Special languages vs. languages for special purposes: What’s in a name?

The approaches to the study of Languages for Special Purposes (LSP) stem from different scientific traditions and research interests. The naming of the research object mirrors different perspectives and might seem quite confusing. Actually, the metalanguage used in several languages reveals at least the existence of two parallel views: one that is more concerned with lexical and morphosyntactic variations based on domain restrictions; the other more discourse-oriented and focused on users’ communicative purposes. This article, by comparing the approaches to Italian and English, attempts to explain this scientific divergence in terms of (a) a different professional and scientific interest in the language(s) under scrutiny—that is, English and/or other languages—and (b) the crucial impact that Swales’ (1990) notion of discourse community has had on the definition of the discipline in relation to English language and the development of research in ESP (English for Special Purposes).