This paper discusses modes of terminologization, the process by which a word or expression comes to designate a concept in a language for special purposes, specifically in the field of economic and social globalization. Drawing on the nomenclature of the Analytical Dictionary of Globalization and Labour, the question of how to qualify the economic and social vocabulary is raised: do these words and expressions meet the classic criteria used to define a term? What is their discursive function? More generally, does the economic and social discourse pertain to general or specialized language? Our study suggests that the answer to these questions lies somewhere on the continuum between these two extremes, depending on the nature of the text and its functions. This paper analyzes the role of discursive formulas and proper nouns or nouns derived from proper nouns in social sciences discourse at a time when the mediatization of these terms is magnified by the effects of globalization. It concludes by highlighting the importance for both the writer and the translator of grasping the origins and ideological connotations associated with these terms and expressions in a field where terminology is never neutral. So, while translating these terms and expressions may not pose any special challenge, their discursive function is however critical within the field of socal sciences.