Curriculum Vitae
1. Brief profile
Maurizio Gotti has been Professor of English Language and Translation since 1994. He is Head of the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures and Director of the Language Centre at the University of Bergamo. He is also the founder and Director of CERLIS, the research centre on specialized languages based at the University of Bergamo.
He has been President of the Italian Association of University Language Centres (1997-2000; 2004-2007, 2010-2012), of the Italian Association of English Studies (1999-2001) and of the European Confederation of University Language Centres (2000-2004). His main research areas are the features and origins of specialized discourse, both in a synchronic and diachronic perspective (Robert Boyle and the Language of Science, Guerini 1996; Specialized Discourse: Linguistic Features and Changing Conventions, Peter Lang 2003; Investigating Specialized Discourse, Peter Lang 32011). He is also interested in English syntax – English Diachronic Syntax (ed.), Guerini 1993; Variation in Central Modals (co-author), Peter Lang 2002 – and English lexicology and lexicography, with particular regard to specialized terminology and canting (The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds, Niemeyer 1999). He is a member of the Editorial Board of national and international journals, and edits the Linguistic Insights series for Peter Lang.
2. Biographical details
- Name: Maurizio Gotti
- Date and Place of Birth: Bergamo (Italy) 30/05/1949
- Title: Full Professor
- Institution: University of Bergamo - Dipartimento di Lingue, Letterature e Culture Straniere
- Institutional address: Piazza Rosate, 2 - 24129 Bergamo (Italy)
- Telephone: (office) 0039.035.2052.749
- email:
3. Education and scholarships
- University: Degree (with honours) in Foreign Languages and Literatures (main subject: English) at Università di Bergamo (Italy), November 1972: The Inflections of Chaucer’s Language.
- Fulbright scholarship for linguistic research at the University of California – Los Angeles (1982)
- British Council Scholarship for linguistic research at Ealing College – London (1980).
- American Field Service scholarship for attendance of last year of studies (1966/67) at Bolivar High School, Missouri (USA)
4. Teaching and academic record
4.12.1972-31.12.1984: Teacher of English Language and Literature in Italian State Secondary schools. Lecturer in and director of pre- and in-service training courses for English language teachers.
1.1.1985-27.3.1989: Tenured Researcher in English Language at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the University of Bergamo.
28.3.1989-31.10.1993: Associate Professor of English Language at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Brescia.
1.11.1993-31.10.1994: Associate Professor of History of the English Language at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the University of Bergamo.
1.11.1994-31.10.1996: Full Professor of English Linguistics at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the University of Chieti (Pescara).
Since 1.11.1996: Full Professor of English Language and Translation at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures / Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures of the University of Bergamo.
Since 1990: Lecturer for PhD courses in English Language and Linguistics at Italian and foreign universities.
5. Research
Main research areas:
- The features and origins of specialized discourse, both in a synchronic and diachronic perspective
- History of the English language
- English lexicology and lexicography
- (English) language teaching
Coordinator of research projects on various aspects of English language and linguistics, both at national and international level.
6. Institutional activities
- Rector’s Delegate for International relations
- Head of the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures (University of Bergamo)
- Director of the Language Centre of the University of Bergamo.
- Director of SILSIS (Graduate School for future teachers – University of Bergamo)
- Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the University of Bergamo
- Head of the MA degree course in Foreign Languages for International Communication
- Director of CERLIS, the research centre on specialized languages based at the University of Bergamo.
7. Other academic activities
- President of AICLU, the Italian Association of University Language Centres (1997-2000; 2004-2007, 2010-2013)
- President of AIA, the Italian Association of English Studies (1999-2001)
- Vice-President of AIA (1997-1999)
8. International assignments
- President of CERCLES, the European Confederation of University Language Centres (2000-2004).
- Member of the Board of ESSE (the European Society for the Study of English) (1997-2001)
- Member of the ESSE Book Award Linguistic Committee (2005).
