科技英語的文體特點(diǎn)

1、Stylistic Features of the English of Science and TechnologyEST The English of science and technology (EST) is actually a big variety. It includes the English of chemistry, the English of physics, the English of mathematics, the English of biology, the English of medicine, etc. But, generally speakin

2、g, the English of all scientific fields have something in common and on which we base our studies. Of all the scientific fields, we usually subdivide them into two main varieties: the English of specialized science and technology (ESST), and the English of common science and technology (ECST).Compar

3、e the following two passages about man What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties! In form and moving, how express and admirable! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a God! The beauty of the word! The paragon of animals! Man is metazoan, triplob

4、lastic, vertebrate pentadactyl, mammalian, eutherian, primate. The main outline of each of his principal system of organs may be traced back, like those of other mammals, to the fishes.Difference in style Graphologically, in the first passage the typical feature is the frequent use of exclamation ma

5、rks (which show feelings); while in the second passage, the frequent use of commas (which offer information).Difference in style Lexically, in the first passage, we can see the frequent use of favorable adjectives and nouns, such as noble, infinite, express, admirable, angel, God, beauty, paragon. W

6、hile in the second one, we find technical terms of biology predominate the whole text, such as metazoan, triploblastic, choral, vertebrate, pentadactyl, mammalian, eutherian, primate, etc.Difference in style Syntactically, in the first passage, we can find the frequent use of exclamatory sentences a

7、s well as two short sentence fragments in order to express feelings; while in the second passage, both sentences are complete declarative sentences with the purpose of giving information.Difference in style Semantically, in the first passage, figurative language used in order to show a strong feelin

8、g, especially the use of the metaphor (piece of work), hyperbole and metaphor (the beauty of the world; the paragon of animals), and similes (like an angel; like a God). As a result, man is greatly praised. While in the second passage, all the words are used in their conceptual meanings. The tone is

9、 factual, and impersonal. Hence the information of how man came into being is clearly revealed.1. Requirements of EST 1. Objectivity (客觀性) 2. Clarity (明確性) 3. Accuracy (準(zhǔn)確性) 4. Formality (正式) 2.Graphological Features 1. Generally speaking, EST makes full use of graphological devices. First, scientis

10、ts tend to use visual aids more than other people, such as pictures, tables, charts, formulae, etc. in order to explain matters clearly.2.Graphological Features 2. As far as punctuation is concerned, the most frequently used marks are the full stop, the comma, and the parentheses. This is due to the

11、 nature of EST writing.2.Graphological Features As the basic function of EST is to inform, therefore objective statements are the most preferred sentence type, thus the full stop. And the sentences are usually long; therefore, commas are used to set off some elements of the sentence from what procee

12、ds, and what follows. Parentheses(圓括號） are used to enclose supplementary details. 3.Lexical Features EST vocabulary usually consists of the following kinds of words: a) common words with specific meaning; b) highly technical words(純技術(shù)詞）; c) semi-technical words; （半技術(shù)詞） d) noun compounds; e) nominali

13、zation； f) newly coined words.（新詞）3.Lexical Features common words with specific meaning Eg: (a) The reflected light was taken in by the transducer. (b) The reflected light was absorbed by the transducer.3.Lexical FeaturesHighly technical words are often used for a particular scientific discipline, u

14、sually formed from elements provided by Greek or Latin, such as the words like metazoen, triploblastic, chodal, vertebrate, pentadactyl etc. eg. stratosphere (同溫層), seismology (地震學(xué)) polysomic (多倍體的), leukocyte (白細(xì)胞), sequoia (紅杉)Many of the highly technical words remain foreign to outsiders, even to

15、 educated native speakers.3.Lexical FeaturesSemi-technical words refer to words that have the same or slightly different meaning in several scientific or technical disciplines, but have meaning different from their non-technical use, such as cat family, force arm, solid matter, horse power, saline s

16、olution, etc.3.Lexical Features noun compounds: n+n, adj+n, prep+n Proper nouns(專有名詞）：ampere 安培; volt 伏特，Doppler effect 多普勒效應(yīng) Abbreviations ：CAD- computer-aided design計算機(jī)輔助設(shè)計CPU- central processing unit (計算機(jī))中央處理器 PVC- polyvinylchloride 聚氯乙烯 Acronyms ：AIDS- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrom 艾滋病(獲得性

17、免疫缺損綜合癥) COMSAT- communication + satellite 通訊衛(wèi)星 Blends: smog = smoke + fog 煙霧 ecosys =ecology + system 生態(tài)系統(tǒng) modem = modulator + demodulator 調(diào)制解調(diào)器 transistor = transfer + resistor 晶體管3.Lexical FeaturesNominalization refers to the grammatical process of forming nouns from other parts of speech, usuall

18、y verbs or adjectives. Nominalization is more formal than its counterpart, therefore more frequently occur in EST. e.g. .3.Lexical Features eg. The doctor arrived extremely quickly and examined the patient uncommonly carefully; the result was that he recovered very speedily. cf. The doctors extremel

19、y quick arrival and uncommonly careful examination of the patient brought about his very speedy recovery.(醫(yī)生迅速到達(dá)，并非常仔細(xì)地檢查了病人，因此病人很快就康復(fù)了。) Translation Archimeds first discovered the principle of displacement of water by solid bodies. The rotation of the earth on its own axis causes the change from da

20、y to night. Television is the transmission and reception of images of moving objects by radio waves. The dependence of the rate of evaporation of a liquid on temperature is enormous. Archimeds first discovered the principle of displacement of water by solid bodies. 阿基米德最先發(fā)展固體排水的原理。 句中of displacement

