English linguistics department

2.2 Grammar features of scientific style texts

From the point of view of the syntactic organization of the sentence, the scientific style is characterized by a precisely defined system of allied connection, which follows from a strict logically consistent system of presentation. This extended system of communication brought to life many turns of a prepositional and adverbial character, which began to be used in the syntactic functions of the connecting elements of speech. It was in this style of speech that the gradual desemantization of such words as consequence, result, connection, contrast, etc. took place in such combinations as in consequence of, as a result, in connection with, in contrast to, etc.:

In contrast to the flexibility for noise models, it should be noted that the above criteria does not allow for a concept known as process noise.−It should be noted that, in contrast to the adaptability of the measurement error noise model, the criteria discussed above are not applicable to the concept known as the noise process.
In the scientific style, logical syntax finds its most vivid expression, in contrast to the emotional syntax of artistic speech. The need to argue what is being said and make it easier for the reader to understand by clearly segmenting the text leads to the widespread use of parallel constructions and introductory words (firstly, secondly, etc.):
Secondly, the level of discretization of parameter space can drastically affect the accuracy of the algorithm.−Secondly, the level of discretization of the parametric space can greatly affect the accuracy of the algorithm.
The syntactic structure of scientific texts is dominated by complex sentences:
We introduce a new methodology for track initiation that exhaustively considers all possible links.−A new approach is proposed to the procedure for linking routes, which allows a detailed analysis of all potential routes. A few simple sentences are deployed at the expense of homogeneous members.
A characteristic feature of the style of modern English scientific literature is the concentration of information. Conciseness of presentation is achieved by various means, one of which is the widespread use of attributive phrases. Such constructions can consist of nouns alone or nouns in combination with adjectives, participles, numerals, phrases that define one concept. The most common are two-, three-term definitions (for example, a multiple tree algorithm−multiple tree algorithm; spatial data structures−spatial data structures), but polynomials are also quite common. The latter present special difficulties for understanding and translation [Smolovich www.sworld.com.ua]. Many words are explained by prepositional, participle, gerund and infinitive constructions: multiple hypothesis tracking using spatial data structures−method of tying traces based on a set of hypotheses that explore the structures of spatial data.
The use of attributive phrases consisting of several nouns can lead to an ambiguous interpretation of the statement. Therefore, it is recommended to limit the noun phrase to a maximum of three nouns. If there are more nouns, it is necessary to clarify by using the preposition (of, by, for):
“A general guideline is to restrict these noun phrases to a maximum of three words, and this many only if there is no risk of misunderstanding. If they grow longer, rewrite them by inserting the prepositions that clarify the meaning (eg of, by, for). For example: suppression of soybean seedling growth”.
Word order in scientific texts is predominantly straight. The inversion in the following sentence serves to provide a logical connection with the previous one:
In order to reduce the number of candidate neighbors examined gating is used.−Gating is used to reduce the number of potential points that are close in location.
In scientific texts, the predominance of the present tense, which is the absolute present, is noticeable. Its use makes it possible to present the reported information as absolutely objective, out of time, as the ultimate truth. The same point of view is shared by the English author Hilary Glasman-Deal, who argues that the use of the present tense in English scientific speech helps to gain the trust of readers:
“Using the Present Simple tense means that you believe your findings and deductions are strong enough to be considered as facts or truths. The Present Simple communicates this reliability and your readers will respond to your work accordingly.”
It is also interesting to note the relatively frequent use of the present continuous and the future instead of the simple present, which makes the exposition more lively:
Although in many of the applications below ti will correspond to the time of the observation, it can be used to represent any independent variable.−Although in many of the examples below, the notation ti will correspond to the observation time, it can be used to represent any independent variable.
Let us additionally point out some typical features of scientific texts concerning their morphology. These features have been studied less than lexical ones, but still there are some observations. All the authors who dealt with this issue note the predominance of nominal rather than verbal constructions in the scientific style. This allows for greater generalization by eliminating the need to specify an action time. An example is the use of the construction at the time of our arrival instead of when we arrived. However, the authors of the Handbook of technical writing say that the use of nominalization slows down the pace of written speech and leads to its unnaturalness. The authors advise, if possible, to use verbal rather than nominal constructions for a more accurate expression of meaning:
“Avoid nominalizations when you can use specific verbs that communicate the same idea more directly and concisely. If you use nominalizations solely to make your writing sound more formal, the result will be affectation. You may occasionally have an appropriate use for a nominalization. For example, you might use a nominalization to slow the pace of your writing.”