- Member of Committees for Professorships in English Departments of various European Universities.
- Visiting Professor at the Universities of Hong Kong (China), Valparaiso (Chile), Munich and Aachen (Germany), Innsbruck (Austria), Aarhus (Denmark) and Zaragoza (Spain).
- Referee for national and international research projects
- Assessor of submissions to the LINGUA Action of the SOCRATES Programme
- Member of the Editorial Board of national and international journals (Anglais de Spécialité, ESP Across Cultures, Fachsprache, Hermes, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, International Journal of Specialized Communication, Journal of Applied Psycholinguistics, Law and Language, and others).
- Editor of the Linguistic Insights series for Peter Lang (Bern) and of the CERLIS Series (CELSB – online).
9. International awards
- Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology Award (University of Jacksonville, Florida, USA, 1999).
10. Publications (monographs and edited books; in addition, numerous articles have appeared in peer-reviewed international journals)
a. Specialized discourse
- Investigating Specialized Discourse. Bern: Peter Lang 12005, 22008, 32011.
- (Ed. with Vijay K. Bhatia) (2015) Arbitration Discourse in Asia. Bern: Peter Lang.
- (Ed. with Stefania Maci e Michele Sala) (2015) Insights into Medical Communication. Bern: Peter Lang.
- (Ed. with Stefania Maci e Michele Sala) (2015) The Language of Medicine: Science, Practice and Academia. CERLIS Series Vol. 5. Bergamo, CELSB.
- (Ed. with Ruth Breeze e Carmen Sancho Guinda). (2014) Interpersonality in Legal Genres. Bern: Peter Lang.
- (Ed. with Davide S. Giannoni) (2014). Corpus analysis for descriptive and pedagogical purposes: ESP perspectives. Bern: Peter Lang.
- (Ed. with Carmen Sancho Guinda). Narratives in Academic and Professional Genres. Bern: Peter Lang, 2013.
- (Ed. with Vijay Bhatia, Christopher Candlin) Discourse and Practice in International Commercial Arbitration. Farnham: Ashgate. 2012.
- (Ed. with Carol Berkenkotter and Vijay Bhatia). Insights into Academic Genres. Bern: Peter Lang, 2012.
- (Ed.) Academic Identity Traits: A Corpus-Based Investigation. Bern: Peter Lang, 2012.
- (Ed. with Vijay Bhatia and Christopher Candlin) Discourse and Practice in International Commercial Arbitration. Farnham: Ashgate. 2012.
- (Ed. with Giuliana Garzone) Discourse, Communication and the Enterprise. Genres and Trends. Bern: Peter Lang, 2011.
- (Ed. with Christopher Williams). Legal Discourse across Languages and Cultures. Bern: Peter Lang, 2010.
- (Ed. with Vijay Bhatia and Christopher Candlin). The Discourses of Dispute Resolution. Bern: Peter Lang, 2010.
- (Ed.) Commonality and Individuality in Academic Discourse. Bern: Peter Lang, 2009.
- (Ed. with Paul Gillaerts) Genre Variation in Business Letters. Bern: Peter Lang, 12005, 22008.
- (Ed. with Christopher N. Candlin) Intercultural Aspects of Specialized Communication. Bern: Peter Lang, 12004, 22007.
- (Ed. with Vijay K. Bhatia) Explorations in Specialized Genres. Bern: Peter Lang, 2006.
- (Ed. with John Flowerdew) Studies in Specialized Discourse. Bern: Peter Lang, 2006.
- (Ed. with Françoise Salager-Meyer) Advances in Medical Discourse Analysis: Oral and Written Contexts. Bern: Peter Lang, 2006.
- (Ed. with Susan Šarčević) Insights into Specialized Translation. Bern: Peter Lang, 2006.
- (Ed. with Davide S. Giannoni) New Trends in Specialized Discourse Analysis. Bern: Peter Lang, 2006.
