36.2139, Calls: Lexis - Journal in English Lexicology - "Lexical Circulations between Specialised Discourse and General Language" (Jrnl)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-2139. Fri Jul 11 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.2139, Calls: Lexis - Journal in English Lexicology - "Lexical Circulations between Specialised Discourse and General Language" (Jrnl)

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Date: 10-Jul-2025
From: Denis Jamet-Coupé [denis.jamet at univ-lyon3.fr]
Subject: Lexis - Journal in English Lexicology - "Lexical Circulations between Specialised Discourse and General Language" (Jrnl)


Journal: Lexis - Journal in English Lexicology
Issue: Lexical Circulations between Specialised Discourse and General
Language
Call Deadline: 31-Oct-2025

Lexis – Journal in English Lexicology, a Scopus-indexed journal, will
publish its 27th issue in 2026. It will be edited by Evgueniya Lyu
(Université Grenoble Alpes, France), Caroline Peynaud (Université
Grenoble Alpes, France) and Inesa Sahakyan (Université Grenoble Alpes,
France) and will deal with the topic “Lexical Circulations between
Specialised Discourse and General Language”
CFP in English: https://journals.openedition.org/lexis/9823
AAC in French: https://journals.openedition.org/lexis/9821
Lexical Circulations between Specialised Discourse and General
Language
Terms, i.e. designations of concepts within fields of activity or
knowledge where they bear specific meanings, are by definition part of
specialised lexicon (Woodrow [2018: 43]). For a long time, they were
considered the sole markers distinguishing specialised discourse from
general language (Kocourek [1991]; Lerat [1995]), assuming that such a
distinction can be made at all (Cabré [2002]; Resche [2001a]).
According to the classical terminology theory, a term belongs to a
domain within which it maintains a bi-univocity relationship with the
concept it denotes. Yet, in many cases, this assumption does not hold
up when one examines the actual behaviour of terms in discourse.
Some types of specialised discourse, such as those in the social
sciences (history, psychology, or sociology), make limited use of
terms that are distinct from general language. Sub-technical and
semi-technical vocabulary, for instance, refers to general-language
words “commonly used in the discipline” (Woodrow [2018: 43]), though
they are not necessarily identified as true terms. Conversely, some
discourses include terms without being specialised themselves. Media
discourse, for example, frequently draws on terminology from various
specialised domains, such as medicine or economics, depending on
current events, without necessarily adopting the characteristics of
specialised discourse (Resche [2001a]). In addition, a number of terms
circulate into general language, especially through
determinologisation, a process whereby terms enter general usage,
sometimes with slight shifts in meaning (Meyer & Mackintosh [2000]).
Conversely, some may emerge from general language through processes,
such as “dictionarisation,” which reflects the need to bridge general
and specialised languages through glossaries and dictionaries (Van der
Yeught [2019]). Terms are, therefore, not static units: they move
across discourses, shift in meaning, and travel from specialised
language into general usage, or from one domain to another. This
movement raises the question of the often-blurred boundary between
general and specialised languages. This issue seeks to explore these
various forms of lexical circulation, both across specialised domains
and between specialised discourse and general language, along with the
impact of such exchanges on the degree of term specialisation,
particularly from a terminological or discourse analysis perspective.
Translation and interpreting offer rich ground for examining how
specialised vocabulary circulates between domains and between
specialised and general languages. Translation decisions often require
balancing fidelity to specialised meaning with the level of
specialisation appropriate to the target audience or discursive
context. These dynamics are even more acute in interpreting where
real-time constraints further complicate lexical choices: interpreters
must instantly recognise a term and assess the appropriate level of
technicality to convey. Hence, the challenge in translation or
interpreting is not only the selection of equivalent terms, but also
the contextual appropriateness of the lexical items used. As Cabré
[1999] and Gile [2009] emphasise, mastering terminology is not enough:
translators and interpreters must also be attuned to shifts in
meaning, reformulations, and lexical ambiguities that may arise as
terms move between general and specialised discourse.
This issue welcomes contributions that explore lexical issues related
to the circulation of terms between specialised and general discourse
in translation and interpreting. Topics may include
reterminologisation, whereby a term returns from general usage to its
original or a new specialised field (Resche [2001b: 130]), as well as
polysemy management, lexical adaptation in multilingual contexts,
