Corporate linguistics: A knowledge management approach to language

Knowledge management is a discipline which has recently emerged for assuring quality in knowledge-intensive organisations and to facilitate innovation. Successful knowledge management not only needs to overcome barriers of organisational development and implementation of efficient tools for storage and retrieval of knowledge, but also to achieve appropriate application of principles of knowledge representation - this is where the relevance of linguistics emerges. However, resorting to resources from linguistics is specific since clearly needs-driven, i.e. knowledge- and solution-oriented. This needs-driven approach to the study of language shall be described with reference to selected evidence from knowledge management in the context of project work in corporate environments. Moreover, attempts will be made to outline in more hypothetical form how the paradigmatic reversion from familiar approaches to language, in particular consideration of the complex relationship between knowledge and verbal knowledge representation, may help better understand the phenomenon of language and of language use in general, and of English in particular. Two case studies are reported on to highlight the significance of linguistics to corporate knowledge management.