Guides and terminology resources

Embedded glossaries are short lists of specialized terms or abbreviations along with definitions and explanatory notes that are included in a document to be translated.

To request an embedded glossary in a translated document, clients must provide information about the frame of reference of the work or the contact details of a resource person who will provide information, including:

• reference documents
• sources of the definitions and terms provided
• regulations

Developing an embedded glossary 

Translators should follow these tips when developing an embedded glossary in a document translated from English to French, and from French to English:

1. Find official names associated with the translation of the glossary in the ONTERM database.
2. Carry out research to select appropriate equivalents for the terminology.
3. In an embedded glossary, terms must be listed in alphabetical order of the translation target language, not of the source language.
4. In some cases, a single term or concept in the source language can have multiple corresponding equivalents in the translation target language. For example, in the outdoor recreation domain, the English term “trail” corresponds to two distinct concepts in French, denoted by the terms “sentier” (walking trail) and “piste” (cycling, horseback riding or cross-country skiing trail).
5. Terms should be listed in their basic form (lower case, in the singular for nouns and noun phrases). The plural form is used for nouns found only in the plural (for example, “honoraires”, “frais de transport”).
6. Official names must be capitalized (for example, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission).
7. The French translation of definitions should follow the same pattern as the English definition, with whatever adjustments are necessary for the French equivalent.

For more information about writing terminology definitions, please consult: 

• La rédaction de définitions terminologiques. Office québécois de la langue française, 2009. (French only)

Example of an embedded glossary

Translators can reference the following example of an embedded glossary developed from the Emergency management lexicon.