boundaries between lexicology and terminology, the evolution of
terminologies, and strategies for translating technical terms
(borrowings, calques, functional equivalents). Contributors may also
address the oral/written divide, machine translation and AI-based
tools for handling specialised vocabulary (Ganet, Kübler &
Kloppmann-Lambert [2024]), and translator and interpreter training in
managing specialised vocabulary.
As for the teaching and learning of specialised vocabulary, while
there is broad consensus on the need for lexical mastery, several
pedagogical factors must be considered. Nation’s [2001] classification
of vocabulary by degree of “technicalness” is particularly helpful for
reflecting on how vocabulary circulates between general and
specialised discourse. This classification raises several pedagogical
and didactic questions. The first concerns when to introduce
specialised vocabulary into curricula. According to Basturkmen [2006],
cited in Coxhead [2013], two approaches exist: either introduce
specialised vocabulary at the beginning of instruction or wait until
learners have developed sufficient general vocabulary. A second issue
concerns the type of vocabulary to prioritise: should the focus be on
general vocabulary, on cross-disciplinary academic vocabulary, or on
strictly specialised terminology (Dudley-Evans & St John [2012])? A
third concern involves general-language words that take on specialised
meanings in specific contexts, and how best to teach them.
Once these parameters are taken into account, the question arises of
how to teach this vocabulary. In her introduction to Lexis issue 18 on
vocabulary teaching and learning, Hilton [2021] highlights the
pedagogical uncertainty in France around vocabulary instruction and
the near-total lack of robust methodology. This gap underscores the
continued relevance of Nation’s [2001] framework, which identifies
four strands of vocabulary learning activities: (1) meaning-focused
input, (2) meaning-focused output, (3) language-focused learning, and
(4) fluency development. Language-focused learning, which includes
explicit teaching of lexical features (meaning, spelling,
pronunciation), remains central in current practice. In this context,
learners may engage in tasks, such as compiling word lists, creating
glossaries, consulting databases and corpora, or completing exercises
(e.g., matching, gap-fill, classification tasks).
For this issue of Lexis, we welcome submissions on, but not limited
to, the following themes:
Axis 1: Specialised Discourse Analysis and Specialised Vocabulary
 - corpora and databases: tools for the lexicological analysis of
specialised discourses
 - neologisms and neonyms: identification and analysis
 - the role of metaphors and analogies in building specialised
vocabulary
 - diachronic approaches: emergence of specialised varieties,
dictionarisation, evolution or obsolescence of terms
 - vocabulary as a communicative strategy: intentional opacity
(jargon, slang)
Axis 2: Translation and Interpreting
 - terminology and lexicology: boundaries and overlaps
 - machine translation and specialised lexicon management
 - strategies for translating and interpreting specialised vocabulary
(borrowing, calque, adaptation, etc.)
 - training translators and interpreters to handle specialised
vocabulary
Axis 3: Teaching and Learning Specialised Vocabulary in LANSAD and/or
LEA
 - types of vocabulary to teach in specialised varieties of English
 - pedagogical approaches to teaching specialised vocabulary
 - relevance of teaching specialised vocabulary through translation
For a complete list of references, please visit the journal website.
How to Submit:
Please clearly indicate the title of the paper and include an abstract
between 3,000 and 6,000 characters (including spaces) as well as a
list of relevant key-words and references. All abstract and paper
submissions will be anonymously peer-reviewed (double-blind peer
reviewing) by an international scientific committee composed of
specialists in their fields. Papers will be written preferably in
English or occasionally in French.
Manuscripts may be rejected, accepted subject to revision, or accepted
as such. There is no limit to the number of pages.
Submissions (abstracts and articles, in Word document) will be
submitted via the journal’s submission platform. If you encounter any
problem, please send a message to Lexis.
Deadlines:
July 2025: Call for papers
October 31 2025: Deadline for submitting abstracts to Lexis via the
journal’s submission platform
January 2026: Evaluation Committee’s decisions notified to authors
May 30 2026: Deadline for submitting papers via the journal’s
submission platform (Guidelines for submitting articles:
https://journals.openedition.org/lexis/1000
May and June 2026: Proofreading of papers by the Evaluation committee
July to September 2026: Authors’ corrections
September 30 2026: Deadline for sending in final versions of papers

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
                     Morphology
                     Semantics
                     Text/Corpus Linguistics
                     Translation

Subject Language(s): English (eng)




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