French for Specific Purposes – 

Applicable, Omnipresent, Up To Date

Our second symposium on French for Specific Purposes is dedicated to the topicality of the field, the omnipresence of languages for specific purposes (LSP) as well as their application and applicability.

LSP research is a topical field, its relevance nowadays being at least as high as it was ten or twenty years ago. This is true for LSP research on English, but also for that on French. In the course of the digital revolution, the need for LSP use and the adaptation of French to the fast-changing world in general will most probably become even more important than has been the case up to now. This is an important reason for the topical research interest in the field of French for specific purposes.

Language and languages for specific purposes are omnipresent. Boundaries between general French and French for specific purposes are fluent, with everyday conversations constantly oscillating between the general language and different languages for specific purposes. Therefore, the approach of considering the different languages for specific purposes - and not the general language - as the unmarked linguistic variety, is highly reasonable. This omnipresence of French for specific purposes will also be focused upon during the symposium.

LSP is applicative. In this context, not only the latest research findings are applied to various scientific fields, but also in everyday life, there is constant LSP influence on the French language, which often times has a direct impact on the general language. Inversely, general syntax is applied to LSP and develops on there quantitatively and qualitatively. Nowadays, the LSP applicability also concerns apps for mobile phones and computers and plays an important role there - in both directions, from language to the respective discipline and also from the respective discipline to language. These factors will be researched upon in a French context.