This volume brings together a series of studies on the nature of the dissemination of specialist knowledge in English, its various principles, conceptualizations, constructs and pragmatic dynamics, over a range of discourse genres: knowledge discourse is addressed to a number of audiences, expert and lay, in a variety of fields, legal, political, economic, institutional, academic, organizational and professional. The authors explore the use of language in the creation and diffusion of knowledge, in its transformation from being a mere repository of information, achieved through complex discursive processes. These processes use both general pragma-linguistic textual resources, and also derive from the communicative practices specific to the discourse communities in question. The studies as a whole demonstrate the multi-levels of knowledge, its very varied typology, and its dynamic nature in ongoing co-construction, maintenance and updating among heterogeneous audiences.

Given the consolidated position of English as the international language for communication in business and management, as well as in institutional contexts, this book depicts a wide panorama of encounters where identity, image and reputation are a key focus in creating effective interactions. The main theme of the work is how temporal and spatial meaning representations in language reflect and, in turn, construct these personal, professional and corporate identities. From each chapter different sociolinguistic realities emerge which affect English, as it is used by both native and non-native speakers, especially in the relationship between local or national cultures and the global professional discourse community. In this context not only have domain-specific language features been analysed, but also the communication strategies and interactive patterns at work in how different geo-political cultures construe, manifest and adjust their identities over the course of time and in varying physical, virtual, and cognitive spaces.