Conoscenza e terminologia nella comunicazione d’impresa

Within technical-scientific domains terminology has the function of representing and communicating specialized knowledge with precision and consistency. But the use of terms is also influenced by the different situations and communicative purposes which coexist in the same specialized domain. An effective terminology management has to take into consideration the tension between the need to regulate the use of terms and the need to provide information on possible variations and irregularities, as these can be functional to knowledge and communicative purposes. Here the application of terminological theories to the complex reality of business communication is considered from the point of view of linguistics and terminology, with special focus on knowledge management and the way in which it is conceived and organized both in terminological and business practices. The centrality of knowledge management and its principles bridge the two domains and allow an interpretation of terminology not simply as instrumental to business communication but as an integral part of business management.