Mohammad Al Towaim MA Applied Linguistics

Grammatical and Lexical Features of

Scientific and Technical Language
Contents
Introduction 1
Section 1: Scientific/Technical Language 2
Section 2: Some of the Grammatical and Lexical Features of
Scientific and Technical Language
3
2.1 Noun compound
2.1.1 Examples of given extract
2.2 The use of the passive
2.2.1 Examples of given extract
2.3 Nominalisation
2.3.1 Examples of given extract
3
4
4
7
8
8
Section 3: Lexical features of scientific/technical language
3.1 Semi-technical vocabulary
3.1.1 Examples of given extract
9
10
10
Section 4: Some Implications for Teaching Grammar and oca!ular" in
#S$
11
%onclusion 13
&eferences 14
'ppendix 16
Introduction
Many scholars and researchers have discussed the idea that scientific writings differ
from everyday writing both in grammatical and leical features! "his #a#er will
consider this issue and try to clarify the differences between these writings! $n section
one% we will briefly loo& into some of literature review about this to#ic! "hen we will
discuss the grammatical and leical features of the scientific writings% as we will refer
to the given tet 'see (##endi) and #oint out its scientific or technical register%
starting with the grammatical features and its distinguishing style that might differ
from general *nglish! (fterwards% we will clarify the leical features of scientific
writings! $n section four% we will discuss some #edagogical im#lications for teaching
grammar and vocabulary in *+,! $n the conclusion $ will sum u# what has been said
in this #a#er and refer to the im#ortance of cor#ora in *+,!
Section 1:
2
The scientific/technical language
$s the language of scientific and technical tet different from general language- $n
order to answer this .uestion% we should loo& at scientific/technical language to &now
to what etent it is distinguished from general language!
( tet is counted as 0scientific *nglish0 when there are generally considerable
differences between any #articular genres% es#ecially% according to ,ar&inson '2000)%
in vocabulary% grammar and discourse structures! $f we focus on scientific language% it
can be said% according to 1utchinson 2 3aters '1987)% that there are im#ortant
differences between scientific/technical language and general language% in vocabulary
and the higher fre.uently of some grammatical styles! +o% to sum u# the answer% it can
be declared that there are im#ortant distinctions between scientific and general
language!
1alliday '1993)% cited in ,ar&inson '2000)% #oint out that a tet is considered as
0scientific0 because of the s#ecial features relating together throughout the tet! "hese
features will be considered in section 2

