Core Glossary
Core Glossary
translation_memory.json is the enforced glossary for every Phase 2 translation in this curriculum. This document summarizes its shape and the principles behind it; see the Glossary Risk Groups for the full per-term entries.
Composition
The glossary currently holds 47 terms spanning all four risk tiers, drawn from the doctrines identified in Doctrine Analysis and grounded in the cultural risks identified in Culture Analysis. Every term entry records:
- The approved Assamese translation and transliteration
- The doctrine risk tier (Critical/High/Medium/Low)
- Explicitly rejected alternatives, with reasons
- Notes explaining any non-obvious translation choice
Governing principles
- Established usage over invention — where the Assamese Bible Society translation tradition (dating to the 1819 Serampore New Testament) already has a settled rendering (ঈশ্বৰ, যীচু, প্ৰভু, খ্ৰীষ্ট), this glossary follows it rather than proposing an alternative.
- Explicit rejection, not silent avoidance — every Critical-risk term records why the obvious Ekasarana Dharma or wider Hindu-tradition word is wrong (see
alternatives_rejected), so a translator or reviewer understands the reasoning rather than just following a rule. - Version-controlled and append-only in Phase 2 — if a new term is discovered during document translation, it is added to translation memory and the version number incremented, never silently improvised per-document (see the AI Translation Requirements’ Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions).
Relationship to the Doctrine Risk Registry
Every glossary term’s doctrine field links back to an entry in doctrine_risk_registry.json, so a term’s risk tier is always traceable to the specific doctrine it protects — the glossary enforces vocabulary, the doctrine registry explains why that vocabulary matters.
Critical Risk Terms
Father
Approved rendering: পিতা
Transliteration: pita
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: ব্ৰহ্মা, সৃষ্টিকৰ্তা
God as personal Father. Avoid Hindu creator-deity names (ব্ৰহ্মা, the creator god of the Trimurti).
God
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰ
Transliteration: Iswôr
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ভগৱান, পৰমেশ্বৰ
ঈশ্বৰ is the standard Assamese Bible Society term for the one true God. ভগৱান is the common Assamese devotional address for one’s chosen deity (ista-devata) within Vaishnavite/Ekasarana bhakti and carries too much devotional-object ambiguity for consistent doctrinal use.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: পবিত্ৰ আত্মা
Transliteration: pobitrô atma
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ব্ৰহ্ম, পৰমাত্মা
CRITICAL: Never ব্ৰহ্ম (impersonal Absolute Reality of Vedantic philosophy) or পৰমাত্মা alone (universal Self). পবিত্ৰ আত্মা names the personal Holy Spirit, third Person of the Trinity.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: আৰোপিত ধাৰ্মিকতা
Transliteration: aropitô dharmikôta
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: অৰ্জিত ধাৰ্মিকতা
Credited/attributed righteousness from God, NOT righteousness achieved through one’s own effort (অৰ্জিত, ‘earned’, is explicitly rejected).
Incarnation
Approved rendering: দেহধাৰণ
Transliteration: dehôdharon
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: অৱতাৰ, প্ৰকাশ
CRITICAL: NEVER অৱতাৰ. This is the single highest-risk term in Assamese specifically because of the Ekasarana Dharma’s own theology: Sankardev’s tradition holds Krishna as the supreme avatar of Vishnu and frames its entire devotional system (naam-dharma) around avatar-descent for dharma-restoration. দেহধাৰণ names the eternal Son permanently and uniquely taking human nature — once, not one of a repeatable cycle of divine descents. A translator note explaining this distinction is mandatory at first occurrence in every document.
Jesus
Approved rendering: যীচু
Transliteration: Yisu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ঈছা
Assamese Bible Society standard form, in continuous use since the 1819 Serampore Assamese New Testament. ঈছা is the form used in Assamese Muslim contexts; use যীচু for this Christian curriculum.
Justification
Approved rendering: ধাৰ্মিক বুলি গণ্য কৰা
Transliteration: dharmik buli gonyô kôra
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: ক্ষমা পোৱা, পুণ্য লাভ কৰা
Compound phrase required; no single Assamese word carries the forensic ‘declared righteous’ sense. Never shorten to ক্ষমা পোৱা (obtaining forgiveness), which describes only the removal of guilt, not the positive crediting of righteousness.
