Keeping things in context

If you’re used to hearing something described a certain way, hearing it translated differently can be confusing. The words may mean the same thing, but the change in terminology can cause confusion.

Imagine you are coming into Britain from France and trying to share details of a school or college you attended.

You’re used to hearing École Supérieure des Arts et du Design de Montreval, but the professional you’re speaking to refers to it as an art school in Montreval. Both descriptions may mean the same thing, but the reduction in the proper name could cause confusion.

Similarly, you may be asked to bring in a particular form. You’re told:

“Please fill in an HA1 form and bring a household bill for ID.”

To someone working in homelessness support, that might be perfectly clear. They know that an HA1 is a homelessness assessment form, and that a household bill means something such as a utility bill that can be used as proof of address.

But for someone who has recently arrived in the UK, those terms may not be familiar at all. A direct translation of the sentence may still leave them wondering what an HA1 form is, or even what is meant by a “household bill”.

The words may have been translated correctly, but the meaning behind them has been lost.

InMyWords keeps it real

Every organisation has its own terminology, services, schemes, forms and ways of doing things. A phrase that is completely familiar to a member of staff may mean very little when taken out of that context. Likewise, some names and terms are specific to an organisation and simply should not be translated.

InMyWords allows organisations to provide the context that sits behind the language they use. Organisations can configure the terminology and information that matters to them, and choose which terms, schemes, forms and templates should be translated and which should remain in their original form.

So, when a conversation includes something like an HA1 form, InMyWords can understand that this isn't simply a collection of letters and a number. It is a specific form used by the organisation for a particular purpose.

Likewise, an organisation can provide context around terms such as “household bill”, helping InMyWords understand how that term is being used within the conversation.

This means InMyWords takes the wider context of the conversation into account and works with the way an organisation actually communicates.

Your terminology, your choice

There isn't always a single 'correct' way to translate a term. Automatically translating everything isn't necessarily helpful and, sometimes, the original term is the clearest option.

InMyWords gives organisations control over this. By configuring the terminology and information their teams use every day, the app can help make conversations more relevant and consistent with established ways of working.