gabrielmoreira Glossary Builder Skill
Inconsistent terminology is the most visible localization failure — when "dashboard" is translated three ways across one product, it looks amateur and confuses users. A glossary (termbase) fixes the key terms once, so every translator and every locale uses the approved rendering. This skill builds it: extract the terms that matter, define them in context, and set the approved translation (or do-not-translate flag).
Required Inputs
Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:
- The source material / domain — product UI, docs, or a term list; and the field (so definitions are right).
- Target locale(s) — which languages need approved translations.
- Existing decisions — any brand terms, product names, or prior translations to lock in.
- Do-not-translate candidates — brand/product names, trademarks, code/API terms.
Output Format
Glossary: [product/domain]
A termbase table — one row per term:
| Source term | Part of speech | Definition / context | Do-not-translate? | [Locale 1] | [Locale 2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | noun | the main metrics screen | no | 仪表板 | Tableau de bord |
| Acme Cloud | proper noun | product name | yes (keep verbatim) | Acme Cloud | Acme Cloud |
| sync (verb) | verb | to reconcile data both ways | no | 同步 | synchroniser |
Guidance included:
- Definitions/context — so a translator knows which meaning (e.g. "ticket" = support case, not event admission), preventing the classic wrong-sense error.
- Do-not-translate list — brand/product names, trademarks, code identifiers, UI elements that must stay in English.
- Part of speech / forms — flag terms where the form matters (verb vs. noun "filter").
- Consistency notes — preferred vs. avoided synonyms in the source itself ("use 'sign in', not 'log in'").
Output note: structured for import into a CAT tool (Trados/memoQ/Crowdin) or to sit in the localization style guide. Mark any translation that needs native review as (draft — confirm).
Quality Checks
- Each term has a definition/context so translators pick the right sense
- Do-not-translate terms (brand, product, code) are clearly flagged
- An approved translation is given per target locale (or marked draft for review)
- Part of speech / ambiguous forms are disambiguated
- Source-side consistency (preferred synonyms) is noted
- Structured for a CAT tool / style-guide import
Anti-Patterns
- Do not list terms without context — "ticket" or "filter" with no definition guarantees wrong-sense translations
- Do not omit the do-not-translate flags — that's how brand/product names get mangled across locales
- Do not present machine translations as approved — mark them draft for native review
- Do not ignore source consistency — if the source mixes "sign in/log in," the glossary should pick one
- Do not forget part of speech — a term that's both noun and verb often needs two entries
Based On
Terminology-management practice — termbases, do-not-translate lists, context definitions, CAT-tool glossary structure.