When Two Become One in Functional Bliss: Integration of a Corporate Language Policy and a Corporate Dictionary?

Many companies & organizations spend considerable resources in developing corporate language policies, & a number of theoretical contributions on the concept of language policy have been published. However, so far both practice & theory have treated corporate language policies (CLP) & corporate dictionaries (CD) as two completely separate tools. This unfortunate approach is challenged in this article, & the article outlines a functional analysis of the lexicographically relevant needs of the corporate user & proposes an integrated approach based on a new theoretical foundation of corporate lexicography. The starting point of the functional analysis is a focused identification of the lexicographically relevant needs of the corporate user & the type of tasks that corporate users typically solve. The discussion is based on the argument that CLPs & CDs are both tools, which are lexicographically relevant for all types of employees, & that they satisfy the lexicographically relevant needs of both managers & employees when they solve a number of company-specific communicative or cognitive tasks. The integration theory developed & discussed in this article is functionally based & leads to a number of benefits for all types of employees. Adapted from the source document