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The cost of inconsistent terms: the problem often starts in the English.

An inconsistent term in a translation is often already in the source. One federal specification spells out its energy management system three ways; a dam review calls one surface both a rollway and a spillway. The translator cannot quietly pick one: the term has to be settled once, before it travels into drawings and manuals.

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Where does an inconsistent term come from?

Often from the source document, before anyone translates it. A specification may be written by several people over months, from boilerplate, past projects and manufacturers’ text. Each source brings its own wording, and the English ends up naming one thing two or three ways.

A translator who meets two names has three choices: keep both, which carries the problem into French; pick one, which changes the document without telling anyone; or ask. Only the last one is safe, and it is the one that costs time when the question comes late.

Two names for one thing

  • Keep bothThe problem moves into French.
  • Pick oneThe document changes, and nobody is told.
  • AskThe only safe choice. It costs time when the question comes late.

What does one system with three names look like?

T-01

EMCSECMS

One system, its acronym transposed, across the controls sections of a federal specification.
T-02

rollwayspillway

One surface, two names, in the same dam safety review.
T-03

cooling control valvesteam valve

One valve prefix, two meanings, in one controls section.

In one federal tender specification we translated, the energy management and control system is spelled out three different ways across the controls sections of Division 25, and the acronym also appears transposed, as ECMS. In French, the system needs one name; the translator cannot tell from the text which of the three the engineer meant to be the name.

The same pattern appears wherever a set is written by many hands. A dam safety review calls one surface both “rollway” and “spillway” in the same documents. A controls legend defines a valve prefix as a cooling control valve, and the same section uses it for a steam valve. In the controls set, the tag stays as issued and the translator raises a query instead of guessing; in the dam review, the French has to decide whether the two names are one thing or two. The mechanical and structural pages tell those projects in full.

Where does the term go once it is in the set?

Everywhere the thing it names appears. One air handling unit is named in seven documents by different people at different times:

One unit, seven documents

Seven documents name the same unit, written by different people at different times.

  1. 01The floor planTags the unit where it stands.
  2. 02The equipment scheduleLists its capacity against the same tag.
  3. 03Its specification sectionDescribes the unit in the division that buys it.
  4. 04The Division 25 sequence of operationSays how the controls run it.
Tag stays as issued
  1. 05The shop drawingShows what the supplier will deliver.
  2. 06The balancing reportRecords the air flows measured on site.
  3. 07The maintenance manualTells the owner's staff how to keep it running.
  4. =Settled onceOne name for the unit, in the term base before translation. All seven documents take it from there.

If the set is split among translators, or the documents are translated months apart, each of those seven can come back with its own name for the unit. That is how one damper ends up with two names: nobody made a mistake in their own document.

Why can't the translator just fix it?

Because the fix is a decision about the design, and the design belongs to the engineer. Two names may be one thing written twice, or two things that look alike; only the author knows. A translator who silently unifies them may merge two parts; one who keeps both passes the ambiguity on to every French reader.

So the term stays as issued and goes on a query: here is the term, here are the places it appears, which is meant? The answer then goes into the term base, so it is applied everywhere at once, including in documents that have not arrived yet.

What does a late fix cost?

More, the later it comes, because by then the term is in more places. Terminologist Kara Warburton makes the point in her business case for managing terminology: an error fixed at the end must be found and corrected in every location and every deliverable it reached. No study we know of puts a reliable multiplier on it, and we do not quote one.

47%

of translation errors came from wrong terms in General Motors’ study of its own translations.SAE J1930, in Woyde 2005

−60%

translator questions at one company once its terms were settled; complaints fell 80%.tekom, Schmitz and Straub 2018: one case

What the data does show is the share. In General Motors’ study of its own translations, wrong terms caused 47% of the errors (SAE J1930, published in Woyde 2005). And one company reported in tekom’s study of terminology management (Schmitz and Straub, 2018) that settled terms cut its translator questions by about 60% and its complaints by 80%; the authors present it as one case, not a general trend.

How do you settle a term once?

In an order everyone can follow:

Order of authority

  1. 1The owner’s or client’s approved term first, when the owner has one.
  2. 2Then your firm’s own term, from your past projects.
  3. 3Then the official wording of the standard, such as the National Master Specification’s section titles.

Then, every time

  1. 4Record the decision in one term base, with the places the term appears.
  2. 5Check every document against it before delivery, drawings included.

We build that term base from your past translations, have your experts approve the terms that matter, and check every specification, drawing and report against it. See how a term base works, or start from the approved pairs in our construction glossary.

How can you tell if your set has the problem?

The signs are visible before any translation:

Checklist

  • The same system or part is spelled out more than one way across sections.
  • An acronym is expanded differently in different places.
  • A tag on a drawing does not match its legend or its schedule.
  • Two consultants on the same project use different names for one element.

Common questions

Is an inconsistent term a translation error?
Sometimes, but often it starts in the source. When the English names one thing two ways, the French inherits the question, and the translator has to ask which is meant.
Should a translator correct inconsistencies in the source?
No. Unifying two names is a design decision. The translator keeps the term as issued, raises a query, and records the engineer’s answer in the term base.
How much do wrong terms cost?
We know of no reliable multiplier. What is measured is the share: in General Motors’ study of its own translations, wrong terms caused 47% of the errors. A late fix costs more because the term is in more places.
How do I check my documents for inconsistent terms?
Send one recent translated deliverable for a free terminology check. We return a short report of every term translated more than one way, drawings included.
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