Chapter Sixteen
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generic structure which underlies the linguistic encodings. The frame
constituents reflect the main participatory roles in the domain.
Extending the frame to other specialized fields
While we cannot take for granted that the specific use of sensory
terminology (let alone scientific terminology in general) is aligned from
one study to the next or from one communicative situation to the next, we
can assume that communicative needs in a specialized field are motivated
by specific underlying objectives and operationalizations of that field (cf.
Diederich 2015). I hereby argue that the frame template in Figure 2 can be
applied to scientific fields other than food science. The reason for this
claim is based on the existence of common/shared objectives in scientific
domains, both with regards to practice and communication.
In their early research on language for specific purposes, Möhn and
Pelka (1984: 26) comment on the function of specialized language to help
conceptualize and specialized items. Further, they underlie the contribution
of specialist languages to achieving domain-specific communicative needs.
These communicative needs are more or less content-specific, including the
aim of achieving mutual understanding amongst interlocutors, as well as
finding consensus with regard to the assessment of an object (e.g. a food
product). These different levels are represented across different domains.
Scientific domains in general are concerned with the scrutiny of a subject
matter–whether this is food, a mathematical problem, a physical or
physiological reaction, or a legal issue (to name a few). One way to
understand the terminology in different fields is to gain knowledge of the
broader conceptualization of the domain. Different text types, such as
research articles, play a core role in this endeavor as they document the
practices in the field. From an analysis of the scientific text we can derive
a conceptual frame which reflects the network of knowledge in the field
more broadly. The term “network” includes the various information, as
well as the interrelatedness between information points, resulting in a
dynamic and relational conceptualization of a field.
Sánchez, López Rodríguez, Márquez Linares, and Faber (2012) have
argued for an adaptation of frames from one domain to another,
specifically by means of metaphorical mapping. They discuss the frequent
mapping of the domain of medicine onto environmental science. I argue
here that the genericity of the frame depicted in Figure 2 allows for
generous adaptation to the specialist languages in other domains. For
instance, the practice of diagnosis in medical research can be mapped onto
Figure 2: An assessor, typically a doctor or medical researcher, initiates an