The use of brewery terms by the written media

Abstract

This paper undertakes a lexicological analysis of brewery terms used by the written media in the light of a socio-discursive paradigm. Firstly, it shows that their use in scientific publications promotes lexical migration of specialized usages to general language. Secondly, it investigates if the lexical item “porter” is just a term or if it is being lexicalized in English. To do so, it observes the uses of “porter” by specialized texts in the internet and in colloquial language. Finally, it studies how different types of beer are designated in Portuguese translations of scientific publications and in Brazilian newspapers for advertising purposes. The circulation of brewery terms in those texts indicates that their usage in written media is part of a greater social movement towards making public and marketing brewery products.