Excessive emotionality of the narrative is unacceptable in a scientific text. The opinion expressed by the researcher should strive for maximum objectivity. scientific information−it is an attempt at an objective conversation about a world where personal preferences are out of place.
Expressiveness in a scientific text is not completely excluded, but it is specific. Quantitative expressivity prevails: very far from conservative, much less limited, almost all of which, etc.: common and often successful variation is a very simple form of multiple hypothesis tracking.−One of the most common and most successful variations is a very simple variant of tying traces based on a multivariate hypothesis.
Expressiveness may consist in indicating the importance of what is being stated: This is an important problem in such fields as…−This issue is important in areas such as…
The logical underscore can, for example, be expressed lexically:
note that...; wish to emphasize...; point of considerable interest is...; interesting problem is that of...; of the most remarkable of... phenomena is...;is by no means trivial...
All these expressions are stable for a scientific text.
In scientific texts, the author's speech is built in the first person plural:
Below we introduce a new methodology for track initiation.−Below is a new method of tying traces.
We then introduce a multiple tree algorithm for tractably finding the links.−We will also present an algorithm of multiple trees for the most convenient finding of traces.
This "we" has a double meaning. Firstly, the participation of a large team of scientists is emphasized, and secondly, the lecturer's "we" involves listeners and, accordingly, readers in the process of reasoning and evidence.
For the same reason, along with the first person plural, impersonal forms are widely used:
It is possible for a single track to exist that passes within given thresholds of each observation.−There may be a single trace passing within the given thresholds for each observation.
The use of the above constructions is due to the author's desire not to introduce an indication of himself as an experimenter and researcher, since a modern scientific article is characterized by "facelessness" and the presentation of facts in the form of patterns that in no way depend on the personality of the experimenter.
In the scientific style, a marked preference is given to the passive, where the agent is optionally indicated, and the impersonal forms of the verb. According to David Crystal, the use of passive voice allows authors to choose an objective style of presentation of the material, which may be necessary if it does not matter who exactly performs the action:
“The passives give writers the option of an impersonal style, which can be very useful in contexts where it is irrelevant to state who actually carried out an action.”
However, the approach to using the passive voice in English scientific prose is ambiguous. Adrian Wallwork, for example, advises citing the results of previous research by other authors, using the active voice and giving the name of the author. Otherwise, it will not be clear to the reader whose thoughts the author of this article expresses: his own or other authors. If only references to his works are given instead of the author's name, the reader can only find out from the bibliographic list who exactly these thoughts belong to:
“Use the names of authors preferably within the main sentence and use the active form. The problem with only using the reference without the name of the author, is that the reader is forced to check to see in the bibliography whether the reference refers to you or to another author”.
To avoid inaccuracies, Adrian Wallwork recommends using combinations with our, which can be followed by a passive voice or an impersonal sentence:
“One good way to avoid possible misunderstanding is to use expressions such as our results show, in our work, in our study.”
The frequency distribution of parts of speech in a scientific text differs from that observed in a neutral or colloquial style: the percentage of names increases, the content of verbs in the personal form decreases, and there are no interjections at all.
Such an impersonal manner of presentation does not exclude, however, the possibility of expressing the author's personal opinion, at least in a hidden form. In the scientific style, there are some ways in which the author expresses his opinion in this way. These, for example, include the so-called hedging, that is, softening the answer, avoiding a direct answer. Various methods of such evasion allow the author to show his personal feelings, attitude to what is happening, to express value judgments based on varying degrees of confidence in what is happening, to make predictions, etc. not very open. The opinion of a scientist can be expressed using grammatical and lexical devices (due to the choice of structures and words that mean value judgments).
The lexico-grammatical means used in hedging can be represented as follows:
modal and related verbs expressing:
• probability/resolution/ability (can, could, may, might):
Specifically, we are asking for all sets of observations that could feasibly belong to a path.−In particular, we analyze the entire set of observations that could relate to any trajectory.
• must, should, had better, have to, ought to): general this problem suffers from a combinatorial explosion in the number of potential tracks that must be evaluated.−The main difficulty in solving this problem lies in the rapid growth in the number of options for potential routes to be evaluated.