- (Ed. with Vijay K. Bhatia, Jan Engberg and Dorothee Heller) Vagueness in Normative Texts. Bern: Peter Lang, 2005.
- (Ed. with Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini) Asian Business Discourse(s). Bern: Peter Lang, 2005.
- Specialized Discourse: Linguistic Features and Changing Conventions Bern: Peter Lang, 2003.
- (Ed. with Vijay Bhatia and Christopher Candlin), Legal Discourse in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts: Arbitration Texts in Europe, Peter Lang, Bern, 2003.
- (Ed. with Dorothee Heller e Marina Dossena), Conflict and Negotiation in Specialized Texts, Bern: Peter Lang, 2002.
- (Ed. with Marina Dossena), Modality in Specialized Texts, Bern: Peter Lang, 2001.
- Robert Boyle and the Language of Science, Milan: Guerini, 1996.
- I linguaggi specialistici: caratteristiche linguistiche e criteri pragmatici. Florence: La Nuova Italia, 1991.
b. History of the English language
- (Ed. with Marina Dossena and Richard Dury) English Historical Linguistics 2006. Vol 1: Syntax and Morphology - Vol 2: Lexical and Semantic Change - Vol 3: Geo-Historical Variation in English. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2008.
- (Ed. with Susan Kermas) Socially-Conditioned Language Change: Diachronic and Synchronic Insights. Lecce: Edizioni del Grifo, 2008.
- (Co-author with M.Dossena, R. Dury, R. Facchinetti and M. Lima), Variation in Central Modals, Bern: Peter Lang, 2002.
- (Ed.) English Diachronic Syntax, Milan: Guerini, 1993.
c. English lexicology and lexicography
- The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds – 17th and 18th Century Canting Lexicography in England, Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1999.
d. Language teaching
- (Ed. with Christoph Nickenig) Multilinguismo, CLIL e innovazione didattica. Bolzano: Bolzano University Press, 2013.
- (Ed. with Christoph Nickenig) Qual è il ruolo dei Centri Linguistici d’Ateneo nella didattica dei linguaggi specialistici?. Bolzano: Bolzano University Press, 2007.
- (Ed. with Christopher Taylor and Carol Taylor Torsello) I centri linguistici: approcci, progetti e strumenti per l’apprendimento e la valutazione. Trieste: Dipartimento di Scienze del linguaggio, dell’interpretazione e della traduzione, Università di Trieste, 2005.
- (Ed. with Andrea Csillaghy), Le lingue nell’Università del Duemila, Forum, Udine, 2000.
- (Ed. with David Bickerton), Language Centres: Integration through Innovation, CercleS Secretariat, Department of Modern Languages, University of Plymouth, 1999.
- (Ed.) Progetti linguistici e sperimentazioni didattiche, Florence: Nuova Italia, 1996.
- Testi specialistici in corsi di lingue straniere. Florence: Nuova Italia, 1992.
- (Ed. with Paolo Balboni) Glottodidattica: aspetti e prospettive. Bergamo: Juvenilia, 1987.
- Insegnare le lingue straniere nella scuola elementare. Bologna: Zanichelli, 1986.
11. Research Projects
Maurizio Gotti has coordinated several research projects both at a national and international level.
At an international level he has coordinated the following research projects (the main results have been published in the works listed in brackets):
- Head of the Italian research unit of the project “Generic Integrity in Legal Discourse in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts”, coordinated by V. Bhatia and C. Candlin of City University of Hong Kong in 1999-2003 (Bhatia, Candlin, Gotti 2003). The project has investigated the generic integrity of legislative documents constructed, interpreted and employed in multilingual and multicultural legal settings.
- Coordinator (with V. Bhatia, J. Engberg, D. Heller) of a research project on “Vagueness in Normative Texts” (Bhatia, Engberg, Gotti, Heller 2005). The project has examined the presence of vagueness and indeterminacy in legal texts and has highlighted its pragmatic values.
