or interpreter – or an organization – such as an LSP – are evaluated.

A translator who has successfully met the requirements for accreditation.

Language into which an interpreter renders interpretation.

Person who provides interpretation services on an irregular basis, usually without the benefit of any formal training or professional preparation.

Process of converting information into an appropriate format for the target language and culture.

Practice by which an interpreter acts on behalf of either of the parties for which he or she renders interpretation. This practice is encouraged by some and discouraged by others.

Language in which, through agglutination, a single word can constitute a complete sentence, sometimes resulting in units of measure other than price per word (such as price per line, per character or per page) for calculating translation costs.

Process of adding one or more affixes to a word or combining components of words into a single word, often conveying complex ideas.

Process of matching segments of text with their translated renditions, creating equivalents between a source text and target text.

Application that automatically pairs versions of same text in the source and target languages in a table. Also called bi-text tool.

Situation in which the intended meaning of a phrase is unclear and must be verified – usually with the source text author – in order for translation to proceed.

Person who speaks English.

Open source web server supported by the Apache Software Foundation.

Acronym for application programming interface.

Official attachment or stamp sometimes applied to translations of public and private documents as proof of authenticity for countries that have signed the Hague Convention on Documents.

Set of specified procedures or functions provided by a service or operating system to computer programs’ requests for support. Commonly abbreviated as API.

Abbreviation for availability quotient.

See Eastern Arabic numerals.

Set of ten numerals (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) that comprise the most commonly used symbolic representation of numbers throughout the world.

Branch of computer science devoted to creating intelligent machines that produced the first efforts toward machine translation.

Language used by machines.

Process of producing textual content.

Computerized production of content and presentation.

Synonym for machine translation.

Method that automates the translation of terms through the use of an electronic dictionary and computer-assisted translation software, proposing target language equivalents and facilitating consistency of terminology and style.

Synonym for machine translation.

Metric that objectively ranks what percentage of the total online population can access each level of experience on any given site. Commonly abbreviated AQ.

Process of translating a previously translated text back into its source language.

Abbreviation for bidirectionality.

Script that normally reads from right to left but contains some exceptions in which other characters, like numerals, read from left to right. Hebrew and Arabic are examples of bidirectional languages.

Interpretation that takes place in both directions. For example, spoken language is rendered from English into Japanese, and from Japanese into English.

Quality or characteristic in a software program or application that facilitates work on bidirectional text. Commonly abbreviated BIDI.

Portable equipment used for providing simultaneous interpretation with only a microphone and sometimes headphones instead of a sound isolation booth.

Method of character encoding used in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan for Traditional Chinese characters.

Person who speaks at least one language fluently and exhibits near-native proficiency or fluency in the second.

See bi-text database.

Document consisting of versions of a particular text in both the source and target languages.

Collection of bi-texts. Also called bilingual corpus.

See alignment tool.

Grid of pixels with individual color values.

Abbreviation for Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the four countries with economies expected to surpass the richest countries in the world by the year 2050. This term was first used in a thesis by Goldman Sachs investment bank.

Customer experience level in which a visitor learns about a category, options, and benefits.

Customer experience level in which a visitor completes a financial or equivalent contractual transaction.

Abbreviation for the four most commonly requested Asian languages for translation projects: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Also called CJK and KCCJ.

Abbreviation for computer-assisted interpretation.

Text-based versions of dialogue in films and television programs in the same language or another language, most commonly displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Abbreviation for computer-assisted translation.

See computer-assisted translation software.

Abbreviation for the four most commonly requested Asian languages for translation projects: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Also called CJK and KCCJ

Abbreviation for customer experience level.

Interpreter who has successfully met the requirements of a certification process.

Translation that is accompanied by a statement from the language service provider, and/or translator or a third party individual or authority attesting to the accuracy of the translation.

Person who provides interpretation services on an irregular basis, usually without the benefit of any formal training or professional preparation.

Character encoding. Mapping from a character set definition to the actual code units used to represent the data.

