Terms related to natural language processing · 3.6.5
machine translation
a task that automatically turns text or speech from one natural language into another with a computer system
What this term settles
The term looks ordinary until two teams use it differently. The entry removes that room by naming the thing, its inputs and its limits in one sentence.
Who it binds
The clause does not instruct anyone. It settles what machine translation means so that an instruction written elsewhere can be read the same way by both sides.
What to do in your practice
Use the entry as a test in the next review. Ask the owner to point at the artefact that shows machine translation in this sense, then record the answer with a date.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for machine translation with the citation 3.6.5, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that the term is controlled rather than assumed.
- A product description that names the language task and the input and output it handles.Shows machine translation in use in the artefact the firm relies on, not only in a glossary.
- An evaluation set with the language, the domain and the scoring rule.The product description mixes the task with the model, so a change of model reads as a change of task.
Common gaps this page catches
- machine translation is used in the language task in the product description without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- The term appears in a template with no citation, so the reader cannot tell which sense was intended.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Add the entry to the register, give it an owner and a review date, and test it against one live artefact this week. The test is the evidence; the register row alone is not.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where machine translation is used, and put this page beside it. Record the answer, the artefact and the date, because that record is the evidence and a glossary entry on its own is only an intention.
What this page does not claim
The page does not reproduce the standard, certify the firm or predict the wording the amendment will use; it states machine translation at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does machine translation mean in ISO 22989?
- a task that automatically turns text or speech from one natural language into another with a computer system
- What evidence should we keep for 3.6.5?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for machine translation with the citation 3.6.5, an owner and a review date. A product description that names the language task and the input and output it handles.
- Is machine translation a requirement?
- No: machine translation is a definition or clause of a terminology standard, and it becomes binding only when a firm writes it into a policy, a contract or a procedure, or when another standard incorporates it.
Related units
Source. ISO/IEC 22989:2022, Clause 3.6.5, Terms and definitions. Open the ISO public entry. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/#iso:std:iso-iec:22989:ed-1:v1:en
ISO catalogue record 88145, the amendment status, stage and dates. Catalogue record 74296, the base standard.
Claim level: definition. The definition is in the public preview. This page states it in our own words and does not reproduce the text.
Last updated: 2026-10-21 · Markdown version · Check your vocabulary