Methods and Aims - (Re)Conceptualising LSP Research
Today, the characteristics of LSP and specialized discourse are seen as increasingly interesting not only by scholars working in the traditional fields of LSP like terminology and genre studies, but also by scholars in other fields like sociology, psychology and communication studies.

This widening of the range of scholars studying specialized discourse makes it relevant to set up a contemporary map of the field. And as we see it as one of the central characteristics of studies of specialized discourse that they are driven by problems of the investigated discourse communities rather than mere theoretical concerns, we want the methods and aims behind the studies presented in Aarhus (and thus of LSP studies in general) to be a central concern of the conference.

The following questions are examples of possible perspectives with relevance for mapping the purposes of LSP research:

• What kinds of problems do we intend to solve (inefficiency of work processes, lack of understanding in specific situations, lack of knowledge about conventions, social problems, …)?
• What discipline or disciplines are we focusing upon (law, medicine, business, engineering, …)?
• What research communities do we intend to contribute to (linguistics, sociology, communication, computer science, cognition, law, economics, applied linguistics, didactics, …)?
• What relations are there between the chosen research community and the chosen methodology? Why do we choose to use specific methods (qualitative, quantitative, interpretative, form orientation vs. content orientation, …) in our research?
• What types of knowledge are we trying to achieve (knowledge about social structures, about language, about power, about cognitive characteristics, ...)?

We would like you to discuss these or similar questions in your contribution, so that one of the outcomes of the Aarhus symposium would be a map of the methods and aims currently driving the study of specialized language and discourse.


Further information
Conference secretariat
lsp2009@asb.dk