About the Replace List in Glossaries

A Replace list is a list of words that Wordly should replace with other words.

You can use a replace glossary to:

Display meanings of acronyms.
Clarify easily confused words.
Direct Wordly to choose the correct translation when a word has multiple meanings or an organization-specific translation..
Prevent Wordly from translating words or phrases that you don't want translated.

You create a Replace list under the Replace tab in the Add Glossary window.

To create the Replace list, you'll need to create rules for Wordly to follow. Enter [original word here] -> [replacement here] (with one replacement per line), to force Wordly to use your terms.

Example: You have a speaker that has a Southern US accent. They use the colloquial 'y'all' to greet the audience. You would prefer that the captions say “you all.” You would created a Replace list entry in your glossary like so: y'all -> you. This ensures that Wordly recognizes the word as a second-person pronoun, and not 'yawl,' a type of sailboat.

Keep in mind that Wordly always follows the rule you define in the Replace list, even when a different term may be better.

Display meanings of acronyms

You can write a Replace list entry to display the meaning of any acronym spoken. This would clarify any commonly confused acronyms.

Example: A software company may refer to a product release as an MVP (minimum viable product). However, MVP is usually understood as most valuable player. You would create a Replace list entry in your English glossary that will replace MVP with minimum viable product, so it's understood that you're talking about the prototype meaning, not the sports meaning. The Replace list entry would be MVP -> minimum viable product.

Clarify easily confused words

You can write a Replace list entry to clarify easily confused words that sound similar.

Example: When talking about a 4D experience, 4D may not be recognized and instead captioned as forty. Type forty -> 4D to correct the caption.

Names can also sometimes be challenging for Wordly to recognize.

Example: if the last name Firby is recognized as the toy Furby, add Furby -> Firby to your replace list.

Wordly usually uses the most common spelling of a name. Example: if you spell your name as 'Neal' (unusual spelling) instead of 'Neil' (common spelling), you would add Neil -> Neal to your Replace list.

Choose correct translation among multiple meanings

You can write a replace list entry to customize translations. Whereas the Boost function nudges Wordly’s translation software, Replace forces the text into one translation as opposed to another.

Example: You have a geologist speaking in English about boring holes in the ground to a Spanish-speaking audience. You want to make sure that boring is translated to the drilling holes definition, and not the definition of dull or tedious.

To do this, enter aburrido - > perforación in your Spanish language glossary.

Example: You have a speaker speaking in English about coffee bean production to a Spanish-speaking audience. You want to make sure that bean is translated to the coffee bean definition, and not the definition of legume.

To do this, enter frijole - > grano de café in your Spanish language glossary.

Note that you're choosing synonyms in the same language, not adding a rule that specifies words between languages. In the example above about coffee bean production, you may be inclined to write a rule that says bean -> grano de café and add it to either an English language glossary or a Spanish language glossary. This won't work.

The Replace list entry must always be added to the language in which you want it to have an effect. If you want to provide a specific Spanish translation the entry should be added to the Spanish language section of your glossary.
In case of ambiguity on which translation Wordly will choose, prior to creating your replace list, take a moment to test your glossary.

To help you prepare this section, we have created a worksheet to create your list of preferred translations (requires access to Google Sheets). Note that this worksheet can deliver different results than your live session. Always test your glossary before using it in a real-life setting.

Prevent phrase from being translated

You can write a Replace list entry to prevent a phrase from being translated. You may want to do this for proper names, such as company names and product names, that would be the same in multiple languages.

Example: If your company is named Big Trees, you wouldn't want that translated literally. You would write a rule where [original translation of Big Trees] -> Big Trees.

The Replace list entry must always be added to the language in which you want it to have an effect. If you want to provide term that shouldn't be translated in Japanese, the entry should be added to the Japanese language section of your glossary.

In case of ambiguity on how Wordly will translate a term, prior to creating your replace list, take a moment to test your glossary.

To help you prepare this section, we have created a worksheet to create your list of words that should not be translated (requires access to Google Sheets). Note that this worksheet can deliver different results than your live session. Always test your glossary before using it in a real-life setting.