User Guide

SYSTRAN 6 Desktop User Guide 196
Glossary
A
Acronym: In SYSTRAN terminology, a word, all uppercase, formed from the initial letters of other words
or parts of a series of words, such as WAC for Women's Army Corps.
Adjective: A word used to modify a noun by limiting or qualifying. In English, it can be distinguishedby
one of several suffixes, such as -able, -ous, -er, and -est, because it directly precedes a noun or noun
phrase, such as red in “a red door,” or because it is precededby a form of to be, such as “the door is
red.”
Adverb: A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, such as brightly in “The sun shines
brightly.”
Algorithm: A step-by-step problem-solving procedure.
Article: A word used to signal a noun and to specify its application. In English, the definite article is “the,”
and the indefinite articles are “a” and “an.”
Auxiliary verb: A verb, such as have, can, or will, that accompanies the main verb in a clause and helps to
make distinctions in aspect, mood, tense, and voice.
C
Clause: A group of two or more words which contains a verb. One or more clauses make up acomplete
sentence.
Compound word: A term made up of multiple words (e.g. watering can)
D
DNT: An acronym for Do Not Translate.
DNT List: A list of terms that will not be translated by the SYSTRAN software.
Do Not Translate: A sequence of words (part of a sentence) that is not to be translated.
Do Not Translate (DNT) Insertion: A sequence of words within a complete sentence that is not to be
translated.
Do Not Translate (DNT) Paragraph: A paragraph that is not to be translated.
E
Embedded clause: A subordinate clause that is embedded in the middle of a main clause. For example: The
camera, which I bought yesterday, is already broken.
Expression: In SYSTRAN terminology, a noun phrase consisting of more than one noun or any
combinationof nouns and adjectives, where the headword is a noun, such as lug nut, Library of
Congress, and red letter day. Complete sentences are not valid SYSTRAN expressions; neither are
any phrases that contain verbs.
F
Finite verb: A verb form that is limited in tense, person, and number, such as goes in “He goes.”
First person: A pronoun that refers to the speaker. For example, I in “I see,” or We in “We are.” Also, a
verb form that refers to the speaker. For example, am in “I am,” or are in “We are.” Verb inflection
rarely indicates person in English, but in other languages, it often does.