STATUS 1987 OF ISPRS-DICTIONARY 
Gerhard Lindig 
Institut für Angewandte Geodäsie 
Richard-Strauss-Allee 11, D-6000 Frankfurt 70 
Federal Republic of Germany 
Commission VI (Chairman Working Group VI-3) 
Introduction 
  
2. 
This report covers the period after the ISPRS Congress 1984 
in Rio de Janeiro. It must be viewed in conjunction with 
the WG Report /1/ submitted to the 1982 Symposium of Comm. 
VI in Mainz - "Mainz Paper" and with the WG Report /2/ pre- 
sented to the 1984 Congress in Rio = "Rio Paper" and is in- 
tended to update both these reports according to experien- 
ces gained in the last five years. 
The value and necessity of the 
Multilingual Dictionary 
for 
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 
(as the complete title is abbreviated for daily use to 
"ISPRS-Dictionary") need not be stressed further. But the 
deadlines indicated in the foregoing papers /1/, /2/ with 
respect to the completion of any phase of the work were too 
optimistic and could not be kept. It seems clear that such 
a major task needs time, especially with regard to the de- 
sired degree of reliability. The tremendous advantage of 
the conception presented in /1/ and /2/ allows slower or 
faster growth, depending on the resources available inclu- 
ding support and goodwill. The dictionary is not travelling 
"in convoy" where the slowest one dictates the Speed, but 
rather än a "rally". 
Status of: work 
  
2.1 History- 1980 - 1987 
At the 1980 Hamburg Congress, Wolf /3/ published a prelimi- 
nary glossary of about 3.000 English Terms (Entries and De- 
finitions) for which he asked for translation into French 
and German. However, nearly two useless years had passed 
under discouraging circumstances before the author expres- 
sed his readiness, at the 1982 Mainz Symposium, to take over 
the chairmanship of WG VI-3 "Terminologie" and a prelimi- 
nary conception could be proposed and accepted /1/. Its up- 
dated "Fundamental Principles" are repeated in Par. 3. At 
the same time a chief editor for the English Language Group 
(ELG) could finally be found in addition to the French one 
who had been active for some years already. 
In 1984 the American Society of Photogrammetry published 
(without giving notice sufficiently in advance) its 
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