Lord
Approved rendering: প্ৰভু
Transliteration: prôbhu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: স্বামী, ঈশ্বৰ
Established Assamese Christian term. In Romans 10:9 the confession renders as ‘যীচু প্ৰভু হয়’. Must convey exclusive, supreme Lordship, not one honorific among many (Sankardev’s tradition also addresses its supreme deity by devotional titles; a note distinguishing exclusive biblical Lordship from devotional-address titles should accompany first use).
Messiah
Approved rendering: মচীহ
Transliteration: mosih
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: অভিষিক্ত ব্যক্তি, অৱতাৰ পুৰুষ
Transliterated term, established across Assamese Christian usage. The Anointed One fulfilling specific OT promise, not one of several avatar-figures or Sankardev-tradition guru-successors.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: পুনৰুত্থান
Transliteration: punoruththan
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: পুনৰ্জন্ম, পুনৰ্জীৱন
CRITICAL: NEVER পুনৰ্জন্ম (rebirth into a new body within সংসাৰ, the rebirth cycle). পুনৰুত্থান is bodily, historical, once-for-all resurrection — always add a distinguishing note from reincarnation when this term first occurs in a document.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: ধাৰ্মিকতা
Transliteration: dharmikôta
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: ধৰ্ম, পুণ্য, ন্যায়
CRITICAL: Never ধৰ্ম — in Assamese as in Hindi/Bengali this denotes cosmic/social duty (and in the Ekasarana context, the specific religious order founded by Sankardev). ধাৰ্মিকতা names right standing before God received through faith, not a duty performed or a sectarian identity.
Salvation
Approved rendering: পৰিত্ৰাণ
Transliteration: poritran
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: মুক্তি, মোক্ষ, নিস্তাৰ
CRITICAL: NEVER মুক্তি or মোক্ষ — both denote liberation from the cycle of rebirth (সংসাৰ), the goal shared across Assamese Vaishnavite, Shaivite, and Shakta practice. পৰিত্ৰাণ is the established Assamese Bible term for deliverance by God through Christ. নিস্তাৰ (rescue) may appear in narrative contexts describing physical deliverance, but not for eternal salvation.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰৰ পুত্ৰ
Transliteration: Iswôror putrô
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ঈশ্বৰৰ অংশ, দেৱপুৰুষ
CRITICAL: full phrase required. Never rendered as ‘a portion of God’ or ‘a divine being’ — conveys eternal, unique Sonship within the Godhead, not a partial manifestation.
High Risk Terms
Abba
Approved rendering: আব্বা
Transliteration: Abba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Aramaic term of filial intimacy preserved in Romans 8:15; retain the transliteration rather than reducing it to formal পিতা alone.
Adoption
Approved rendering: পোহাপুত্ৰ স্বৰূপে গ্ৰহণ
Transliteration: puhaputrô sôrupe grôhon
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: পোহনিয়া কৰা
Common Assamese পোহনিয়া (fostering/rearing) can imply a lesser domestic-help or informal status; the fuller phrase makes clear this is full son-status with complete inheritance rights, not an informal arrangement.
Called
Approved rendering: মতা
Transliteration: matā
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: আমন্ত্ৰিত, নিমন্ত্ৰণ কৰা
Context-sensitive: in 1:1, called to apostleship; in 1:7, called to be saints; in 8:28-30, effectual calling to salvation. আমন্ত্ৰিত (invited) is too soft — it suggests an optional social invitation rather than God’s sovereign summons.
Calling
Approved rendering: মতনি
Transliteration: motoni
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: আমন্ত্ৰণ
Noun form for the act/state of being called by God. Use মতনি for the noun; মতা for the adjective/participle.
Covenant
Approved rendering: নিয়ম
Transliteration: niyôm
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: চুক্তি, বন্দোবস্ত
Relational covenant bond, more than a business contract (চুক্তি). Established Assamese Bible Society usage.
