This post covers English (monolingual) glossaries and terminology, only. Updated 5/31/24
One of the first and most important questions I ask any customer who cares about content quality is, “Do you have a terminology list?” About 70% of the time, the answer is, “Yes, we have a glossary.” Though they both have their uses, glossary and terminology are not the same thing.
Commonalities Between Glossary and Terminology
While glossaries and terminology are inherently different and used for different purposes, they do have things in common:
- Both contain standard (dictionary) words
- Both can contain non-standard, made-up words, such as product names, buttons on a GUI, and more
- People use them when they need help with words
That’s about where the commonalities end.
READ MORE: Improve your content instantly with this simple tip
What is a Glossary?
A glossary is a specialized list of words and definitions. Usually, you’ll find a glossary at the end of a non-fiction book. More and more, companies are creating standard glossaries so that words and definitions can be shared by many people. The words in a glossary can be standard words that you would find in a dictionary. A glossary can also contain non-standard, made-up words that your organization uses. The words in a glossary are specialized in that they are selected based on the contents of the book they append.
You might find only a single definition of a glossary word, even if the word has multiple meanings that you would find in a dictionary. This is because your company could use the word in a special way or use the word as it pertains to only one of a variety of meanings.
For example, we’ve worked with many technology companies that include the word default in their glossaries. Usually they limit the entry to one particular definition of the word. For example:
1) a setting, option, etc., that a computer uses if you do not choose a different one
These companies usually do not include other definitions such as:
2) a failure to make a payment (such as a payment on a loan)
3) failure to appear in court
If you are part of a legal firm, you would likely include the third definition (failure to appear in court), instead of the other two choices. And if you work for a bank, you are more likely to include definition number 2.
Glossaries are normally used for clarification. A reader checks a glossary to get a better understanding of a word that was used in the content. Glossaries can contain illustrations, sound, and even video.
Glossaries do not contain information about the word. For example,
de·fault
noun di-ˈfȯlt, dē-; ˈdē-ˌfȯlt
This type of information is found in a dictionary, but not in a glossary.
What is Terminology?
Terminology is a system of words that belong to something in common. Terminology is a system, rather than a list. Terminology can contain standard words and often contains non-standard words, as well.
The terms in a terminology system may or may not include a definition, illustration, sound, or video. A term can be a single word, but it also can be multiple words (often called a noun cluster).
In general, terminology is a collection of terms that are managed.
What Does it Mean to Manage Terminology?
Managing terminology can involve a number of different things:
- Allowing and disallowing the use of a term. One of the main roles of terminology management is to standardize word usage. For example, you might standardize on the word select and disallow the words click, tap, and press.
- Allowing and disallowing variants of a term. For example, you might allow the singular form of a word, but disallow the plural. Or you might allow a term to be capitalized, such as your company name (Google), but disallow it using lower-case (google). Or you might allow the term footlocker, but disallow foot locker and foot-locker.
- Allowing and disallowing a term as different parts of speech. For example, you might allow the term check as a noun, but disallow it as a verb.
Because terminology is most often shared among a group of content creators, it enforces consistency within a piece of content or among many pieces of content. If your content is more consistent, it is easier to read. It is also easier to translate, cheaper to translate, and helps produce better quality translations.
READ MORE: What’s the difference between taxonomy and terminology?
Use Tools to Help Differentiate Between a Glossary and Terminology
One of the important differentiators between a glossary and terminology are the available tools. Many authoring tools allow you to create a glossary while you are writing. This is very convenient, because you don’t have to track the glossary words separately or look for them later.
There are a few packages on the market that are used to create glossaries, but none of them can do what a terminology management tool can do.
Terminology management tools can be quite robust and include:
- Web browsing
- Accessibility by multiple users across a department or enterprise
- Access control by user or type of user
- Capacity to manage a large or limitless number of terms
- Full searchability using multiple filters
- Storage for additional pieces of information with each term, such as reference, source, department, product line, and so on
- Harvesting of terms from your content
- Ability to create term usage rules
There are a variety of tools available to help you manage your terminology. You can use whichever tool best suits your purposes. Make sure to look for the features you need to promote consistency among all of your content creators.
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Val is on the Advisory Board for the Technical Communications Program at the University of North Texas. When not working with customers or students, Val can be found sitting behind her sewing machine working on her latest quilt. She also makes a mean hummus.
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