Last Updated 17 August 2008
Website internationalization is all about making your website easy for international visitors to understand.
Differences in vocabulary happens. It happens across different industries in the same country. And it happens often in cross cultural communication through translation.
One of the ways you can help your readers is to start a glossary.
When To Use A Glossary
You can create a glossary to list and explain:
- Industry specific words
- Words you commonly use to describe something related to your business
- Words others may appreciate having a brief description
- Words you use to explain a process
- Verbs to describe important actions.
Glossaries are very useful in any technical or industrial areas. But they are also appreciated in a wide variety of areas too.
Cultural habits differ. People use words differently. Glossaries provide insights into how you communicate. They open cross-cultural communication. They make differences come out into the open. They stimulate dialog.
Create a glossary if you are encountering any cross cultural communication resistance.
How To Write A Glossary
The key to making your glossary work for you is to strive for accuracy, clarity, and ease of understanding.
Be 100% Accurate
Your glossary needs to be accurate. In some cases a lack of accuracy can have devastating effects.
- In health issues
- In reference to using machinery
Strive For Clarity
A glossary needs to give a very clear meaning. If your glossary only leads to further misunderstandings or does not answer the readers questions, you would be better off without one.
Make It Very Easy To Understand
Keep your glossary very easy read and people will enjoy reading it. Pay attention to the general appearance of the glossary as a whole as well as the individual explanations.
Be Educational
A good glossary gives your readers easy to read and clear information. It is educational.
A glossary is a touch of thoughtfulness for your international visitors. Non-native English speakers appreciate its value.
Prepare For Translations
A glossary is highly recommended in certain industries where specific vocabulary requires expert translations.
In many industries you cannot simply take out a dictionary and use the translation. There is where a glossary in invaluable. It helps the translators find the correct word.
Glossaries help eliminate translation errors. Your glossary will be of significant value to a professional translator once you decide to offer multilingual services.
A well crafted glossary is far better than a bad translation. You may decide to have a glossary in your foreign language as well.
Clarity And Consistency
Good cross cultural communication is built on trust. Trust is cultivated in cross cultural communication in two ways: through clarity and consistency.
A glossary, when clearly explained, provides both consistency in vocabulary and clarity in definitions of the vocabulary. Not all websites need a glossary, but most of them can use one. A good glossary can also help build credibility.
So many good reasons to think of a simple tools such as a glossary.
This article is part of a series to Internationalize Your Website. Here are the other articles in this series:
- 7 Easy Tips to Internationalize Your Web Site
- Internationalize Your Website 1 – Make Your Website Easy To Read For All Of Your Readers
- Internationalize Your Website 2 – Be Reachable By Phone To Everyone
- Internationalize Your Website 3 – Show The World Your Location
- Internationalize Your Website 4 – Create Clarity With A Consistent Vocabulary
- Internationalize Your Website 5 – The Right Order Forms For International Sales
- Internationalize Your Website 7 – Welcome Your International Visitors
