After a brief introduction on how English has become the lingua franca of science
and technology of the world in general and in Italy in particular, with a bottom-up
approach – from the word (terminology and lexis) level through morphology to syntax
and the textual organization of information – some examples of the influence of
English on the Italian LSPs of science and technology will be provided to illustrate
the general trends of this influence, including the evolution in recent times of the
formal features of Classification, a rhetorical function that is typical of the language
of science. In the conclusion, the pros and cons of the influence of English on the
Italian of science and technology will be briefly discussed by making reference to the
current debate in Italy on the contamination of non-specialized Italian by English
