IMPORTANCE OF THE TRANSLATION QUALITY OF MULTILINGUAL MENUS IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Direct contact with a guest is realized verbally for which tourist workers' knowledge of foreign languages is necessary. Apart from the verbal contact with employees, menus in hospitability facilities still serve the purpose of a business card that with its design, print, size, food and facility information, and multilingualism is a symbol of restaurant's identity and theme. By analyzing the available research, direct and indirect consequences of unprofessional translations are apparent, resulting in the incomprehensible text of a restaurant offer. Objective: In this paper the author will make a review of available literature with the aim to investigate in systematical way the existent researches dealing with the issues of quality menu translations as well as the most common present translation strategies for translating such professional texts. Material and methods: A range of methods is available for synthesizing diverse forms of evidence. These include thematic analysis, grounded theory and qualitative comparative analysis. Methods vary in their strengths and weaknesses, ability to deal with qualitative and quantitative forms of evidence, and type of question for which they are most suitable. Results and conclusion: After a systematic analysis of the previously mentioned issues through available literature, the authors' conclusion is that the menu status should be determined as a text for special purpose dedicated to the specific target group of guests - tourists. The menu language needs to be adjusted in a clear and simple way keeping the characteristics and style of food in informative function on a foreign language.