After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many professions that were previously considered criminal became something commonplace. In order to brighten up the negative connotation that they acquired over the years of the underground, they began to be given new names. So, yesterday's speculators became private entrepreneurs, and underground brokers began to be called the beautiful foreign word Realtor. Let's find out what kind of profession it is and how to write: “realtor” or “realtor”. And also consider the history of the appearance of this term.
What profession is called a "realtor" (or "realtor")
In the expanses of the former Soviet Union, these nouns are usually referred to as individual entrepreneurs or even entire firms specializing in transactions for the purchase, sale or exchange of real estate.
In the Russian Federation, until 2002, every realtor (or realtor) was required to obtain a license from the state in order to be able to work. However, today this is not a prerequisite for the provision of services of this kind.
It is worth noting that, although this profession has officially existed in the post-Soviet space for more than twenty years, there is still no official educational institution that trains specialists of this profile. The maximum that a person who decides to master the specialty of a real estate agent can count on is paid private courses.
Why Not Every Real Estate Agent Can Be Called Realtor
Although almost every specialist in real estate transactions proudly calls himself a realtor (or realtor), in fact, most of them do not have the right to be so called.
The fact is that since 1916, the term Realtor has been a registered trademark of the National Association of Real Estate Boards. This noun was introduced in the same year to distinguish members of this organization from ordinary real estate dealers. By the way, it is for this reason that this word is always written with a capital letter in English, as if it were a proper noun.
Despite the fact that more than a hundred years have passed, and today the leadership of NAREB stands guard over the abuse of the word Realtor and often sues those who call themselves this term without their permission. However, foreigners who do not conduct business with the United States are usually not in danger for the unauthorized use of this name.
Origin of the word in question
Having defined the meaning of the term "realtor" (or "realtor"), it is worth knowing its etymology. It was all formed in the same 1916 as an abbreviated form of the phrase: real estate agent (real estate agent). And since then it began to be used in the USA, and then it was borrowed by other languages, including Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian.
What are the options for writing the noun Realtor in Russian
Over the years of the official existence of this profession, there have been many disputes between linguists over the writing of the term in question. The question was not only how to correctly: “realtor” or “realtor”. But what letter should be in the last syllable - "o" or "e". Therefore, sometimes you can find such a way of writing: "realtor" or "realtor."
Why did the option with the letter “e” appear in the last syllable, because in the English original there is the letter “o”. The point is the pronunciation of the term: [ri: əltɚ]. The sound [ɚ] in its sound is quite close to Russian [e], therefore, some linguists believe that it would be more correct to write this noun as it is pronounced in the original: "realtor" or "realtor".
In some editions, options with "e" are given. For example, in the Great Dictionary of Foreign Words and the Universal Business Dictionary (Lozovsky, Reisberg and Ratnovsky) the word “realtor” is used.
Despite the fact that this writing method has a right to exist, most eminent linguists believe that it will be more accurate to write with the letter “o” in the last syllable, similar to the way this term looks in the original so as not to confuse Russian-speaking citizens.
As it is written: "realtor" or "realtor"
If the question, what vowel should be written in the last syllable of the word in question, the overwhelming majority of linguists are unanimous, then there are disputes about the third letter in this term.
For example, in the “Practical Market Economy” (Novikov), the “realtor” method is recommended.
The real point in this dispute was put by the Russian Language Institute. Vinogradov in 2006. It was in their "Russian Spelling Dictionary" that the only spelling of the term in question was correct at the moment: "realtor." And although some publications still sometimes use the options "realtor", "realtor" or "realtor" (the latter is considered correct even from the point of view of the Word text editor) - all of these methods are wrong.
The only true option "realtor" was chosen by analogy with other terms of foreign origin with the letter "e" after the vowel "and". In other words, the spelling “realtor” belongs to the same category as “patient”, “sharp”, “diet”, “entrant” and the like.