Managing my glossary that is ten years old

If you’re a translator or interpreter specializing in a certain field, you probably already know that it’s a good idea to keep a personal glossary of words in your working languages. I have done this for a long time, but after I took over an annual terminology project for Newcastle University, I realized how much more was possible. Being strict about what I put in my glossaries made them less messy and more effective. I decided to up my game, and now all my new glossaries are treated like termbases, even if I just keep them for myself. That means I do not add a new entry unless it is a noun phrase and I try to avoid putting in little phrases that “might become useful.” They don’t tend to become useful unless you find a way to move them into your active vocabulary.

But what about that old list of words, the one that I started when I was working on my Master’s degree? I still use it at least once a week, so I know it’s still useful. On the other hand, it’s a ten-year-old Excel spreadsheet, so of course there is a lot of junk in there!

I did a count last Friday and discovered I had 3837 entries in my personal glossary of words that I use for public service interpreting assignments! Some terms are repeated! Some terms might not be totally correct but it was the best I could come up with at the time, so at this point I would want to delete it. Sometimes I included URLs for websites that I could use for practice, and those links do not work anymore. Some entries are English terms without any helpful Chinese equivalents, so if I’m doing an interpreting job and come up with a blank, it’s just frustrating. Fortunately, it’s all alphabetized according to the English term and it’s Excel, so it’s relatively quick to use the find function to locate the term that I need. So I know I don’t want to delete and start over, but it was time to get that glossary into shape.

I spent a good two hours going through the different tabs and trying to delete as much as possible last Friday, and it felt really good. If there are fewer terms, it’s easier to find the right term, whether I’m scanning with my eyes or using the find function. If I’ve read through the terms recently, I’ll know what I can find in there and know what I should check for online. Maybe you will find a thorough clean of your glossary to be useful too! Here are some tips and tricks about maintaining your personal glossary.

Use Excel. There are a few options for what software you use, but I tend to use Excel. It alphabetizes very quickly and I can move the rows around in just a few clicks. If you started using Word and you’re comfortable with that, you can keep doing that. But the reordering of data is easier in Excel, and you probably already have it (or a very similar software) on your computer. Google sheets is a good option if you have a Google account.

Note if you do need your termbase for simultaneous interpreting, you might want to look into a purpose-built software, like InterpretBank. But these solutions are not free so think about your needs and then go for the best software for you!

Remember to update by adding and deleting. You get to decide how often you update your termbase, and I’ve found that doing a little bit each day is pretty relaxing. For me it’s a low energy level activity that I can do for a little chunk of time when I am just starting my workday. If I skip a day, it’s not a big deal. But you can also update the document after every interpreting practice and every interpreting job. Deleting is genuinely helpful, even though it can be harder to do. (It’s hard to let go, right?) Something that seemed really useful 6 months ago might not actually be useful anymore. A little adjective is not something you’re going to search for when you get stuck on a word, therefore a little adjective should not be included in your termbase-style glossary. Just review it to make sure you don’t have repeats and you don’t have junk.

Think of ways to turn your glossary into active vocabulary. If you’re an interpreter, you should update frequently, especially if you are preparing for an exam. Then think about using a flashcard app or recording yourself reading the words out loud so you can get those words downloaded to your brain! If you record it on your phone, just leave a little pause so you can guess the correct equivalent. Then you have a great practice tool on the go. As an interpreter, you need those words to be in your active vocabulary so you can’t just save them away for a future project without engaging with them.

Consider layout. I would recommend a vertical layout for interpreting and a horizontal layout for translation. If I need to print the document for any reason, it should fit nicely on the sheets. Basically, if I want to print my glossary before I go to an interpreting job, I don’t need the definitions. I just want to get as many words as possible on one or two sheets of paper. But if I’m translating, I might need more context to check I’ve got the right word. Keep in mind that you can hide and unhide columns if you need the information but you don’t want to print everything. So a translation-oriented termbase with lots of extra data can quickly turn into an interpreting sheet without losing information.

I hope you find that useful.

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Michelle Deeter (RPSI, DPSI Law) is a Chinese-English interpreter based in Manchester. She teaches translation and interpreting at Newcastle University. She has over 455 hours of experience interpreting for medical and legal assignments. If you have questions about translation, interpreting or taking the DPSI, you can contact her at www.michelledeeter.com