Domain-specific languages are prone to the pressures of inter- cultural variation, as not only the socio-cultural factors inherent in a text but also interpretive schemata deeply affect its realization and interpretation within the host professional community (see Gotti

INTRODUCTION This monographic issue focuses on intercultural communication in specialist fields and its realizations in English for specific purposes. The concept of interculturality on which this issue is built is rooted in discourse, in line with recent research on interaction in specialized domains. Indeed, language is approached here as inseparable from a given socio-cultural configuration – not merely consistent with it, but deeply involved in its construction of reality and its representations. From single phrases to generic patterns, linguistic constructs encode a culture-bound world view. The analysis of discourse often shows that texts are not only where cultures are built, but also where at times they are distorted, rejected or ignored. As has been amply demonstrated (see, among others, Kuper 1999), 'culture' is a notoriously polysemic term. In the context of this issue, the term 'culture' is used mainly to refer to the complex set of traditions and standardized social practices peculiar to a specific professional group and its dependence on norms, whether those of social behaviour or those accepted in language usage. The specific elements taken into consideration here belong to the social context determining the conditions of production within which specialized texts are framed and the actual situations in which such texts are to be employed. The theoretical presupposition adopted is that as discourse is strictly tied to the socio-cultural context in which it is used, its interpretation relies to a large extent on the contextual constraints Introduction 6 of the event in which it is expressed and/or received, cultural factors representing an essential part of these contextual elements as they imbue the discursive organisation and the choice of realisations. As Merry aptly remarks: Discourses are aspects of culture, interconnected vocabularies and systems of meaning located in the social world. A discourse is not individual and idiosyncratic but part of a shared cultural world. Discourses are rooted in particular institutions and embody their culture. Domain-specific languages are prone to the pressures of inter-cultural variation, as not only the socio-cultural factors inherent in a text but also interpretive schemata deeply affect its realization and interpretation within the host professional community (see Gotti 2003). The spread of English, which frequently furthers exchange and contact between nations, also raises the crucial issue of the non-neutrality of language. For example, in business communication, an area in which English represents a means of contact and interaction among people from different cultures allowing concrete …