Jan 2, 2023 2 min read Principles and Practices

Localization Initialisms

Find a growing list of initialisms often used in the localization industry on this page.

The Grand Canyon, March 2022.

Initialism	Full Expression	Did you know?
TM	Translation Memory	TMs are the customer's intellectual property in almost all cases. They should be fully exportable so that you can take it with you if you decide to use a new LSP or TMS.
MT	Machine Translation	DeepL, Systran, Amazon Translate, Microsoft Translate, Google Translate, Phrase NextMT, RWS Language Weaver, and others
HT	Human Translation	Translation performed by a human. A few resources if you are looking for a freelancer: The American Translators Association, Seek 'N Check, The Japan Association of Translators, Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer.
NMT	Neural Machine Translation	"Artificial neurons are connected in orderly architectures and grouped into layers that are processed in a sequence of steps, while natural neurons have much more complex connection patterns. Artificial neural networks typically learn their weights by supervised training, while natural neurons evolve without being given the right answer directly. So, it is not surprising that some researchers are uncomfortable with drawing any parallels to the brain and avoid the term neural networks. But the term has stuck, even despite current rebranding efforts to deep learning." Koehn, Philipp. Neural Machine Translation (p. 31). Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.
LSP	Language Service Provider	Under pressure from advances in AI (eg, ChatGPT), NMT and TMS technologies, LSPs are evolving into global growth consulting agencies. You can expect them to advise on how best to use tools, save costs, and achieve goals in addition to the provision of translation services.
TB	Term Base	Fancy way of saying glossary. 🙂
LQA	Linguistic Quality Assurance	The final step after source text has been translated and edited that typically takes place in the product itself, i.e. in a sandbox version of an application or website. Content will display slightly differently than it does in the TMS or CAT tool. It is an important step.
TMS	Translation Management System	Phrase Strings / TMS, XTM, Transifex, Crowdin, Lokalise, Trados Enterprise, and others
CAT Tool	Computer-assisted translation tool	The first generation of software designed to maintain TMs and glossaries, enable multiple, enterprise level projects, provide a professional editing environment for translators, etc. MemoQ and Wordbee are good examples.
MTPE	Machine Translation, Post Editing	In this approach to doing translation, the source content is translated using MT and then human editors edit the results. This approach is useful for high volumes of content that need 'good enough' translation quality (and sometimes better depending on the MT engine).
DQF	Dynamic Quality Framework	DQF is a software that tracks and measures translation productivity and quality in a standardized way. Here is Everything You Need to Know about DQF
T+FR	Translation and Full Review	For mission critical content when the quality needs to be the highest.
T+LR	Translation and Light Review	For content that needs to be accurate. MTPE could be an economical fit for this type of use case.
CMS	Content Management System	Not localization technology per se. However, CMSs increasingly host the most sophisticated websites of enterprise customers. The localization of CMS content through API integrations to TMSs is an area that is evolving quickly and getting a lot of attention.
LMS	Language Management System	LMSs are platforms used for continuing professional education purposes. Similar to CMSs, they host high volumes of content requiring localization.