13
7) The use of the pronoun
we
instead of
I
, as the authors of scientific
works tend to sound impersonal.
8) Impersonal passive constructions are often used with the verbs
such as
suppose
,
assume
,
presume
,
conclude
,
infer
,
point out
,
etc., as in:
‘It should be pointed out’
,
‘It must not be assumed’
,
‘It must be emphasized’
,
‘It can be inferred’
, etc.
9) Absence of articles, especially the definite one, before the names of
details in technical descriptions, names of scientific fields.
10) The Plural form of material nouns:
fats
,
oils
,
greases
,
sands
,
wools
,
steels
,
gasolines
.
11) Usage of the preposition
of
for the Genitive Case:
body of
masonry
–
массив / тело каменной кладки
;
cost of
installation
– стоимость монтажа; затраты на установку
(
оборудования);
mechanical
equivalent
of
work
–
механический эквивалент работы; modulus of continuity –
модуль непрерывности.
12) Causative-consecutive conjunctions and logical connectives:
since
,
therefore
,
it follows that
,
so
,
thus
,
to imply
,
to involve
,
to
lead to
,
to result in
.
13) Fixed word-order in sentences.
There is an observable difference in the syntactical characteristics of
sentences in the exact sciences (mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc.)
and in the humanities (culturology, philology, history, etc.).
The passive
constructions frequently used in the scientific works of the exact sciences
are not indispensable in the scientific literature on the humanities. This is
explained by the fact that the information and methods of investigation
applied in the humanities are less objective. Syntactical patterns depend
on the necessity to quote passages under observation and to amplify
arguments.
In
the
humanities
some
seemingly
well-known
pronouncement may be and frequently is subjected to revaluation. In the
14
exact sciences the data may be accepted without question or doubt and
therefore needs no comment or additional explanation.
Here are two samples of scientific prose. The first one is from a book
on linguistics:
―Some countries are officially bilingual (or multilingual) in the sense
that they have two (or more) official languages, national or regional. Two
well-known examples of officially bilingual countries are Canada and
Belgium, each of which has experienced language-problems of the kind
that were referred to in the previous section. An equally well-known
example of an officially multilingual country, which has not experienced
any comparable language-problems, is Switzerland. Other countries,
though not officially bilingual (or multilingual), have two (or more)
different languages spoken within other borders. Most countries of the
world fall into this latter category. Furthermore, although it does not
follow from what has been said so far, in most countries, whether they
are officially bilingual (or multilingual) or not, there are whole
communities that are bilingual (or multilingual) in the sense that their
members commonly use two (or more) languages in their daily lives. It is
not the case, of course, that all the citizens of an officially bilingual (or
multilingual) country use, or even know, more than one language.
Bilingualism in communities
– and henceforth I will use ‗bilingualism‘ to
cover multilingualism as well
– in what we are connected with here‖
.
1
The second sample is taken from a book on nanotechnologies:
―The actual discovery of fullerenes came about through Smalley and
Kroto‘s experiments on an instrument Smalley invented to study
molecules and clusters of atoms. Kroto was interested in Smalley‘s laser
vaporization technique to verify a theory he had about the carbon thrown
off by long-chain carbons in interstellar space. Kroto thought that carbon-
1
Lyons, John. Language and linguistics: an introduction / John Lyons. – 19th print. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
[2009]. – p.281.
15
rich red giant stars were giving off complex carbon species that radio
astronomy should be able to detect.
The research group tried to figure out the structure for the carbon‘s
unique chemical signature using an instrument called a mass
spectrometer (which measures the wavelengths and energies of
elements). It finally came together late one night when Smalley pieced
together a construction paper and adhesive type polygon that had the all
important 60 vertices in a highly symmetrical closed shell. This new
carbon molecule (C
60
) was nicknamed the buckyball. While graphite
contains carbon atoms formed in flat sheets, buckyballs are open
spherical cages with strong carbon-to-
carbon bonds‖.
2
The remarkable contrast between these two extracts lies in the fact
that the second one requires a far greater amount of background
knowledge than the first one. It is evident that both samples are
impersonal in form. However, they differ in the amount of objectivity, the
first being less objective in stating data. Moreover,
in the first sample
views and opinions are expressed while in the second none are given. In
both excerpts the syntax is affected by logical reasoning, and there are
no language means expressing emotions.
Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that emotiveness is not entirely
or categorically excluded from the English scientific literature. There may
be hypothesis, pronouncements and conclusions which are backed up
by strong belief, and therefore call for
the use of some emotionally
coloured language elements.
The author‟s emotional presentation of
facts and ideas and our emotional reaction to them may convey
important and valuable information.
2
Wlliams, Linda, Nanotechnology Demystified. – New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. – p.12-13.