Collection of symbols or characters that correspond to textual information in a language or language group.

Delivery method for simultaneous interpretation in which the interpreter sits behind the listener, simultaneously interpreting while the speaker talks and whispering the rendition into the listener’s ear.

Smallest unit of content in a content management system.

See C2JK.

Acronym for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Translation memory based on large clause- or sentence-based segments.

Character set that assigns code point value or numeric value to each character.

Words that share a common origin.

Emerging approach to translation in which companies use the elements of crowdsourcing in a controlled environment for working on large corporate projects in short periods of time.

Order of a character set that can be represented on a computer.

Group of words that work together to express a single concept, object, or action.

Description, logo, or note at the end of a text.

Interpretation provided in social and public services settings.

Study of processing natural languages through information technology.

See computer-assisted translation.

Process by which a human interpreter uses computer software to facilitate interpretation. Commonly abbreviated CAI.

Process by which a human translator uses computer software to facilitate translation. Commonly abbreviated CAT.

Also called CAT tools.

Procedure of linking multiple files or messages together as a single document, often to facilitate processes such as search and replacement, term list extraction, collocation finding, and repetition rate establishment.

Process through which a computer-assisted translation software program compiles a list of contexts for terms in order to define the term and its equivalent in the target language more precisely.

Interpretation provided in conference settings.

Process through which an interpreter orally conveys a speaker’s words into another language after the speaker completes an utterance, usually relying on memory and note-taking, or though voice-silencing technology, which allows the interpreter to record the speaker's words and then convey them in real-time.

Measure of how often a term or phrase is rendered the same way into the target language.

Program that uses and compiles information to update a web site.

Tool that stores, organizes, maintains, and retrieves data.

Information outside of the actual text that is essential for complete comprehension.

Language in which grammar, vocabulary and syntax are restricted in order to reduce ambiguity and complexity and to make the source language easier to understand by native and non-native speakers and easier to translate with machine and human translation.

Standardized terms and phrases that constitute a system’s vocabulary.

Compilation of texts that is helpful for collecting data, conducting research, and analyzing natural language text.

Abbreviation of two or three characters to signify a country or dependent area. ISO 3166 specifies country codes, such as “AL” for Albania and “CZ” for the Czech Republic. There are also country codes for telephone numbers, such as +1 for the U.S. and Canada and +49 for Germany.

Interpretation that takes place in court settings.

Language that develops when speakers of different languages remain in ongoing and persistent contact with one another, usually with one language group characterized by having greater political or economic power than another.

Abbreviation for community, crowdsourced, and collaborative translation

Adjustment of a translation to conform with the target culture.

Examination of an individual’s or group’s cultural preferences through comparative analyses.

Practice by which an interpreter provides cultural information in order to help the listener gain a better understanding of the speaker's intended meaning.

Ability of an individual or organization to work effectively with individuals or groups with diverse cultural backgrounds.

Organization of a text in an order typical for a certain culture, such as alphabetical order in the United States and character stroke order in China.

Translation that takes into account cultural differences.

Level that describes the experience of a web site visitor. Commonly abbreviated CEL.

Abbreviation for double-byte enabled.

Applications like FrameMaker, PageMaker, and QuarkXPress to prepare documentation for publication.

Symbol that signifies an alteration to the character around which it is placed, such as the apostrophe [‘] and circumflex [^].

Relative value of a diacritical mark in a collation sequence.

Variety of a language spoken by members of a particular locale and characterized by a unique vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

A dispersion of people, language or culture from its original homeland.

Speech sound that shifts vowel tones within one syllable. Examples include the words “low” (English), “oui” (French), and “muita” (Portuguese).

Practice by which the speaker's utterances are rendered into the target language directly, without changing pronouns or prefacing renditions with the words, "he said," or "she said."  A direct speech interpretation of the words, "I have three children," is "I have three children," as opposed to, "She says she has three children."

Process of cleaning up a text in order to eliminate ambiguities to make translation more accurate.