Collocations in Specialized Communication: Interlingual, Corpus-driven and Corpus-based Perspectives and Applications

Abstract

Starting from the claim that vocabulary learning is inherently collocation learning, this article highlights that lexical competence depends not only on knowing individual word meanings but also on understanding how words conventionally combine in context. This perspective proves particularly relevant in languages for specific purposes (LSP), where technical terms occur in fixed, domain-specific collocations essential for professional communication, such as eine Diagnose stellen (en. to give a diagnosis) in medical discourse or einen Vertrag abschließen (en. to sign a contract) in legal contexts. LSP genres are also characterized by recurrent formulaic patterns, which play a crucial role in both text comprehension and production. Conventional collocations thus function as markers of professional competence and disciplinary affiliation, supporting not only linguistic correctness but also communicative appropriateness. Adopting a corpus-based and corpus-driven perspective (cf. Tognini-Bonelli, 2001), the article shows how collocations can be systematically extracted from authentic LSP-corpora, capturing recurrent combinations, preferred syntagmatic environments, and genre-specific formulaicity. In the context of German as a foreign and LSP-language (DaF/DaFF), such corpus insights provide a foundation for needs-oriented vocabulary selection, lexicographic resource development, and data-driven learning (DDL), enabling learners to acquire both specialized terminology and its conventional lexical contexts. Practical applications are illustrated through lexicographic projects (TOURLEX) and teaching tools (COPLUS), showing that effective vocabulary instruction in DaFF requires attention to authentic usage patterns rather than isolated words.