Interaction of Professional Jargon and Linguistic Identity

Abstract

The article explores lexical-semantic and functional aspects of intercultural professional communication from the perspective of opposing identities exposed in the context of professional communicative exchange effectuated by people of various national backgrounds.In an age of multiculturalism, peoples' linguistic identity goes hand in hand with their mentality, which is why the study also considers professional language as a component of both general linguistic system and a type of social dialect. For the purposes of professional communication analysis, the linguistic-semantic approach can be productively applied to investigate terms (codified vocabulary) and professional jargon (uncodified vocabulary) as topical research agendas.Methodological base of the current research is a complex methodology that combines the following methods of scientific research: linguopragmatic analysis, method of complex analysis of vocabulary units, the method of mass text analysis, the method of componential analysis, and the study material is research and information articles as well as commentaries published in modern specialised magazines, newspapers and their online versions.This paper aims to review specific codified and uncodified vocabulary featured in dictionary entries and functioning as language units synonymous to the corresponding terms found in social texts. The research material is represented by official printed media materials, as well as transcripts of public speeches and press conference reports delivered by the representatives of the business community. Pursuing the set objective implies addressing the following tasks: • defining the factors of professional jargon functional diversity; • identifying the role of linguacultural identity in determining why codified and uncodified vocabulary is being used by English-and Russian-speaking interlocutors in various professional communicative settings.