This paper discusses the question of the scientific status of the specialised vocabulary of narratology and rhetoric, and puts forward a moveable, situational and pragmatic interpretation of the value and use of this vocabulary, and of scientific vocabulary generally, as a means of communication within and between disciplines at a given stage of their development and of their interdisciplinary links. Paper presented at the Susanne Hübner Seminar, “Terminología de Uso Común en las Ciencias del Lenguaje, Crítica Literaria y Estudios Socio-Culturales,” Departamento de Filología Inglesa y Alemana, University of Zaragoza, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 1991.