I'm using multilingual feature in D7.
Let's say...I have a word 'standard' that I like to use in other languages.
Where do I put the word and how do I load it in my templates?
You can set the translations for each specified language in the strings settings part of the internationalization module: /admin/config/regional/i18n_translation
To show it in a template file you simply use the t() function to wrap your text - which translates text for you and automatically adds new text defined in the t() function to the strings page.
See http://api.drupal.org/api/drupal/includes--bootstrap.inc/function/t/7
If you are hardcoding links with your text you can use l(), so if you have say a text link and want the text to be translated you would use l() and in it define your text using t() - something like this: http://api.drupal.org/api/drupal/includes--bootstrap.inc/function/t/7
See http://api.drupal.org/api/drupal/includes--common.inc/function/l/7 for its usage.