How precise and well-managed terminology enables better communication

The nearest you get to ‘going for gold’ is probably the number of hours you clock up watching the Olympic Games on TV, but no doubt many of you, like us here at t’works, are already hooked on the sporting brilliance taking place in France at the moment.

The appeal of the Olympics lies in the array of sports on view and the participation of athletes from all over the world, bringing extraordinary achievements and high emotion into our living rooms. It’s often the only time we watch showjumping, rowing, archery and other less familiar events. Still, for a couple of weeks every four summers, we become quasi-experts in these sporting disciplines. Miraculously we quickly grasp the meaning of oxer jumps, sculling and a recurve bow.

All sports have their own terminology – the special words and phrases that describe the moves, equipment and strategies for each event. These terms explain the details and nuances of the different sports and permit the definition and development of each one. Without specific terminology, a technique or rule couldn’t be defined.

In our earlier blog post, we looked at how communication across languages happens at the Olympic Games, but what about the words and phrases we use? How important is getting the terminology right at an international event like the Olympics?

Our favorite Olympic words

Just for fun, here’s a short list of some of the most unique sporting terms you might come across at this year’s Paris Olympics.

BREAKING(not ‘breakdancing’!) is new to the games this year and is a type of athletic urban dance that originated in the United States in the 1970s. It has its own rich and exciting lexicon and many words you probably don’t know.

‘Top rock’ in breaking is when you begin your routine and introduce yourself through movement while still standing.

‘Cypher’ is a circle formed by dancers (b-boys and b-girls) that each person performs in.

A ‘power move’ is the most spectacular and often most difficult sequence in the routine.

SPORT CLIMBING is another relative newcomer to the Olympics and comes with its own set of juicy vocabulary. These are often familiar words used in a very original way.

‘Campusing’ is when the climber uses only their arms to move upwards, often because the angle of the overhang means the legs are useless.

A ‘jug’ is an easy hold on the rock face or climbing wall, often suitable for beginners.

The ‘crux’ is the hardest part of the climb and where climbers are most likely to fall.

SURFING made its debut at the last Olympics and this year takes place in Teahupo’o in French Polynesia.

‘Goofy-footed’ is when the surfer has their right foot forward on the board, which is less common. This term is also used in snowboarding and skateboarding.

A ‘barrel’ is a wave that breaks to form a cylinder shape which surfers can ride through.

‘Clean’ in surfing terms is when there is little or no wind and the ocean is smooth, with good waves.

Although you may not have heard these words used in these contexts before, if you were a climber, surfer or breaker, they would be part of your everyday language. And if you start watching these sports this summer, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you grasp the meaning of the terminology associated with them.

These special words and phrases characterize Olympic sports and greatly assist our understanding of how they work.

But it isn’t just Olympic sports that have a way with words.

Terminology is everywhere

Whether we’re aware of it or not, we use distinct types of terminology constantly in our day-to-day lives. It might be at school or work or on public transport or when we take part in different activities. Specific terms assist us in navigating the world around us and communicating more effectively with others.

Although we accumulate vocabulary as we need it, in a business environment, the words and phrases we use become particularly significant. Making sure everyone connected to a company – employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders – fully understands all the terms being used is the key to seamless communication.

Defining and managing terminology is important for any organization whatever its size. Even if your business doesn’t have highly technical or specialized jargon, having an overview of all the special words connected to it is still important.

The business benefits of managing terminology

Words represent your company’s identity. They describe its products and services and its ethos. Choosing words that ‘fit’ these aspects of your business is therefore crucial, as is ensuring that everyone within your organization uses them correctly. Clear and easily understood terminology promotes engagement and empowers your colleagues to use the company’s language with confidence. This in turn improves interaction with customers and helps communicate more naturally what the business does and what it stands for.

By carefully defining the words and phrases associated with your company, you guarantee the consistency of your business message and your brand’s identity. Ultimately, managing terminology contributes to business success.

Multilingual terminology management – why it matters

When your business targets expansion into new markets, language takes on greater significance. There are a lot of language-related questions to answer. What languages will you need to offer your content in? What content should be translated? Is machine translation an option?

If terminology is correctly stored, managed and translated, the process of adding new languages will be more straightforward. Consistent, planned and purposeful multilingual terminology can be a real asset to a growing business.

• It can help improve productivity. By eliminating to-and-fro discussions about which word to use in which language, managing terminology creates a faster, more efficient process.
• Consistency is improved across all the languages you do business in and the likelihood of making errors is reduced.
• The above factors combine to help speed up the time it takes to get your products and services to market.
• Equally, brand reputation is reinforced in new markets by using precise and high-quality language, consistent with your company’s image.
• Terminology management helps improve SERPS in different markets and different search engines.
• Managing terminology also helps create clarity in all languages when using words associated with race, ethnicity, religion or other social and cultural characteristics.

Terminology isn’t boring!

So, when you’re watching your favorite Olympic athletes perform a breathtaking back handspring or execute a perfect slam dunk or hit the most delicate drop shot, take note of the special words that help describe their exploits in the most accurate and detailed way possible. Terminology might sound boring but it does enable us to experience and understand things better.

We’ve just given a brief outline of the benefits of multilingual terminology management here so if you’d like to delve deeper into how managing terminology might help your business specifically, please get in touch with us below. We’re always happy to talk to you about your language projects.