Election
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰৰ মনোনয়ন
Transliteration: Iswôror monônoyon
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: ভাগ্য, নিয়তি, কপাল
God’s sovereign personal choice, not fate (ভাগ্য/কপাল) or karma-determined destiny.
Faith
Approved rendering: বিশ্বাস
Transliteration: biswax
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: শ্ৰদ্ধা, ভক্তি
Personal trust placed in a specific object (Christ/God); must always be tied to its object in context. ভক্তি (bhakti) is devotional surrender within the Ekasarana Dharma naam tradition and carries an entire devotional-practice framework (naam-kirtan, guru-lineage) that is not equivalent to biblical trust-faith; ভক্তি may appear in cultural-bridge commentary but never as the glossary rendering of ‘faith’ itself.
Glory
Approved rendering: মহিমা
Transliteration: môhima
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: দেৱজ্যোতি, তেজ
God’s radiant presence and honor. Avoid light-imagery terms that could conflate with descriptions of a deity’s divine luster (tej/prabha) common in Puranic narrative.
Gospel
Approved rendering: সুসমাচাৰ
Transliteration: xusomacar
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: ভাল খবৰ, শুভবাৰ্তা
Established Assamese Bible Society (ABS) term, shared with the Bengali-Assamese Christian tradition. ভাল খবৰ (literal ‘good news’) is colloquial and lacks the technical weight of a proclaimed, unique message.
Grace
Approved rendering: অনুগ্ৰহ
Transliteration: anugrôh
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: কৃপা, দয়া, বৰ, সৌভাগ্য, পুণ্য
Unmerited favor apart from human merit. বৰ (boon) carries a Puranic register of a deity granting a wish in exchange for austerity (tapasya) or devotion (bhakti) — exactly the merit-transaction Romans’ grace argument rejects. কৃপা may be used for ordinary compassion/mercy in non-salvific contexts only.
Holy
Approved rendering: পবিত্ৰ
Transliteration: pobitrô
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: শুচি, নিৰ্মল
পবিত্ৰ = set apart for God, morally pure. শুচি leans toward ritual/physical cleanliness (relevant to Namghar entry purity customs); keep পবিত্ৰ consistent for the theological sense.
Law
Approved rendering: বিধান
Transliteration: bidhan
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: ধৰ্ম, নিয়ম
Torah/Mosaic law. NEVER ধৰ্ম. বিধান is the established Assamese Bible Society rendering.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: বিশ্বাসৰ আজ্ঞাকাৰিতা
Transliteration: biswaxor agyakarita
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: ধৰ্মীয় নিয়ম পালন, কৰ্তব্য
Romans 1:5 and 16:26. Obedience flowing from faith, not duty-based religious compliance (কৰ্তব্য) that earns standing.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰৰ শক্তি
Transliteration: Iswôror xôkti
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: বল
Unlike Hindi, Assamese শক্তি does not carry as dominant a personified-goddess (Shakti-worship) association in ordinary register and is the natural, unavoidable word for ‘power’ in Assamese theological usage; still, always pair with ঈশ্বৰৰ (of God) to anchor it to God’s own power rather than an impersonal cosmic force.
Providence
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰৰ বিধান
Transliteration: Iswôror bidhan
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: ভাগ্য, কৰ্মফল
God’s personal, purposive governance. Never ভাগ্য (fate) or কৰ্মফল (fruit of karma).
Saints
Approved rendering: পবিত্ৰ লোক
Transliteration: pobitrô lok
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: সন্ত, ভক্ত
সন্ত and ভক্ত both carry the Ekasarana Dharma sense of an especially devoted or realized devotee (bhakta) within the naam tradition — a spiritual achiever, not every believer. পবিত্ৰ লোক applies corporately to all believers set apart in Christ, achievers or not.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: পবিত্ৰীকৰণ
Transliteration: pobitrikoron
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: শুচিকৰণ, সংস্কাৰ
The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy. সংস্কাৰ carries a strong ritual-purification/life-cycle-rite sense in Assamese Hindu practice; avoid it here.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: দায়ূদৰ বংশৰ
Transliteration: Dayudor bôngxôr
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Romans 1:3; conveys physical lineage and OT covenant fulfillment.
