英语言环境下“会议”概念的梳理
“会议”是会展学的重要研究对象，不但在中国学术界存在争议，而且在国际上也存在争议。罗杰斯（Tony Rogers）指出，会议业还缺乏公认和准确定义的行业术语，西方国家表达“会议”概念的词汇很多，有的可以通用，有的不能通用，有的在美国可以通用，在英国却不可以通用，因此尽量减少行业术语可能存在的概念混淆是十分关键和紧迫的任务。（[英]罗杰斯（Tony Rogers）著. 王小石译. 会议业：一个全球化产业（第3版）[M]. 北京: 中国旅游出版社, 2015: 23.）
在英文表述中，可以翻译成“会议”的单词多达十个以上：meeting，conference，convention，congress，assembly，summit，symposium，forum，seminar，workshop，clinic，panel等，这些词之间是什么关系？哪个词是表达一般意义上“会议”概念的词？本文根据牛津辞典、美国会议产业理事会（CIC）的《国际会议行业词典》和国际专业会议组织者协会（IAPCO）的《会议产业术语词典》，对其中“会议”义项的单词进行了整理，以飨读者。
牛津词典中收录的“会议”单词义项如表1所示：
表1 牛津词典收录“会议”主要词汇义项表
|
单词 |
义项 |
|
meeting |
1) an occasion when people come together to discuss or decide sth会议、集会 2) a situation in which two or more people meet together, because they have arranged it or by chance会面、集会、集合 3) (BrE) a sports event or set of races, especially for horses运动会、尤指赛马 |
|
conference |
1) a large official meeting, usually lasting for a few days, at which people with the same work or interests come together to discuss their views（通常持续几天的大型正式）会议、研讨会 2) a meeting at which people have formal discussions（正式）讨论会、商讨会 3) (especially NAmE) a group of sports teams that play against each other in league体育协会（或联合会） |
|
convention |
1) a large meeting of the members of a profession, a political party, etc. （某职业、政党等成员的）大会，集会 2) an official agreement between countries or leaders（国家或首脑间）公约，协定，协议 |
|
congress |
1) a large formal meeting or series of meetings where representatives from different groups discuss ideas, make decisions, etc代表大会 2) Congress (in the US and some other countries) the name of the group of people who are elected to make laws, in the US consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives（美国及其他一些国家的）国会，议会 |
|
assembly |
1) a group of people who have been elected to meet together regularly and make decisions or laws for a particular region or country立法机构，会议，议会 2) the meeting together of a group of people for a particular purpose集会 3) a meeting of the teachers and students in a school, usually at the start of the day, to give information, discuss school events or say prayers together（全校师生的）晨会，朝会 |
|
summit |
an official meeting or series of meetings between the leaders of two or more governments at which they discuss important matters首脑会议，峰会 |
|
symposium |
a meeting at which experts have discussions about a particular subject; a small conference专题研讨会；研讨会；小型讨论会 |
|
forum |
a place where people can exchange opinions and ideas on a particular issue; a meeting organized for this purpose公共讨论场所；论坛；讨论会 |
|
seminar |
1) a class at a university or college when a small group of students and a teacher discuss or study a particular topic（大学教师带领学生做专题讨论的）研讨课 2) a meeting for discussion or training研讨会，培训会 |
|
workshop |
a period of discussion and practical work on a particular subject, in which a group of people share their knowledge and experience研讨会，讲习会 |
|
clinic |
an occasion at which a professional person, especially a sportsman or sportswoman gives advice and training（尤指运动员举办的）讲习班，培训班，研习班 |
|
panel |
a group of specialists who give their advice or opinion about something; a group of people who discuss topics of interest on television or radio专家咨询组；（广播电视上的）讨论小组 |
来源：(英)霍恩比等著, 王玉章等译. 牛津高阶英汉双解词典(第7版)[Z]. 北京:商务印书馆, 香港: 牛津大学出版社（中国）有限公司. 2009；牛津词典在线http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
从表1所列词汇义项来看，这些概念中除了workshop、clinic和panel这几个表示小型的研讨会、讲习会、培训会、咨询会等深度交流的会议没有用meeting来解释之外，其他概念都用meeting来解释，这说明meeting是个一般性概念，是上位概念。meeting 有三个义项：一是人们聚集讨论或决策事情，即会议；二是二人以上偶然会面或有组织的会面，即“会面”或“集会”；三是赛马会或运动会。conference是大型正式会议（a large official meeting）或有正式讨论的会议（a meeting at which people have formal discussions）；convention是某职业或政党的大会；congress是代表大会；assembly是立法会议或有目的的集会；summit是政府峰会；symposium是研讨会或小型研讨会；forum是公开讨论的论坛；seminar是研讨会或培训会。其中，meeting的外延最大，包括有目的的集会和偶然的相遇或聚集，可以指会议，也可以指非会议的集会，包括运动会、赛马会等体育活动。
美国会议产业理事会（CIC）的《国际会议行业词典》和国际专业会议组织者协会（IAPCO）的《会议产业术语词典》中对于“会议”的表述，见下一篇。
本文选编自拙著《会议运营管理》，重庆大学出版社，将于2016年3月出版。
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