You have fought long and hard for terminology work in your company. Invested your valuable time. Spent or had money spent on software and IT. And now you have it. A terminology database with preferred terms, admitted terms and deprecated terms you are proud of. With definitions, example sentences and sources. Images, videos, cross-references and all the rest. And now?
Everything’s fine now, right? It’s supported by tools and really well integrated in the translation workflow. When creating source texts, everyone can now also have a look and make sure that all terms are being used correctly before anything is written.
You have probably wondered if this is actually being done. It’s not something you are able to clearly spot it in the resulting texts. And you’ve probably asked around in the company.
“Are you using it?”
“Sure, I already had a look. It’s great!“
Now a thought comes to mind: Has a junk room been created in which everything is being kept that might be needed again at some point? And once in a while someone ends up lost there? A linguistic disposal site?
That’s not why you went through all this, right? You want consistency! Understandable texts! A paradise on earth!
So, how do you now ensure that the fruits of your work are actually being reaped by authors and that consistent, correct texts are being created in your company? Consistently, with no excuses?
Don't despair, I have the answer, of course: Make terminology something that can’t be missed and is always available. Not on demand, but automatically and immediately when an authoring environment is started. Turn terminology into a good friend who is always there to lend a hand and who you can't get rid of even if you think you don't have the time or can manage everything on your own.
“Don’t worry, Sandra. I can schlep the washing machine to the third floor all by myself."
“No backtalk, Simone, we’re doing it together!”
Sound strange?
But it's exactly the same!
Congree appears where texts are created: in Word, Outlook, InDesign, IXIASOFT, Confluence and so on. While the author is writing, messages indicating the incorrect use of terminology appear immediately. The author doesn’t have to do a search, activate Congree or do anything else to get at the information he needs. It happens automatically when working in the authoring environment.
You write, Congree takes a look and reports immediately if something isn’t right. As simple as that.
“Maracuja” isn’t the right term? Then just use “passion fruit” instead.
And you’re in your usual terminology database the whole time. You don’t change a thing and everything stays as it was. Congree retrieves everything it needs to check. And your valuable data never leaves the company. Neither off into the cloud nor encrypted, nor via any other mystical channels.
This is what you get with Congree:
- Authors are immediately notified of any terminology errors, even if they didn’t search for them themselves.
- No time is lost by searching for terminology in a browser. Every search happens right when you type - as if your editor were a huge search bar.
- There’s no bland aftertaste when failing to find anything in a browser. If there is anything, Congree will find it automatically. With a 100% success rate.
- No terminology error can be overlooked. The machine is merciless.
- Terminology is on the lips and in the eyes of everyone. Consistency will spread throughout your company like a contagious disease.
- No time lost for the author from proposals coming straight out of your database that can be used right away.
Of course, Congree is an additional investment. Complex integration into authoring environments, fast real-time checks and convenient integration of your database has its price. But Congree guarantees that you get the most out of your terminology. Throughout the company, reliably and completely.
That's worth considering, isn't it?
So have a look at Congree in action (anonymous and with no obligation): Sentence Reuse and Terminology Research
Interested? Then get in touch with me: pbaur@congree.com
Read more about terminology:
- Topic page Consistent terminology from the very start
- Blog post New Approach to Terminology Management
- Fact Sheet Terminology Work with Congree
