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 and theological risks identified in Culture Analysis and Comparative Theology. Every term entry records:

• The approved Somali translation and a phonetic pronunciation guide
• The doctrine risk tier (Critical/High/Medium/Low)
• Explicitly rejected alternatives, with reasons, including where a term collides with a specific Islamic title (as with Rasuul for apostle) or a clan-social category
• Notes explaining any non-obvious translation choice

Governing principles

1. Established usage where it exists, deliberate original choices where it does not — given how young and thin Somali Christian doctrinal vocabulary still is (see Translation Landscape), this glossary follows existing Somali Bible precedent where a settled rendering exists (Ilaah, Ciise Masiixa, Ruuxa Quduuska ah) and makes documented, reasoned choices where it does not (e.g. Diray rather than Rasuul).
2. Explicit naming, not silent avoidance — every Critical-risk term records the specific Islamic, Sufi, or clan-social claim it stands in tension with (see alternatives_rejected and notes), so a translator or reviewer understands why softening the term would misrepresent the source text.
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 (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, including the clan-identity and physical-safety risks that distinguish this Language Package from every other Language Package in this pipeline.