Translation capability for language processing determines an existence of an abbreviation, followed by non-exact matching to map the abbreviation to the original full term. A received string in a source language is provided as input to a translation service. Translation proposals in a different target language are received back. A ruleset (considering factors, e.g., camel case format, the presence of a concluding period, and/or consecutive consonants) is applied to generate abbreviation candidates from the translation proposals. Non-exact matching (referencing e.g., a comparison metric) may then be used to map the abbreviation candidates to text strings of their original full terms. A mapping of the abbreviation to the text string of the original full term is stored in a translation database comprising linguistic data. Embodiments leverage existing resources (e.g., translation service, non-exact matching) to reduce effort and expense of accurately identifying abbreviations and then mapping them to their full original terms.