SDL has several terminology management products, to name a few: WorldServer, Multiterm Desktop, Multiterm Server, Multiterm Workflow, Multiterm inside studio - Since this is posted in the WorldServer group i could assume that you are asking about terminology inside Worldserver. But just to be sure is there a particular application your question is about? If it's not related to a particular product i think creating a new group just for terminology would be a great idea.
My question has to do with managing termbases in WorldServer. I currently use MultiTerm Extract to pull terminology from content but store and manage terminology in WorldServer.
An entry exists in our termbase for the English (US) term "associate". Our French Canadian linguistic reviewer notified me that depending upon the context, there may be three different ways of translating this term as "employé", "associé", or "collaborateur". What is the best way to enter this information? Should I enter the English (US) term three times with a different FR-CA translation and note in the Context attribute the usage or is it possible to have one English (US) entry for this term and enter the FR-CA translation three times?
Is this the best way to handle this situation or is there another way?
First, i am not a terminology expert, but i do work with one and pay close attention to what is recommended, additionally i've confirmed his approach with other sources as the best way to do terminoloy.
That said, when working with worldserver termbases you have two levels of organization, an entry (which holds many terms) and a term which is specific to a given language.
The approach that i am told and believe is appropriate is the idea of a concept based terminology where you separate even your source terms from the concept and then add the terms to that entry.
In our implementation we have an entry that describes the concept that we are tracking and then all terms that apply to this concept are then added to that entry. To differentiate differing words that describe a single concept we use additional attributes (create by us using the WS UI) that detail the usage, context, part of speech etc.
So to answer your question.
I would recommend an entry which will serve as your concept where you define specifically what an associate is. And then in that entry create an english term for associate, then create three fr-CA terms in that entry as well and then use an attribute to define the context in which each should be used.
First, i am not a terminology expert, but i do work with one and pay close attention to what is recommended, additionally i've confirmed his approach with other sources as the best way to do terminoloy.
That said, when working with worldserver termbases you have two levels of organization, an entry (which holds many terms) and a term which is specific to a given language.
The approach that i am told and believe is appropriate is the idea of a concept based terminology where you separate even your source terms from the concept and then add the terms to that entry.
In our implementation we have an entry that describes the concept that we are tracking and then all terms that apply to this concept are then added to that entry. To differentiate differing words that describe a single concept we use additional attributes (create by us using the WS UI) that detail the usage, context, part of speech etc.
So to answer your question.
I would recommend an entry which will serve as your concept where you define specifically what an associate is. And then in that entry create an english term for associate, then create three fr-CA terms in that entry as well and then use an attribute to define the context in which each should be used.