# Source & target terms

> How to manage multilingual terms, culture guidelines, and approval workflows.

**Category:** Terminology | **Tab:** features

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Every concept in Black Ice has one or more **terms** — the actual words used in specific languages and markets. Terms are the human-facing layer of your ontology.

## Source vs. target terms

**Source term** — The canonical term in your workspace's source locale (typically English). This is the reference that all translations are based on. Each concept has exactly one source term.

**Target term** — A translation of the concept in another locale. Each concept can have multiple target terms, one per locale.

## Term fields

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| **Preferred term** | The approved translation (e.g., "Editor MIDI" in French) |
| **Allowed variants** | Acceptable alternatives (e.g., "Éditeur MIDI") |
| **Forbidden variants** | Explicitly blocked alternatives (e.g., "MIDI Éditeur") |
| **Usage context (start)** | How the term appears at the start of a sentence (target terms only) |
| **Usage context (mid)** | How the term appears mid-sentence (target terms only) |
| **Notes** | Internal notes for translators or reviewers |
| **Status** | Approval status: Pending, Approved, or Rejected |
| **Market availability** | Whether this term is available, restricted, or unavailable in specific markets |

## Variants

Variants provide governance beyond the preferred term:

- **Allowed variants** are acceptable alternatives that won't trigger errors in quality checks
- **Forbidden variants** are explicitly wrong — useful for catching common mistranslations or outdated terms

## Status workflow

Terms follow a simple status workflow:

1. **Pending** — Newly created, awaiting review
2. **Approved** — Reviewed and accepted by a stakeholder
3. **Rejected** — Reviewed and declined, with comments explaining why

Status can be changed manually or through the [approval workflow](/docs/features/approval-workflows).

## Adding terms

Open any concept and scroll to the **Terms** section:

1. The source term is pre-filled from the concept name
2. Click **Add Target Term** to create a translation
3. Select the target locale
4. Fill in the preferred term and any variants
5. Save — the term is created with "Pending" status by default