English-Georgian Explanatory Dictionary of Tourism Terms

Avtandil Arabuli, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor

One of the main problems to develop any branch of economy is entire terminology and bases of understanding these notions that from it`s side bases on right and unique explanations of terms and syntagma.

Today Georgian tourism experiences objective difficulties, though its state recognition and industrial aim of development can be considered as a done fact. Beside the other factors, the development of Georgia`s tourism highly depends on elaborating entire, combined with English terms and definitions. To elaborate the policy that guarantees stable development of tourism improved information is too important such as in international also in Georgia`s tourism branch. Volume of information about tourism industry has considerably risen in the whole world during the last years, significant rise is in computerized systems of tourism sphere documentation and accordingly has raised demand on accessibility of information.
To work up common language for different factors in existing tourism sphere in Georgia and at the international level, for the support of getting and exchanging datas was there was an aim to create the bilingual explanatory dictionary.
In Georgia and on the interbational level for working out the common language for different factors of existing tourism sphere, for getting and changing data, it was planned to create a billingual explanatory dictionary. While working on original and translated text-books the author of the dictionary Manana Metrevely had experienced herself terminological difficulties provoked by absence of such dictionary. She hopes that this dictionary will ease future works of her colleagues.
Exactly, due to the above mentioned and conformable to the world experience, after close collaboration of Georgian and foreigner specialists was prepared an English-Georgian explanatory dictionary of tourism terms.
It`s worth to be mentioned that the work as explanatory dictionary of tourism is the first publication of this type and there is no thematic analogue of this one abroad. In the same time the author has aimed the work to be checked up and renewed periodically with the aim to be reflected unavoidable evolution in tourism terminology in the dictionary and to be elaborated Georgian terminology of tourism.
The work unites almost every sphere of economic terms that directly or indirectly refers to tourism and exactly this makes difference between it and existing dictionaries. The author admits that this universal and specific synthesis of approach supports tourism to be completely performed as interbranch complex. Here, tourism is performed not as separate (autonomous) branch, but as a semantic axis which consolidates several semantic fields. This gives us ability to be appreciated each element`s value by wide vocabulary. This kind of approach to tourism phenomena makes possible tourism business terms to be selected from such spheres as: insurance, transportation, exhibitions and fairs, entertainments (attraction and animation), nourishment, science and information, traveling, geography (countries and groups of countries), medical service, cultural and natural monuments, sort of sports, professions of tourism, trainings and employment, tourism industry, tourism infrastructure, tourism service, tourism arrangements, tourism sectors, tourism sphere ecology, tourism sphere economy, tourism sphere legislation, tourism sphere policy, tourism advertisement, promotion and so on.
As we above mentioned the work is based on modern works and dictionaries about tourism that were published in foreign countries last years. Fast evolution of tourism branch causes necessity for tourism terms to be interpreted more exactly and their corresponding changes, it was foreseen by the author while working.
The methodology used for making dictionary aims avoiding automatic translation of Georgian terms or using them directly. That`s why definitions often were changed according to time and features of our country, but the author even in these cases tried bases of every terms to be definitions adopted by the World Tourism Organization. It`s worth to be mentioned that in more cases natural polysemies of several lexical unites are performed only by specific aspect, or by means of tourism. The dictionary is made as for professionals of tourism sphere also for non- professionals, everybody can use it who is interested in tourism and traveling.
In general, the main difficulty while creating language for specific sphere is to determine quantity of information. Words and phrases that make the language of the branch must go in this quantity. There are following questions about tourism:
– Do we have to adopt tighter but sharper conception of tourism, which excludes everything unspecific toward this activity?
– Or wider conception of tourism must be adopted, where such spheres as economy, inheritance, culture, sociology, law, policy and so on will be integrated with tourism? (tight determination of tourism will stay as one of the “aspects“ or “rubric“ beside different kind of activities).
This problem is less painful in specialized and technical spheres because in such cases outlines of branches are easier to be determined and because of it there is sharper terminological field. On the contrary, it`s more difficult to be determined outlines of tourism activity, as its aspects and branches connected with it are wider than the tourism sphere itself. In reality tourism is tightly connected with other social activities that have wider borders.
In spite of the fact that all kindred activities may not be important for this work, on the whole exactly they supply the meaning of modern tourism phenomena. Because of it the author while creating dictionary used not meaningless part of terms from above mentioned branches. For example, from economy there are used terms that are directly connected with both – tourism and economy too.
Terms are performed by nouns and syntagmas (with the combination of nouns and adverbs). Shortenings (abbreviations) are not used as descriptors because their explanations are given in separate enclosure.
Dictionary contains many composed terms that are part of tourism vocabulary and so it`s necessary to be in review of tourism different directions. Thus, These kind of terms in several (few) cases consists of three or more words and phrases. The rest of descriptions contain one or two words.
Every Georgian descriptor is in singular form except some exceptions. Gerunds are used to mark activities and processes and adjectives, adverbs and verbs as separate terms are performed seldom.
As it was said the dictionary contains about 7 000 terms and phrases, it is placed in English alphabetical order. Alphabetical list is the main element of the dictionary. Descriptors are shown by bold shift and are accompanied by linguistic equivalents and definitions. In necessary cases there are given list of descriptors connected with some terms. The descriptor that is put in the top of the group is a common term and is distinguished by the bold shift, for example:
Advertisement, ad – advertising announcement,
Consumer – advertisement for consumer,
Media – advertisement in mass media,
Selective – advertisement for distinct group of people;
The important part of the dictionary is performed by enclosures. Their meaning is determined not only by the information that reader may access while reading them but also it`ll help people who work for tour companies to make up routes, choose excursion, touristy object according to tourist`s demand, get in touch with ambassadorial or consulate, give competent advice and offer interesting service to the tourist. There are following sections in the enclosure:
1. Geography (countries and groups of countries);
2. Universal shortenings (abbreviations)
3. Constant working international touristy exhibitions;
4. Codes of cities and international airports;
5. Codes of airlines;
6. Local time in the capitals of world countries;
7. International telephone codes;
8. Currencies of world countries (with coins and ISO codes)
9. International public holidays;
10. International religious holidays
11. Georgian religious holidays
12. National Holidays
13. World hotels list (with websites)
14. Types of hotels services (with signs and pictograms)
15. International holidays, festivals, carnivals (with web-sites)
16. Ambassadorial of foreign states and representations of international organizations in Georgia (with addresses, telephone numbers and E-mails);
17. Diplomatic representations of Georgia abroad (with addresses, telephone numbers and E-mails);
18. Resorts of Georgia (with resources and medical factors);
19. Every religious construction in Tbilisi (each confession, with adresses)
20. Georgian architectural monuments by the towns and regions of Georgia (with administrative centre and distance from Tbilisi);
21. Correlation of clothes sizes;
22. List of measuring unites.