Compétence langagière et compétence professionnelle : éléments pour une approche intégrée

This article focuses on the problem of the conditions under which linguistic and professional competences can be seen in an integrated perspective. Starting from a series of definitions of these notions, the article first examines the role of linguistic dimensions in conceptualising professional competence, and the role of general praxeological dimensions in conceptualising linguistic competence. The results of this theoretical overview are then confronted with the analysis of two situations of nurses' work. Contrary to what the general definitions suggest, this analysis shows that professional and linguistic competences interact and are co-structured. The article thus argues that an integrated approach of competence actually requires a simultaneous consideration of the mediating character of language with respect to the praxeological and cognitive processes and of the mediating character of activity with respect to interactions, knowledge, and competences Ŕ including linguistic ones.