The Department of Scientific Terminology and Traslating Dictionaries

In 1921 according to the resolution of Georgian SSR government the State Scientific Board was founded at the Public Commissariat of Education. The board had to arrange terminological problems along with other ones. Ivane Javakhishvili headed the board. The goal of the terminological department was to work on terminological vocabulary material of different branches, to elaborate main methodological principles, to change relationship with foreign words.
In 1925 the scientific board was changed into Central Scientific Terminological Committee headed by Vukol Beridze.
According to the main branches of sciences and technology the Central Scientific Terminological Committee consisted of the following sections: social science, language and literature, physics and mathematics, technical, biological sciences, pedagogical art. A large number of specialists of different branches took part in the work of the committee: A. Janelidze, N. Muskhelishvili, A. Didebulidze, A. Benashvili, A. Kharadze, G. Gedevanisvili, V. Qipshidze, V. Kupradze and others.
In 1932-1936 Arnold Chikobava was a scientific secretary of the committee. The central scientific terminological committee has elaborated regulations on writing out and collecting materials. The dictionaries compiled by the committee at that time were compiled according to these regulations.
In 1936 the committee was changed into scientific terminology department of the Institute of Language, History and Material Culture of the Georgian branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1939 the department was joined to the lexicology department headed by Varlam Topuria.
In 1941 since foundation of the Academy of Sciences scientific terminological department together with lexicology department entered in the member of the Institute of Linguistics.
In 1943 the scientific terminology department was separated from the lexicology department. Vukol Beridze headed the department.
Linguists worked on the terminological dictionary and specialists of different branches were invited to elaborate terminology of this or that branch.
Two cumulative dictionaries published by the Institute of Linguistics were prepared at the terminological department- Terminology of Agriculture (1959) and Technical Termilnology (1957 and 1977).
Terminological dictionaries of trade, economics, science of commodities, zoology, silicates, chemistry and technology, polygraphy, oil industry, light-technical construction, soil sciences, techniques were published.
Since 1954 up today the followings headed the department: Doctor of Phil. Sci. R. Gambashidze, N.Kemertelidze, Inga Jibuti. In different period of time the following collaborators worked at the department: S. Iordanishvili, P.Khubutia, T.Kikodze, R.Chubinashvili, E.Kavtaradze, L.Nadareishvili, L.Kaishauri, G.Sikharulidze, A.Oniani, D.Abuladze, N.Jalabadze, L.Beriashvili, M.Osadze, N.Muzashvili, N.Dateshidze, M.Jandagashvili, N.Kemertelidze, T.Katsitadze, L.Chelidze, R.Chkhenkeli.
The following scientific workers defended their doctor and candidate dissertations: L.Gelenidze – ‘Vocabulary connected with anatomy and phisiology of a human-being in old Georgian’ (Tb.,1971), T.Salaridze – ‘Kartlian of the Algeti gorge’ (Tb.,1974), R.Chkhenkeli – ‘Georgian folk building vocabulary as a basis for scientific terminology of the same branch’ (Tb.,1988), M.Osidze – ‘Problems of morphological formation of original foreign terms denoting quality in the Georgian scientific terminology’ (Tb.,1988), N.Kemertelidze – ‘Lingo-ephitetic mechanism of the predicative mechanism’ (Tb., 1995), N.Muzashvili – ‘Denominative verbs in Old Georgian’ (1993), R.Gambashidze – ‘Georgian linguistic terminology and main principles of its compiling’. Also she published ‘Dictionary of the Ingilio sub-dialect of Georgian’ (1988).
In parallels with lexicographic work the terminological department carried out consultations viz. the department has been giving consultation to institutions and private persons in fixing corresponding terms of new conceptions and defining already elaborated terms. Hundreds and thousands of terms are represented for discussion through such rules at the department. Collaborators of the department do not have to find and create not only exact Georgian correspondences of separate terms but they have to translate different texts (state or republic standards, different business papers, forms and other kinds of documentation) into Georgian.
Collaborators of the terminology department took part in institute, republic, international and other scientific sessions and conferences.
In 2006 the scientific terminological department was joined to the translating dictionaries department which was founded in 1957 in the initiative of the director of the Institute of Linguistics Ketevan Lomtatidze. The aim of the department was to train specialists in translating lexicography and to compile bi-lingual dictionaries. Firstly the department consisted of nine collaborators: Nino Saqvarelidze, Rusudan Gagua, Nino Vachnadze, Lia Kaishauri, Mariam Nedospasova, Latavra Gvaladze, Maka Dgebuadze, Mzia Mrevlishvili, Aleksandre Kobakhidze.
The collaborators of the newly-formed department began to correct the 2nd and the 3rd volumes of the Russian-Georgian dictionary (the 2nd volume of the dictionary was published in 1958, the 3rd one – in 1959). After this the following long-term work of the department was planned.
The department had to elaborate and compile one-volume Russian-Georgian Dictionary (50 000 words approx.) on the basis of three-volume Russian-Georgian dictionary. Editorial staff of one-volume Russian-Georgian dictionary: Acad K. Lomtatidze (a head of an editorial-staff), Candidates of Philological Sciences: R. Gagua, N. Vachnadze, L. Kaishauri, M. Mrevlishvili, N. Saqvarelidze. A scientific board of the institute discussed and proved instruction of compiling the dictionary.
The department worked on compiling illustrative funds of Russian-Georgian and Georgian-Russian dictionaries. The material of these funds is written out from: a) the works of Russian writers and Georgian translation of these works and b) the works of Georgian writers and Russian translation of these works. The department inversively wrote out three-volume Russian-Georgian dictionary published by the Tbilisi University in 1937 on separate cards. In 1976 the dictionary was given to the publishing house of the “Sabchota Sakartvelo”. But for subjective and objective reasons the dictionary was published in 1983.

After compiling the one-volume Russian-Georgian dictionary the department began preparation for compiling Georgian-Russian dictionary. The following members of the group had to compile the dictionary: N. Vachnadze, N. Gvaramadze, L. Kaishauri, A. Kobakhidze, Ts. Lortkipanidze, N. Mirianashvili, M. Mrevlishvili, N. Saqvarelidze, L. Shabalina. A scientific board of the institute discussed and proved instruction of compiling the dictionary. Along with compiling the Georgian-Russian dictionary the department prepared comprehensive Russian-Georgian dictionary.
In parallel with translating activity the collaborators of the department N. Vachnadze and N. Mirianashvili published monographs: N. Vachnadze “Means of translating some Russian preverbal verbs into Georgian” (according to “Russian-Georgian Dictionary”), N. Mirianashvili “Vocabulary denoting colours in Georgian and Russian” (1980).

In 2009 Doctor of Philological Sciences Lia Karosanidze was voted as a head of the department of the scientific terminology and translating dictionaries.
In 2009, October the following scientific workers were voted:

Chief scientific worker:
Natela Muzashvili

Senior scientific workers:
Marine Osadze
Maia Abalaki