Machine translation doesn't know your brand. It will happily translate your product names, or pick a different word for the same color on every page. A glossary fixes that. Here's how to build one.
What goes in it
Start with terms that must never be translated: your brand name, product line names, and trademarks. Then add terms that need one consistent translation, like colors, materials, and sizes.
- Keep: Brand, product lines, trademarks
- Fix: Colors, materials, sizes
- Style: Tone: formal or casual
Why it matters
Without a glossary, the same color can come out three different ways across your store. With one, every page says the same thing.
| Without | With |
|---|---|
| sage green → vert sage / vert sauge / sauge | sage green → vert sauge, on every page |
Keep it current
Update the glossary whenever you launch a new product line, and have a fluent speaker check the most important terms once. A short glossary that's used everywhere beats a long one nobody applies.
- Update it with each new product line
- Native-speaker check of key terms
- Apply it to every translation
Doing this at scale
LinguaFlow applies your brand glossary and tone rules to every AI translation, so drafts come out on-brand before you review them. See LinguaFlow.