A glossary for interpreters is a short, shared list of the words that must come out right at your event: people’s names and how to say them, titles and honorifics, organisations and acronyms, product names, figures and units, and terms that must not be translated at all. Each entry gives the approved rendering in every target language. Send a first version as soon as the programme is settled, update it as speeches arrive, and have someone who knows the organisation check it.
The same file serves human interpreters preparing in the booth and SIM.AI’s custom glossary on the day. You can download our free Excel glossary template and fill it in as you read.
Why a glossary matters more than most organisers think
Interpreters are language specialists, not specialists in your organisation. A conference interpreter can move between Arabic and English at speed, but cannot know that your chief executive prefers “Group CEO” to “CEO”, that a programme name stays in English in every language, or that a minister’s name is stressed on the second syllable.
The terms that cause trouble are almost never everyday words. They are the specific ones: a person’s name, a new product, an internal acronym, a figure read out quickly. Getting one of those wrong in front of a senior guest is the mistake people remember. A glossary moves that knowledge from your team to the people speaking for you.
What to include
Think in categories. Go through the agenda, speaker list, speeches and slide decks and pull out anything that fits one of the groups below.
Names, with pronunciation
List every speaker, moderator, VIP guest and person likely to be mentioned. Add:
- the name exactly as the person writes it, in each script you need (for example both Arabic and Latin spelling);
- a simple sound-it-out guide, with the stressed syllable in capitals: LAY-la al man-SOO-ree;
- a note if the person has a preferred short form.
The best source is the person’s own office. If you can, ask for a short voice note of them saying their name.
Titles and honorifics
Titles in the Gulf carry protocol weight. Include each person’s title in full, in the order it should be spoken, with its approved rendering. Typical entries are His Excellency, Her Excellency, Sheikh and Sheikha, Dr, and Eng., which is widely used as a title in Arabic-speaking workplaces. Note how the title should be used on first mention and after that. Our article on Arabic–English live interpretation in the UAE covers honorifics in more detail.
Organisations and acronyms
Give the full name, the acronym and how the acronym is said. Some are read as letters (E-S-G), some as words. Government entities and authorities usually have an official Arabic and an official English name; use those exactly rather than translating. If an acronym only exists in English, say whether interpreters should keep it or expand it.
Product, programme and project names
Brand and programme names are often invented words or English words used in a special sense. State whether each one is translated, transliterated or kept as it is.
Technical and sector terms
Legal, medical, financial and engineering terms where your organisation uses a specific rendering. If two words exist in Arabic for the same idea and you prefer one, say so. For legal sessions, add the jurisdiction, because the correct term can depend on it.
Numbers, units and dates
Spoken numbers are a common source of error under pressure. List:
- key figures likely to be read out, such as budgets, targets and dates;
- currency conventions (AED, dirhams, millions or billions);
- units, especially where speakers mix metric and imperial;
- date conventions, including whether Hijri dates will be spoken.
Terms not to translate
This is the column people forget. Programme names, slogans, legal terms of art and some job titles should stay exactly as they are. Mark them clearly as “do not translate” so nobody tries to be helpful.
How to format it
A spreadsheet beats a PDF or a Word table. It can be sorted, filtered, shared and loaded directly. Our template uses these columns:
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Term (source language) | The term exactly as the speaker will say it |
| Language of term | The language the term appears in |
| Translation / approved rendering | What guests should hear and read |
| Target language | One row per target language |
| Pronunciation guide | Sound-it-out spelling for names and unusual words |
| Type | Name, title, organisation, acronym, product, technical or do-not-translate |
| Notes / context | Who says it, in which session, anything easily confused |
| Source document | Agenda, speech, slide deck or protocol note |
A few formatting habits make a real difference:
- One term per row. Do not put three spellings in one cell separated by slashes.
- No merged cells or colours that carry meaning. Use the Type and Notes columns instead.
- Use the spelling the speaker uses. If the slides say “Programme” and the speech says “Program”, note both.
- Keep it to what will be spoken. Fifty accurate entries are more useful than five hundred copied from a style guide.
- Add a version date to the file name, so everyone knows which list is current.
When to send it
Timing matters more than perfection. A rough list early is better than a polished list late.
| When | What to send |
|---|---|
| As soon as the programme and speakers are fairly settled | First version: names, titles, organisations, acronyms |
| As speeches and slides arrive | Updates: technical terms, figures, product names |
| The day before | Final changes, marked clearly in the Notes column |
| On the day | Last-minute additions, such as a replacement speaker, handed to the team on site |
Human interpreters need time to study the terms, look up context and agree renderings with their booth partner. AI interpretation needs the glossary loaded and checked before the session starts. Both work best when the list arrives early and the changes arrive in small, clear updates.
Who should check it
A glossary is only as good as its approvals. Three kinds of reviewer cover most events:
- Someone who knows the organisation, usually from the chair’s office, protocol or communications. They confirm names, titles, the order of honorifics and the official names of entities.
- A subject-matter expert for technical terms: legal counsel for a legal session, a clinician for a medical one.
- A linguist for the target-language renderings. Sim Trans linguists can review Arabic and other renderings so they read naturally, not just correctly.
Give one person the final say. Glossaries edited by committee tend to collect contradictions.
How the glossary is used on the day
By human interpreters
Conference interpreters study the glossary in advance, add their own notes and keep it open in the booth. Names and acronyms they have rehearsed come out cleanly. With Interpreter Assist, glossary terms appear as instant term cards the moment they are spoken, and numbers, names and acronyms are highlighted on screen. The interpreter still decides what to say; the screen is a prompt, never a script.
By SIM.AI’s custom glossary
For AI interpretation, we load your glossary before the event. Names, titles, product names and legal terms are then applied consistently across every language channel, so “Project Falcon” stays “Project Falcon” in Arabic, Hindi and French alike, and a minister’s title is rendered the way protocol requires.
In Precision mode
For legal, government and technical sessions, Precision mode adds enforced terminology and pronunciation, built on the same glossary. This suits courts, ministry briefings and technical committees where a wrong term creates a real problem.
Honest limits
A glossary reduces errors. It does not remove them. AI interpretation can still go wrong with poor audio, heavy accents, overlapping speakers, humour and idiom. For legally binding proceedings, medical consent, sensitive negotiations or VIP protocol, choose certified human interpreters, or a hybrid set-up with AI and human interpreters. Sim Trans provides both.
A quick checklist
- Speaker list with names in every script you need, plus pronunciation
- Titles and honorifics, in protocol order
- Organisations with official names in each language, and acronyms with how to say them
- Product, programme and project names, each marked translate or keep
- Technical terms with your preferred rendering
- Key figures, currencies, units and date conventions
- A clear do-not-translate list
- One named approver, and a version date on the file
If any of the terms above are unfamiliar, our interpretation glossary explains them in plain language.
Download the template
The SIM.AI event glossary template is a free Excel file with a short “Read me” sheet, the columns described above, a drop-down for the type of each term and a few fictional example rows to show the format. Delete the examples, fill in your terms and send it to your interpretation team.
Next step
If you have an event coming up and want to see how your own glossary behaves in AI interpretation and captions, send us a draft list and a sample of your programme. Book a demo with the SIM.AI team and we will show you your terms in action, across the languages your guests need.