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This paper studies metaphor as a part of the linguistic code in a discipline's professional communicative spheres and, most important, metaphor as a knowledge-transferring mechanism where concepts from one discipline are transferred into the domain of another discipline. Donald Schön's so-called 'generative metaphor' is introduced and applied to the 'static' structure of disciplinary terminology by analyzing one characteristic example of metaphorical transfer of linguistic theory and terminology into the domain of the information sciences. The paper concludes with some ideas on a research project, taking explicitly the metaphorical stance towards the relations between different disciplines and terminologies.

The paper presents an e-learning package designed to support vocational language teaching in the Fehmarn Belt region, developed as part of two research projects at Roskilde University, the project Den Mentale Bro (The Mental Bridge) and the BeltScience project. The Fehmarn Belt region extends, in a broad definition, over northern Germany, the eastern part of Denmark and southern Sweden. Since 2009, Roskilde University has conducted research projects that aim to strengthen German-Danish regional cooperation in the region. The article presents the theoretical foundations of the e-learning package, its contents and methods, and describes the practical experience of its use. The e-learning package was developed on the basis of a needs analysis and in collaboration with local stakeholders. It consists of two modules: a language module that promotes vocational language skills, and a culture module that strengthens German-Danish intercultural skills. The package was developed in a German-Danish context, but its concepts of learning could also be applied to the acquisition of other languages.