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 German translation (and a transliteration/pronunciation field, mostly mirroring the translation since German uses Latin script)
• The doctrine risk tier (Critical/High/Medium/Low)
• Explicitly rejected alternatives, with reasons
• Notes explaining any non-obvious translation choice

Governing principles

1. Established Reformation-era usage over invention — where Luther’s own translation choices (Gerechtigkeit, Rechtfertigung, Kindschaft, zugerechnete Gerechtigkeit) remain sound, this glossary follows them rather than proposing modern alternatives.
2. Explicit disambiguation and sensitivity flagging, not silent avoidance — every Critical or High-risk term records why the ordinary German rendering is underspecified between Catholic and Lutheran/Reformed tradition, or carries historical sensitivity (see alternatives_rejected and notes), so a translator or reviewer understands the reasoning rather than just following a rule.
3. 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.

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.