[英语考试]科技英语ABriefAnalysisofFeaturesofGrammarandDiscourseinEST.doc

A Brief Analysis of Features of Grammar and Discourse in EST摘 要 “科技英语”是“专用英语”的一个分支,是一门在上个世纪70年代新确立的语言学分科。文章讨论了科技英语的概念，然后从科技英语的语法结构和问题两方面讨论了科技英语的不同于普通英语的特征。关键词 专用英语 科技英语 语言特征Abstract EST(English for Science and Technology) as a branch of ESP（English for Specific Purpose）was established in the 1970s. The article starts from the definition of EST, and elaborates on such characteristics of EST as that of grammar and discourse so as to differentiate EST from General English.Key words ESP EST Language feature1 The Definition of English For Science and Technology With the deepening of reform and opening up, the exchange with foreign countries in the field of science and technology has become increasingly frequent. In order to get high efficiency in the communication with foreigners in this field, it is essential for us to obtain a better understanding of the features of EST on the occasion of the development of hi-techs get more emphasis.In the view of teaching, ESP refers any form of English teaching with its certain and practical aim. As one branch of ESP, EST is one of English teaching methods designed for the scientists in non-English-speaking countries, with science and technology as its content and objective. It is established as a new branch of Linguistics in the 1970s, in desperate want of the advanced external scientific knowledge for the scientists and also meets the trend of rapid development of science and technology, the increasingly frequency of international exchanges in this field, too. As a part of English language and a kind of stylistic, EST is noted for its elegance, compactness, objectivity and less affection. By the analysis on the characteristics of language of EST, differences from General English can be seen in the aspects of grammar and discourse. 2 Language Feature in EST2.1 Grammatical feature in EST2.1.1 Wild application of passive One of remarkable features of grammar in EST is the wild application of passive, which has a bound relationship with the style of EST. In most cases, the subjects in EST are objective things, facts or process etc. without any subjective tones. As a consequence, passive is serviced as an important device for EST being a combination of objectivity and standardization. Unusually, the passive applied in EST will omit the actors or doers. Sometimes, the phrases connected with by are not omitted in the passive statements of EST. Namely, actors are remained. Phrases of by illustrate the doer of behaviour in informal English, while convey the way, method, approach or reasons in EST. For instance, Useful facts may be collected either by making careful observation or by setting up experiment./ Tong guo zi xi de guan cha huo zuo shi yan ke yi shou ji dao you yong de shu ju. However, Porush(1995:216) holds that overuse of passive is one of the most universal, persistent and damaging habits of scientific writing. He also mentions that once you mount the passive voice bicycle, it is hard to get off . From his perspective, the application of first person doesnt equal to subjectivity.Admittedly, more and more we are in the usage. In the general, although the application of passive has seen its decrease, it still remains its highest proportions in EST, compared with other styles.2.1.2 Inclination of nominalization Another notable feature of EST is the frequent usage of nouns or noun phrases, namely the inclination of nominalization. The words of nominalization mainly refer to the abstract noun conveyed the meaning of action or state, generally derived from verb and also including nouns with the meaning of actions (of e.g.use) and nous comprising adjectives with suffixes, for example, -ability, -ity and -ness. In the situation that uses nouns or adjectives in the general styles, abstract nouns will be substituted. Nominalization is regarded as an important feature of EST, considering its high abstraction and being the device to express the abstract and logical thinking. For instance, in informal English, we may speak in this way, You can rectify the fault if you inserta wedge. While in most cases, nominalization phrases are used to convey the identical meaning in EST.“Rectification of this fault is achieved by insertion of a wedge” Cha jin yi ge qi pian, gu zhuang jiu ke pai chu. In the second sentence, rectification and insertion substitute for rectifyand insert respectively.And predicate verbs apply the neutral achieve. As a result, the compound sentence with much information will be transformed into simple sentence with equal amount of information. Besides, the information needed to convey should be put in the first place of the sentence to ensure its outstanding. The usage of the higher abstract nouns or nominalization phrases not only makes contents objective and exact, but also makes the expression of the sentences more refined and style more formal.2.1.3 Inclination of application of long sentences EST is used to express the scientific theories, principles, rules, concepts and the complex relationship of various things. But the complex scientific thinking cannot be conveyed by the simple sentences. Consequently, more long sentences with complicated grammar are applied in the EST. For these long sentences, it always contains lots of modify phrases (including the prepositional phrases, adjective phrases and non-finite verb phrases), absolute construction carrying subject and all kinds of clauses. This kind of language method with compactness, rigor, strong logic, great emphasis and clear hierarchy can be another important feature of EST. Unusually, long sentences are classified into two parts, the one with much juxtapositions and the other with many clauses. 2.1.4 Wild application of present tense Present tense are often used to analyse academic parts , universal truth or the objective facts without the limitation of time. It is served to elaborate the process of test as well. For instance, Basically, the theory proposed among other things, that the maximum speed possible in the universe is that of light;that mass appears to increase with speed,that / ji ben shang, zhe ge li lun, chu le bie de yi wai hai ti chu :yu zhou jian neng da dao de zui da su du shi guang su; zhi liang sui su du er zeng jia 6 This example is objective clause concerning with principle. In EST, being free from the limitation of the tense of main clause, objective clause concerning with principles or formulas still use the simple present tense. 2.2 Features of discourse in EST2.2.1 Formal in mode of speech Formal in mode of speech mainly refers to the aspect of its terms. On one hand, it uses many terminology with high proficiency. On the other hand, the common terms in the scientific articles have its inclination toward written language, also the rate of appearance of advanced words or long words in EST is much higher than that in the general English and literature English. 2.2.2 Objectivity and Accuracy in Statement Scientific articles reflect the objective things and cannot be mingled with any subjective feelings. The statement of objective things should be objective and accurate. This is the feature of EST, also the basic requirement for the writers. 2.2.3 Standard in language Generally, the language in SET is standardized, focused on its grammar, which is quite different from the literature works. The standardization of grammar is conditional on its accuracy of the description of objective things. 2.2.4 Undecorated in Stylistics In the view of figure of speech, scientific articles dominated in communicative rhetoric, with its undecorated style, sound logic and accurate description, different from the literature rich for its aesthetic rhetoric and colorful art. This feature in EST mainly focuses on its unity and coherence in language and refining, balance and simple in the sentence. For some long sentence, it is no redundancy and roundabout. 2.2.5 Strictness in logic Although logic belongs to the extralinguistic factor, it remains its bound relationship with language. Strictness in logic as anther distinctive feature of scientific articles, has manifested itself mainly in the definite concept, sensible judgement and deliberate inference.2.2.6 Concentration in technical terms As we all know, there is a certain scope of scientific articles (exception of popular scientific articles). Generally speaking, the article is written for the readers majoring in science, mostly are the scientists. Therefore, scientific articles has seen its another feature, namely, concentration in technical terms. With its strictness and simplicity, the technical terms sever itself as the basis of theory in science and technology and also make the article more precise and succinct. 3 Conclusion EST is a variety of English, which is gradually formed to meet the the development and exchange of science