Terminology management – a call for clarity and comprehensibility

The same applies to your choice of words. Should we write USB flash drive or USB memory stick? Should “plug-ins” be hyphenated or not? In our operating instructions, should we write “click on the ‘cut’ button” or simply “click the ‘cut’ button”?

These are the kind of questions that you will face when venturing into the field of terminology as a technical writer. In today’s post, we will be taking a look at what modern terminology management is all about.

Active terminology management is hard work. It involves making clear and binding selections from the almost unlimited options for naming things. In essence, it is about the following challenges:

Making sure your readers understand: A good example of this is the term “tabulator key”, which I came across once many years ago in some software documentation. Do you know what that is? After a bit of thought you might realise that it is what we would usually just refer to by its short name, the “tab key”. But no one should have to think long and hard about the words used in our documents. Which is why it is important to standardise terminology so that the terms used are understood by your target audience.

Creating clarity: Let’s return to our “USB flash drive/USB memory stick” example. Here we have two options for naming the same item (in other words, they are synonyms). Both terms are correct in regard to meaning, but in terms of consistent standardisation, there must only be one valid option. If you are responsible for terminology, you need to/must make a decision in such cases.

If you are taking on a previously unmanaged field, you are sure to come across many such candidates, no matter whether you are dealing with software, mechanical engineering or medical technology. Technical documentation for complex products is abound with terminology that is just crying out for standardisation: product names, parts and components, user interface text, dialogue elements, key combinations, abbreviations, technical terms and so on.

Ensuring consistency: Terminology work is not just limited to the correct terms for things. As our “plug-ins” example shows, it is also about word formation. To be precise, this example is about when and how hyphens are used. Clear rules can also be defined here. Transitive verbs represent another typical element that requires consistency – as in our “click/click on” example. These play a prominent role in operating instructions and as the indicators for action they should be equally as standardised as the indicators for things.

There are many ways of approaching terminology management and terminology work. And as for all standardisation projects, it is important to understand the point of carrying out this task. What is the benefit of consistent terminology management?

We have already mentioned one important aspect: first and foremost, good terminology facilitates understanding. An understanding which enables those using your information and documents to safely use the products to their full extent. Not only is this beneficial to your company’s image, it saves you money. The more that a user can understand straight away, the less likely they are to need to call your hotline.

As a technical writer – as the ‘producer’ of information and documents – you also benefit from professionally managed terminology. Clear terminology saves time, both when creating information and when carrying out quality control.

As a technical writer, terminology standardisation will also make you popular as it goes a long way towards reducing translation expense. Terms that remain the same in the source text do not need to be re-translated each time. Highly standardised or standardisable information offers huge potential for savings in this regard. The more languages you handle, the more noticeable the cost savings.