- What translation memories and glossaries actually are
- Why these assets belong to the company, not the supplier
- How to build and manage these assets properly
- The financial case for managing these assets well
- How M21Global approaches linguistic asset management
- Related Services
- Frequently Asked Questions
Every time a company translates a document, it generates something with lasting value: approved terminology, validated linguistic choices, and equivalences that took hours of specialist work to define. The question is whether that value stays locked inside a supplier's system or belongs, properly, to the company.
Translation memories and glossaries are corporate assets. Treating them as such changes how a company manages costs, maintains consistency, and protects its brand across international markets.
What translation memories and glossaries actually are
A translation memory (TM) is a bilingual database that stores previously translated text segments, pairing each source segment with its target-language equivalent. When an identical or similar segment appears in a new document, the TM surfaces the previous translation for reuse or adaptation. The practical effect is a reduction in repetitive work and a consistent use of terminology across different documents.
A glossary is distinct. It is a curated list of the company's own terms, each with an approved translation for every working language. It typically includes product names, internal process labels, sector-specific technical terms, and expressions that carry a particular meaning within the organisation. The glossary defines what is correct; the translation memory records what has been done.
The two work together. The glossary feeds the TM with consistent choices; the TM reflects those choices as they appear in real contexts over time.
Why these assets belong to the company, not the supplier
The most common pattern, especially in companies without a formalised translation process, is to leave the management of TMs and glossaries entirely to the supplier. That can seem convenient, but the consequences are real.
If the company changes supplier, the assets stay behind. Terminological consistency built over years disappears overnight. Discounts for repetitions and partial matches no longer apply because the new TM is empty. And internally approved terminology, often validated by legal, technical, and marketing teams, has to be rebuilt from scratch.
Beyond the practical issue, the intellectual property in translations belongs, as a general principle, to the company that commissioned them. That includes the translation memories derived from those translations. This point should be formalised in the supplier contract, but the principle is straightforward: what the company paid to have translated belongs to the company.
This matters particularly for businesses expanding into new markets. When documents and contracts for markets such as Angola, Brazil, or Spain are translated consistently over time, validated terminology becomes a resource that accelerates future projects and reduces the risk of inconsistencies with legal or commercial consequences. A company that has structured its internationalisation process will feel this difference sharply.
How to build and manage these assets properly
The first step is an audit of what already exists. Many companies have translations scattered across shared folders, email threads, and document management systems. Consolidating that material into a TM is the starting point.
The second step is creating a reference glossary with the relevant internal teams. The legal team validates contract terminology. The technical team approves product nomenclature. Marketing defines how the brand should sound in each language. The glossary is not a translation document: it is a terminology governance document.
The third step is formalising the ownership, delivery format, and update process with the translation supplier. Industry-standard formats, such as TMX for memories and TBX or XLSX for glossaries, ensure portability across systems and suppliers.
The fourth step is a continuous update process. A glossary that is not reviewed becomes obsolete. When the company launches a new product, changes a name, or enters a new market, the glossary should reflect that before new documents go to translation. The supplier can help maintain this, but the decision about what is correct always belongs to the company.
Finally, it is useful to define quality tiers by document type. A supply contract for the Angolan market requires a different level of terminological rigour than an internal operations report. Deciding which documents feed the reference TM and which are treated as auxiliary material prevents less thoroughly reviewed translations from contaminating the core assets.
The financial case for managing these assets well
The TM has a direct effect on translation costs. When a document contains segments already stored in the memory, the translator's actual workload is smaller. That reduced effort is reflected in project budgets, whether through lower volumes of new work or faster delivery.
For companies with regular translation volumes, the difference between a well-maintained TM and no TM at all can be substantial over the course of a year. Repeated segments, partial matches, and reused content represent real savings. Unlike most assets, the TM does not depreciate: it gains value with use.
The glossary, in turn, reduces review time and the number of revision cycles. When translators know exactly which term the company has approved for each concept, internal review rounds become shorter. That saves time for the internal teams who carry out final checks on translated documents.
How M21Global approaches linguistic asset management
At M21Global, ownership of translation memories and glossaries belongs to the client company, without exception. Files are delivered in standard formats on request, and the process includes TM alignment and updates throughout the working relationship.
For companies with regular business translation needs, M21Global establishes a terminology management workflow from the outset, integrating the client's internal reviews with the translation work itself. Each project is designed to improve the existing assets rather than bypass them.
If the company is structuring its translation process for the first time, or migrating from a supplier that has retained its TMs and glossaries, it is worth discussing what already exists and what can be recovered or rebuilt. Contact M21Global to assess the specific situation and agree on a practical way forward.
Related Services
Request a free internationalisation quote
- Request a free internationalisation quote
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- Translating Contracts Angolan Market
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns a translation memory: the company or the translation supplier?
Translation memories are generated from content the company paid to have translated, so intellectual property generally belongs to the client company. This should be formalised in the supplier contract, which should require delivery of TM files in standard formats such as TMX on request.
What is the difference between a glossary and a translation memory?
A glossary is a list of company-approved terms with the correct translation in each working language. A translation memory is a bilingual database storing previously translated full segments. The glossary defines what is correct; the translation memory records what has been done in real contexts.
In what file formats are translation memories and glossaries typically delivered?
The standard format for translation memories is TMX (Translation Memory eXchange). For glossaries, the most common formats are TBX (TermBase eXchange) and XLSX. These formats ensure portability between different tools and suppliers.
How does a translation memory affect project costs?
When a document contains segments already stored in the TM, the translator's workload is proportionally smaller, which is reflected in cost and delivery time. The larger and more complete the TM, the greater the potential for reuse in future projects.
What happens if we change translation supplier without our TMs and glossaries?
The company loses accumulated translation and terminology history. The new supplier starts with an empty TM, which removes discounts for repeated segments and increases the risk of inconsistencies in future documents. Terminological consistency has to be rebuilt from scratch.
