Any CGS member doing work in a non-English or non-French speaking country might be interested in the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering’s (ISSMGE’s) online and searchable Lexicon – a dictionary of 1,592 geotechnical terms in 14 different languages – available at www.issmge.org/lexicon. In addition to English and French, the languages include: Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Farsi (Persian), Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.
The current version has been recently updated from the online version that was first released in March 2013. Both of these versions draw heavily from the eight-language 1981 print version, which is still available for download from the ISSMGE website. Note, the current online lexicon is not downloadable.
As you would expect, there is a CGS connection to the Lexicon. The acknowledgements to the 1981 print version list the following contributors and their respective organizations, including the CGS and the Canadian National Research Council:
· Mr. J.I. Adams, Ontario Hydro and CGS President 1981-1982;
· Dr. H.Q. Golder, Golder Associates, Past Chair of the Lexicon Subcommittee;
· Dr. T.W. Klym, Ontario Hydro;
· Mr. B. Lewicki, Ontario Hydro;
· Mr. N.L. Mansson, Ontario Hydro;
· Mr. J.D. Morton, Morton and Partners.
The 1981 acknowledgements also state “…one thing is certain, without the work of the Canadians, and particularly Dr. H.Q. Golder and Mr. J.D. Morton, the Lexicon would not be seeing the light of day at this time.”