21、 of water by solid bodies 系名詞化結(jié)構(gòu)，一方面簡化了同位語從句，另一方強(qiáng)調(diào)displacement 這一事實(shí)。 The rotation of the earth on its own axis causes the change from day to night. 地球繞軸自轉(zhuǎn)，引起晝夜的變化。名詞化結(jié)構(gòu)the rotation of the earth on its own axis 使復(fù)合句簡化成簡單句，而且使表達(dá)的概念更加確切嚴(yán)密。 電視通過無線電波發(fā)射和接受活動物體的圖象。 Television is the transmission and recept

22、ion of images of moving objects by radio waves. 名詞化結(jié)構(gòu)the transmission and reception of images of moving objects by radio waves 強(qiáng)調(diào)客觀事實(shí)，而謂語動詞則著重其發(fā)射和接受的能力。 The dependence (to depend) of the rate of evaporation (to evaporate) of a liquid on temperature is enormous. The rate of evaporation of a liquid en

23、ormously depends on temperature. 液體的蒸發(fā)率/蒸發(fā)速度極大的取決于氣溫。 From the translations, it is not hard to find that noun and noun phrase are widely used in English so that the statement are stative（靜態(tài)的），while verb is used in Chinese to make the statement dynamic.4.Syntactic/grammatical Features1. As far as sen

24、tence type is concerned, there are more declarative sentences, since the primary purpose of EST is to supply information, and to achieve clarity, conciseness and accuracy.2. As far as sentence length is concerned, there are more long sentences.Whats the features of these sentence A direct current is

25、 a current flowing always along the same direction. Radiating from the earth, heat causes air currents to rise. A body can move uniformly and in a straight line, there being no cause to change that motion. Vibrating objects produce sound waves ,each vibration producing one sound wave.4.Syntactic/gra

26、mmatical FeaturesSentences of more than 30 words are by no means rare in EST writings, and they often contain several clauses and non-finite verb phrases as pre- and post- modifiers and these clauses and phrases are usually interwoven with each other, thus forming very long sentences.4.Syntactic/gra

27、mmatical Features3. Another typical syntactic feature is the frequent use of “it” introduced sentences which add a sense of impersonality and formality. For example: cf. (a) Some scientists suggested that this “active nitrogen”(活性氮) consisted of the gas in its atomic state. (b) It was suggested by s

28、ome scientists that this “active nitrogen” consisted of the gas in its atomic state. whats the difference between the Chinese sentences and the English sentences It was not until the 19th century that heat was considered as a form of energy. 直到十九世紀(jì)人們才認(rèn)識到熱是能量的一種形式。 This steel alloy is believed to be

29、the best available here . 人們認(rèn)為這種合金鋼是這里能提供的最好的合金鋼。 The switching time of the new-type transistor is shortened three times . 新型晶體管的開關(guān)時間縮短了三分之二。 Computers may be classified as analog and digital. 計算機(jī)可分為模擬計算機(jī)和數(shù)字計算機(jī)兩種。4.Syntactic/grammatical Features4. The most conspicuous grammatical feature of EST is t

30、he frequent use of passive voice. About one-third of the verbs in EST writings are in the passive voice. This indicates that scientists and engineers use the passive voice much more frequently than most other writers. Why is passive voice frequently used in EST?Why is passive voice frequently used i

31、n EST?The reasons are: a) Scientists are more interested in the action or facts rather than the doers; b) Passive sentences are usually shorter and more concise than active ones; c) Passive sentences appear more objective in tone.How to translate? 1.使用 “加以”, “經(jīng)過”, “用來”等詞來體現(xiàn)原文中的被動含義。 Other questions

32、will be discussed briefly. 其他問題將簡單地加以討論。 2.將英語原文中的主語翻譯為賓語, 同時增補(bǔ)泛指性的詞語(人們,大家等)作主語。 It is asserted that 有人主張 It is believed that 有人認(rèn)為 It is generally considered that 大家(一般人)認(rèn)為 It is well known that 大家知道(眾所周知) It will be said 有人會說 It was told that 有人曾經(jīng)說 How to translate? 3.翻譯成漢語的無主句。 It is hoped that 希

33、望 It is reported that 據(jù)報道 It is said that 據(jù)說 It is supposed that 據(jù)推測 It may be said without fear of exaggeration that 可以毫不夸張地說 It must be admitted that 必須承認(rèn) It must be pointed out that 必須指出 It will be seen from this that 由此可見How to translate? 4.譯成漢語的被動語態(tài)。 常用“被”, “給”, “遭”, “挨”, “為所”, “使”, Early fires

34、 on the earth were certainly caused by nature, not by Man. 地球上早期的火肯定是由大自然而不是人類引燃的.Translation Practice In other words mineral substances which are found on earth must be extracted by digging, boring holes, artificial explosions, or similar operations which make them available to us. Nuclear powers d

35、anger to health, safety, and even life itself can be summed up in one word: radiation. Translation Practice It is generally accepted that the experiences of the child in his first years largely determine his character and later personality. Great efforts should be made to inform young people especia

36、lly the dreadful consequences of taking up the habit of the smoking.Translation Practice Whether the Government should increase the financing of pure science at the expense of technology or vice versa often depends on the issue of which is seen as the driving force4.Syntactic/grammatical Features5.

37、Another typical grammatical feature of EST is the frequent use of simple present tense. Since the simple present tense is often used to show a general truth, or to indicate a state, or regular actions or process, it is most commonly used in EST writings4.Syntactic/grammatical Features6.Apart from the simple present tense, the simple past, the simple future, the present perfect and the present continuous are also used in EST writings, but not as frequently as the simple present.5. Semantic Feature