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 Russian 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

1. Synodal precedent over invention — where the Synodal Bible already has a settled rendering (Бог, Иисус, Господь, Святой Дух, завет), this glossary follows it rather than proposing an alternative.
2. Explicit statement of theological position, not silent avoidance — every Critical-risk term records why an East-West doctrinal divergence exists and how this curriculum resolves it (see alternatives_rejected and notes), so a translator or reviewer understands the reasoning rather than just following a rule.
3. Precision through disambiguation, not new coinages — where a Russian term (e.g. благодать, вера, церковь) carries a broader or differently-loaded semantic range than intended, the glossary keeps the natural, recognized term and adds explanatory context rather than inventing an artificial replacement.
4. 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, and for Russian specifically, why the risk often lies in theological nuance between two Christian traditions rather than in confusion with a non-Christian religious concept.