Specialised terminology dictionaries in the Valle de la Lengua Data Space
USE CASE
A multi-sectoral repository that takes specialised terminology from international reference sources — established in English — and translates it into the eight major varieties of Spanish, using real speech to document how each concept is referred to in medicine, law, technology and the environment.
One concept, one international standard.
Eight ways to refer to it in Spanish.
Specialist terminology worldwide is established in English: organisations such as the WHO, the IEEE and the ISO define the concept and its standard term. When that term is translated into Spanish, the major reference sources offer a single equivalent.
But the same concept is not referred to in the same way in Mexico, Chile, the Caribbean or Spain. That final stage — from the standardised term to the word actually used in each variety — is not documented by any international resource. And that is where this repository comes in.
"Influenza" in the textbook.
And in the doctor’s surgery?
Flu, the flu, a cold – depending on who you ask.
This is what the Valle de la Lengua Data Space repository documents: from the technical reference term to the word that is actually used in each variety of Spanish.
+500M
native Spanish speakers around the world
8
documented dialectal macro-varieties
4
specialist sectors covered
+300
terms collected and documented
WHAT IS IT?
From the international standard
to spoken Spanish
The repository is based on standardised specialist terminology — as established in English by organisations such as the WHO, the IEEE and the ISO — and, for each concept, documents the variants actually used across the eight macro-varieties of Spanish. It covers four sectors: medicine, technology, law and the environment.
The difference from these standards lies not in the concept itself—which is respected—but in the final stage: whereas an international resource offers a single Spanish equivalent, this repository compiles the living forms used in each variety, with examples from real-life conversation cross-referenced against the most authoritative lexicographical sources.
Example entry · Medicine
Ultrasound scan
Spain – Southern Cone ultrasound scan
Mexico ultrasound
Caribbean sonogram
Reference SNOMED CT · ICD-11
WHY IT MATTERS
Five gaps that no
international mechanism can address
MeSH, SNOMED CT, ICD-11, the IEEE and ISO glossaries, Black’s Law Dictionary, IATE and the IPCC glossaries are high-quality resources. However, they share five structural limitations that cannot be remedied by making incremental improvements, as these limitations stem from decisions made with other purposes in mind.
They stop at a single equivalence
They define the concept in English and provide a single term in Spanish, without including the actual terms used in each variety.
They treat Spanish as a uniform
They do not document how vocabulary varies between Mexico, Chile, the Caribbean and Spain.
They rely solely on what is written
None of them record the term used by the doctor or lawyer when speaking, which does not always match that used in the official document.
They do not show actual usage
They provide definitions, but no contextualised examples indicating who uses each variant and in what register.
They have a geographical bias
Strictly speaking, several of these are peninsular or institutional variants that under-represent the Spanish spoken in the Americas.
The repository completes that section
It adheres to the concept of the international standard and adds what is missing: the actual names used for each variety.
What makes it different
Four decisions that make
all the difference
Applications
From professional consultancy to
AI training
Direct use
A searchable resource that improves the quality and consistency of specialist work across different regions.
- Specialist translation and software localisation
- Technical writing and document standardisation
- Training for healthcare and legal professionals
- Communication between public authorities and citizens from different backgrounds
Track 1 · Public service and the profession
Infrastructure for language models
Structured terminology is clean, verified training data with controlled dialectal coverage.
- Fine-tuning models for specialised domains
- Retrieval and generation (RAG) systems
- Ontologies for semantic reasoning
- Correcting the dialectal asymmetry of current models
Track 2 · Artificial intelligence
Scope
Four sectors, one
contribution
For each sector, the repository aligns with the international standard and adds the layer that none of them cover.
Medicine and health
Reference
MeSH · SNOMED CT · ICD-11
Contributes
Real-world clinical variants by type and oral record
Engineering and technology
Reference
Glossaries: IEEE 610 · ISO/IEC 24765
Contributes
A list of Anglicisms and country-specific adaptations
Law and legislation
Reference
Black’s Law Dictionary · IATE
Contributes
Equivalents in Spanish-speaking legal systems
Natural sciences and the environment
Reference
IPCC AR6 Glossary · UNEP
Contributes
Environmental and risk terminology by region
Trust
Methodological rigour and
institutional support
The repository draws on sources of the highest authority and is based on the San Millán Corpus of Spoken Spanish. It is managed and maintained by the Foundation for the Transformation of La Rioja, which determines its scope and the terms of access.
Standards define the concept. This
repository recovers the Spanish that
truly captures its essence
From the single technical term to the eight vivid ways of expressing it. That is the section we are beginning to document.