I Wrote a Book About Terminology Extraction as if the Audience Mattered

My primary reason for writing Terminology Extraction for Translation and Interpretation Made Easy was to enable anyone who wants to extract terminology to actually do it. And there has never been a better time to learn this critical skill, because the new generation of terminology extraction software is more powerful, easier to use, and less expensive than any before.

Simplified language

Just like most people who speak English aren't native speakers, most people who work with English in translation and interpretation don't speak English as their first language. In fact, for many, English is their 3rd language or they are just beginning to learn it. That's why simplicity, clarity, and readability were guiding principles in writing Terminology Extraction. And even though I published my CLOUT controlled language rule set more than 20 years ago, it proved to be an excellent style guide for writing this book

Glossary with definitions

Being a terminologist, I naturally put a lot of effort into managing my vocabulary. In this book, I followed a strict 'one word, one meaning' policy. For example, I use 'translation' only in the sense of 'the process of translating' and not 'the result of translating'. And since this is an unorthodox approach to writing, I have included a glossary of the terms I use and a definition of how I use that word in my book (so these are NOT necessarily definitions for general use).

Inclusive language

One of the last projects I worked on as Head of Terminology at Facebook was the creation of a diversity, equity, and inclusion dictionary. And ‘Terminology Extraction Made Easy’ was the perfect opportunity to continue that work. So in Terminology Extraction for Translation and Interpretation Made Easy, I don’t talk about ‘translators’, ‘interpreters’, ‘terminologists’ but ‘language specialists’ instead. ‘Language specialist’ not only covers all language specializations, is more gender-neutral, but also includes both people who use their language skills in professional settings as well as those who are community practitioners.

Visual aids

I understand that different people have different learning styles. Which is why, in addition to simple, step-by-step instructions, I also created simplified screenshots that are numbered for each step in a task. These images help those of us who are visual learners – and screenshots provide additional support for people with less-than-perfect English language skills.

Quick read

Many how-to books are 20000 – 50000 words long, and it takes a long time to work your way through so many words. Terminology Extraction Made Easy was initially also a long book, but I have spent weeks to remove any unnecessary information. After all, this is not a look-how-much-I-know book, but a only-what-you-really-need-to-know book. So now there are only 7000 words in this book (without the glossary), which should take between 30 minutes to an hour to read the introduction and the instructions for all three programs, depending on how fast you read.

Low price

The eBook version of Terminology Extraction for Translation and Interpreting Made Easy costs only USD 9.99, which is about as much as you pay for a couple of (large) lattes. If you’re a language specialists, that's a small price to pay for a skill that can make your life a lot easier.

The final word

If you are looking for a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to learn how to extract terminology for translation and interpretation, Terminology Extraction for Translation and Interpretation Made Easy is the book for you.

Get your copy and start creating glossaries today!

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