- Coordinator (with P. Gillaerts) of a research project on “Genre Variation in Business Letters” (Gillaerts, Gotti 2005). The project has focused on the latest evolutions of the traditional genre of the business letter and has highlighted its new forms of realization.
- Coordinator of the Italian Research Unit of a research project on “International Arbitration Practice: A Discourse Analytical Study”, coordinated by V. Bhatia at the City University of Hong Kong in 2008-2010 (Bhatia, Candlin, Gotti 2010 & 2012). The project has investigated the degree of autonomy of arbitration genres compared to those used in litigation, also in relation to the changes that have occurred in arbitration practice in the last decade.
- Coordinator of the Italian Research project for the years 2014/2015 within the programme ‘ITALYÒ (Italian TALented Young Òesearchers)’ – action 2 - Asian Arbitration Discourse (within the interdisciplinary programme ‘Asian Arbitration Law’)
From the linguistic-textual point of view, the project analyses the norms and the main documents used in arbitration in the Asian countries taken into consideration and compares them with the discursive practices employed in Italy and in other countries of the European Union. The texts examined do not only consist of arbitral norms and awards, but also interviews with professionals in the field so as to gain direct insight into the linguistic and textual choices taken in the drafting of the documents specific to this profession. The research is carried out in collaboration with a team of the City University of Hong Kong (led by prof. Vijay Bhatia) who is investigating similar aspects of the linguistic-textual practices adopted in arbitration in Asian countries.
M. Gotti has taken part in the following research projects with other Italian universities:
- Member of the Bergamo Research Unit in the inter-academic research project “John M. Keynes: language and method” coordinated by the University of Turin from 1986-1990 (Gotti 1990/1994). The project has analyzed the argumentative model adopted by J.M. Keynes in his General Theory.
- Scientific Coordinator of the Bergamo Research Unit of the inter-academic research project “Aspects of variation in linguistic modality in late Middle English and early Modern English”, coordinated by the University of Rome 3 from 1998-2000 (Gotti 2002a & b). Our Unit has investigated in particular the evolution of verbal modality in early Modern English.
- Scientific Coordinator of the Bergamo Research Unit in the inter-academic research project “Semantic and pragmatic values realised by modality in late Middle English and early Modern English”, coordinated by the University of Rome 3 from 2001-2002 (Gotti et al. 2002). Our Unit has investigated the evolution of verbal modality both in late Middle English and in early Modern English.
- National Scientific Coordinator of the inter-academic research project “Intercultural discourse in domain-specific English” from 2003-2004 (Candlin, Gotti 2004a & b). The focus has been on intercultural communication as it unfolds in the language of law, business communication, politics, diplomacy, research institutions and EU institutions.
- National Scientific Coordinator of the inter-academic research project “Identity and Culture in Domain-Specific English" from 2005 to 2007 (Di Martino, Polese, Solly 2008). Our investigation has focused on the specific textual, semantic and pragmatic features of domain-specific English discourse in settings where local or disciplinary cultural identities are altered, integrated or redefined by international - hence intercultural - communication.
- National Scientific Coordinator of the inter-academic research project “Tension and Change in English Domain-Specific Genres" from 2008 to 2010 (Garzone, Gotti 2011, Berkenkotter, Bhatia, Gotti 2012, Gotti, Sancho Guinda 2013). Our study has focused on the evolving aspects of English professional and disciplinary genres.
- Scientific Coordinator of the Bergamo Research Unit in the inter-academic research project Knowledge Dissemination across media in English: continuity and change in discourse strategies, ideologies, and epistemologies: a research project of national interest. (PRIN 2015 - Prot. 2015TJ8ZAS_002). The project aims to investigate the practices and strategies of dissemination to various audiences in a range of different settings. Special attention is paid to how specific genres have developed over time and how they have been tailored to the addressees’ needs.