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چکیده
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With advent and evolvement of English for specific purposes (ESP) since 1950s to 1960s and up to the present time, different fields have benefitted from English language for their specific purposes and special communicative and linguistic needs. Diverse fields and different areas in science, technology, industry, service, arts and humanities have utilized English language for their goals. English language experts and teachers have collaborated with field experts and specialists in developing solutions for effective application of English in field-related and area-specific contexts and settings. Significance, complexity and multifaceted nature of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demand effective human communication through language, fostering constructive dialogue, productive interaction and prosperous cooperation. English as a global lingua franca, a universal language of media and academia, an international language and an official language of the United Nations can enhance and promote communication and cooperation in international level and create mutual understanding between nations and members of the global community aimed at effective addressing of global challenges and concerns and realization of SDGs in communities. English for Sustainable Development (ESD) and incorporation of sustainable development discourse and the issues related to SDGs in language teaching and language-related fields have been recently proposed, aiming to leverage the full potentials of English for fulfillment of SDGs, raising awareness of sustainable development issues and building understanding and mutual insight in order to effectively encourage taking action for sustainable development. We propose a comprehensive and systematic approach of dynamic and holistic nature toward the role of English in and for sustainable development termed as English for Sustainable Development Purposes (ESDP). We suggest corpus-based and corpus-driven study of the discourse related and relevant to sustainable development, SDGs and connected issues to identify and attest the linguistic characteristics and discursive features of sustainable development discourse in addition to specialized terms and lexical items and language patterns of sustainable development. Such corpus studies should be computer- and AI-assisted for enhanced depth and accuracy and should analyze large corpora across different sources and genres, including UN documents, academic and scholarly articles and books, relevant publications and productions of NGOs and private sector, media, as well as published and broadcasted contents and materials produced by public sector, governmental and intergovernmental entities and all other stakeholders. English and linguistics departments of universities, higher education institutions and research centers should take the lead in corpus studies focusing on development of the bases and foundations of ESDP solutions.
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