Sin
Approved rendering: পাপ
Transliteration: pap
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: অধৰ্ম, অশুচিতা
Moral transgression before a personal God, distinguished from ritual impurity (অশুচিতা) and from an impersonal karmic debt.
Medium Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: প্ৰেৰিত
Transliteration: prerito
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: দূত, গুৰু
Established Assamese Christian term for an authorized, sent messenger. গুৰু (guru) must be avoided — Sankardev’s Ekasarana tradition centers on an unbroken guru-lineage (Satradhikar succession) at the head of each Satra, and ‘apostle’ rendered as guru would collapse apostolic authority into that institutional guru-role.
Church
Approved rendering: মণ্ডলী
Transliteration: môndoli
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: মন্দিৰ, নামঘৰ
NEVER নামঘৰ — this is the specific Ekasarana Dharma prayer-house institution (Sankardev’s congregational innovation, itself historically a genuine functional parallel to a congregation, but a distinct religious institution). Never মন্দিৰ (Hindu temple, image-centered). মণ্ডলী is the established Assamese Christian term for the local congregation.
David
Approved rendering: দায়ূদ
Transliteration: Dayud
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Established Assamese Bible Society proper-name form.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: অনযাতি
Transliteration: onyojati
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: বিদেশী
Non-Jews; established Bible Society term. Use জাতিসমূহ (nations) in mission contexts.
Intercession
Approved rendering: মধ্যস্থতা
Transliteration: môddhôsthôta
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: পৈৰবী
Prayer offered on behalf of others through a single mediator, Christ. পৈৰবী (advocacy) is used in secular/legal registers and lacks the theological precision needed here.
Israel
Approved rendering: ইস্ৰায়েল
Transliteration: Israyel
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Proper name; established Bible Society form.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰৰ ৰাজ্য
Transliteration: Iswôror rajyo
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Rejected alternatives: ঈশ্বৰৰ ৰাষ্ট্ৰ
God’s sovereign reign; distinguish from political-kingdom associations, which carry particular weight in a state (Assam) with a history of contested regional sovereignty (the historic Ahom kingdom).
Mission
Approved rendering: সুসমাচাৰ প্ৰচাৰ
Transliteration: xusomacar prôcar
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Describes the activity plainly (proclaiming the good news) rather than importing মিছন, which in Assam carries loaded associations with 19th-century American Baptist Mission institutions among tribal populations and can read as foreign/colonial to a Hindu-Assamese audience.
Peace
Approved rendering: শান্তি
Transliteration: xanti
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: সুখ, প্ৰশান্তি
In Romans 5:1, relational peace with God through justification, not the meditative calm sought through naam-kirtan or japa. Add a distinguishing note where the passage could be read devotionally rather than forensically.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: আত্মিক বৰ
Transliteration: atmik bôr
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Rejected alternatives: বৰ, দৈৱী শক্তি
বৰ alone carries the Puranic sense of a boon granted for austerity or devotion; always pair with আত্মিক (spiritual) to mark it as a Spirit-given enablement, not an earned or bargained-for boon.
Low Risk Terms
Exhort
Approved rendering: উৎসাহিত কৰা
Transliteration: utxahitô kôra
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Context-sensitive: use সোঁৱৰোৱা/মিনতি (entreaty) for beseeching; উৎসাহিত কৰা (encourage) for building up.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: সহভাগিতা
Transliteration: xohobhagita
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: বন্ধুত্ব, সমাজ
Shared participation in Christ; সমাজ (society/community) is too generic-civic for this theological sense.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: ভাববাণী
Transliteration: bhabôbani
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: গণনা
God-inspired declaration, distinct from astrological calculation (গণনা).
Prophet
Approved rendering: ভাববাদী
Transliteration: bhabôbadi
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: জ্যোতিষী
God’s spokesperson; distinguish from astrologer/fortune-teller (জ্যোতিষী).
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: ধন্যবাদ
Transliteration: dhonyôbad
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Standard term; no significant doctrinal risk.
Referenced passages