• divination/ will (will, would, shall): a series of observations lie along a line, then their lines in parameter space will intersect at a common point.−If a series of observations lies along a line, then the corresponding lines in the parametric space will intersect at one point.
2) adverbs expressing:
• certainty (actually, certainly, in fact);
• probability (apparently, perhaps, possibly);
• attitude (amazingly, interestingly, surprisingly);
• style/approach (according to, generally, typically);
• frequency of action (always, often, sometimes, usually);
3) set pointers (all, most, many, some, certain):then introduce an exact multiple kd-tree algorithm for tractably finding all of the linkages.−An exact algorithm is also proposed using multiple kd trees to easily detect all mark associations.
4) complex sentences (impersonal with infinitive constructions and subordinate clauses with that using:
• attitude verbs (seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think,);
• adjectives expressing attitude (certain, clear, likely, essential), for example:
It is important to develop… It may be possible to obtain ...
• nouns expressing attitude (conclusion, fact, observation, assumption).
It is necessary to separately highlight the structural features of scientific texts. Extremely strict in the style of scientific prose is the division of speech into separate parts - paragraphs. Each paragraph tends to continue the thought of the previous paragraph, often follows directly from it and has connecting elements. Each paragraph begins with a key sentence that sets out the main idea. To strengthen the logical connection between sentences, such special stable expressions as to sum up, as we have seen, so far we have been considering are used. Adverbs finally, again, thus can serve the same purpose. For example: we wish to filter the∏Kk=1 Nk possible tuples down to just those tuples that could be feasible tracks.−Thus, we wish to filter the product of the Nk possible series of observations in order to reduce the number of sets of observations that can be potential traces.
Each paragraph is a more or less complete unit of statement, where you can easily highlight the main idea. The connections between elements within a sentence, between sentences within paragraphs and paragraphs within chapters are explicit, which leads to an abundance and variety of conjunctions and allied words: that, and that, than, if, as, or, nor... For example: the grid is too loose then coincidental occurrences can accumulate and cause false alarms.−If the grid is loose (too coarse), then the data may overlap and cause false alarms.
A scientific text is characterized by double conjunctions: not merely... but also, whether... or, both... and, as... as... . For example: each time step k we observe Nk points from both the underlying set of tracks and noise.−At each moment of time k, we obtain Nk points both from the main set of trace marks and from the marks due to the influence of noise.
The scientific style is characterized by the selection of the main, the main one from the mass of reported facts. This is achieved by a number of syntactic techniques in which the principle of composing and subordinating sentences coincides with the requirements of logic, that is, the main idea is contained in the main sentence, the subordinate thought is in the subordinate clause. Additional considerations that are not directly related to this statement appear in the form of introductory remarks and suggestions, often set off by a dash. The form of presentation in the style of scientific prose does not carry additional functions of influencing the reader. It is only a means to give clarity to the presentation. That is why the editing of scientific prose mainly comes down to clarifying the meanings of words and phrases and the nature of the connection between the individual parts of the statement.
The system of syntactic allied connection was used in a very peculiar way in the early periods of the development of this style, during the periods of the general formation of the system of functional styles of the English literary language. The desire of the author of scientific treatises to reveal the interconnection, interdependence and interdependence of the facts with which they had to deal, sometimes led them to the immoderate use of the means of allied communication, which ultimately entailed long paragraphs. Today, however, there is a trend towards simplification of written language, which, in particular, is reflected in the book “Handbook of technical writing”. The authors advise against using complex sentences to express complex ideas, as this makes it difficult for the reader to understand:
“Use uncomplicated sentences to state complex ideas. If readers have to cope with a complicated sentence in addition to a complex idea, they are likely to become confused. Just as simpler sentences make complex ideas more digestible, a complex sentence construction makes a series of simple ideas more smooth and less choppy.”⁴
This chapter analyzes in detail the lexical composition of English scientific speech. Three layers of vocabulary of the scientific language are distinguished, and a common feature of scientific texts is also revealed.−terminology. The concept of a term and terminology is disclosed, the classification of terms is given.
The grammatical features of scientific style texts are considered, in particular, the syntactic structure of scientific texts is analyzed.
Some examples demonstrate the stylistic features that characterize the English scientific text.
scientific english style linguistic