Section 2:
3
Some of The grammatical and lexical features of scientific and technical
language
$n this section% $ am going to focus on some features of scientific/technical language%
which are noun com#ound% use of #assive and nominalisation! *ach features will be
concluded with references to the given etract 'see (##endi)!
2(1 )oun compound:
( noun involves two or more nouns relating together as a new conce#t! $n general%
there is a chain of nouns where some nouns modify the head noun '4erguson
'200451)!
odifying noun !ead noun
nuclear submarine refit centre
beginner level franco#hone *+6 learners
( noun com#ound% as Master '2003) indicates% is common in scientific writing! $t is
im#ortant% 4erguson '2004) says% because its function is as a means to re#resent
information in a com#act and dense form! "he noun com#ound has many other
functions ma&ing it suitable for scientific writing! 4erguson '200451) has illustrated
some of them as follows5
i! 7oun com#ounds are sometimes used as technical terms! "hey can be used in
this sense for the first mention/introduction of a technical conce#t!
ii! *.ually commonly% noun com#ounds may be used for the 2
nd
and 3
rd
mentions
of a cluster of conce#ts! 8ery often the noun com#ound is the final stage in the
com#ression of a set of conce#t! "hus% when the idea/conce#t is introduced for
the first time% it may be mentioned in a full form! 3hen the conce#t/idea is
mentioned again% it may be more economical for the writer to refer to its
com#ressed form5 i!e! as a noun com#ound! "his #rocess is illustrated in the
eam#le below5
4
e.g. The study of ho" #uic$ly crac$s in the glass gro" has made significant
progress recently. % &lass crac$ gro"th rate "as found to be related to 9!!
iii! :ne advantage for the writer of a noun com#ound is that they are more easily
shifted within the clause than their corres#onding fuller form! "hus% noun
com#ounds are useful for #resenting given information at the beginning of the
sentence in sub;ect or theme #osition! $t is also customary to #resent given
information in as short and com#ressed a form as #ossible% and this a noun
com#ound allows in the eam#le above!
$n fact% the usage of noun com#ounds involves some difficulty! Master '2003) #oints
out that it is not easy to understand the noun com#ound% even if readers can decode
the individual words!
2.1.2 xamples of gi!en extract" #see Appendix$"
- 'e report a double blind(
- (crossover trial of an angiostensin converting en)yme inhibitor(
2(2 The use of the passi*e:
$t has been commonly acce#ted that the one of the most fre.uent grammatical features
of scientific/technical writing is the use of the #assive! 4or instance% <oyds=$rma&
'197>57) cited in Master '1991516) declares that ?*n science+ a sentence is often
"ritten in a passive form because the important idea is not "ho did something+ but
"hat "as done ?! Moreover% @uir& et al! '19725808)% cited in Master '1991516)% states
that5
The passive has been found to be as much as ten times more fre#uent in one
text than in another. The ma,or stylistic factor determining its fre#uency
seems to be related to the distinction bet"een informative and imaginative
prose rather than to a difference of sub,ect matter or of spo$en and "ritten
English. The passive is generally more commonly used in formative than in
>
imaginative "riting+ notably in the ob,ective+ impersonal style of scientific
articles and ne"s items!
:n the other hand% Alic. '19815319)% cited in Master '1991516)% says ?(
unfortunately+ many scientists and engineers in industry still believe that everything
should be "ritten in the passive voice( "ith the passage of time+ this outdated
belief is slo"ly being eroded?! 4urthermore% *isenberg '198251>1) cited in Master
'1991516) #oints out that ?9 the use of the passive verb slo"s do"n the pace+
re#uires more "ords+ and tends to ma$e the going difficult for your readers.?
$n fact% all the remar&s mentioned above are% according to 4erguson '2006)% unable
to illustrate why% and in which situations% the #assive is to be #referred over the
active% and vice=versa! 1owever% the table below% Master '1991522)% shows that the
#assive voice has a greater use in scientific writing% but the active still has
dominance!
-omparison of .ctive/0assive 1atios 2in 0ercents3 in Several Studies
(uthor "et Mid=brow 1igh=brow
Aarber '1962) "etboo& 72/28
<umsBewicB '-) +cientific tet 72/26
3hite '1974) Ceneral tetboo&s 7>/2>
6aboratory re#ort 37/63
+cientific tetboo& 78/22
3ingard '1981) Medical ;ournal 6>/3>
Medical tet 76/24
"ranoe '1981) (stro#hysics ;ournal 89/12
(stro#hysics ;ournal 81/19
:ne of the researches eamining the actual use of the #assive is a study% mentioned in
the table above% #roduced by "arone et al! '1981)! "his study has used cor#us to
analysis two astro#hysics ;ournal #a#ers! "he result D(sho"s that the active voice is
used much more fre#uently than the passive and+ more importantly+ that the active
first person plural we verb form seems to be regularly used at strategic4points5..6
"ranoe et al '19815201)! "his result a##ears in the table below5
6
7verall fre#uently of active and passive verbs in the Stoeger and 8ightman papers
Stoeger 8ightman
"otal number of verbs 244 370
(ctive verbs 217 '88!>E) 301 '81!4E)
(ctive "e verbs >8 '23E) 40 '10!8E)
,assive verbs 27 '11!>E) 69 '18!6E)
"otal verbs% eistential
omitted!
137 248
(ctive verbs 110 '80E) 179 '72!2E)
(ctive FweG verbs >2 '37E) 40 '16!1E)
,assive verbs 27 '20E) 69 '27!8E)
"ranoe et al! '19815194)
Moreover% the cor#us suggests the following generaliBations5
i! 3riters of astro#hysics ;ournal #a#ers have a tendency to use the active "e-
form voice to show #oints in the logical develo#ment of the argument where
they have made a distinctive #rocedural choiceH the #assive voice is used when
the writers are following established or standard #rocedures!
ii! 3hen a com#arison is being made between a writerGs wor& and that of other
researchers% writers use the active voice for their own wor& and the #assive
voice for the research that is being contrasted!
iii! 3hen the writers ;ust cite other researchersG wor&% they use the active form of
the verb!
iv! 3hen writers refer to their future wor&% they use the #assive verb!
v! "he usage of the #assive or active voice in these #a#ers is conditioned by the
Fdiscoursal functions of focusG or by the length of certain sentence elements!
"ranoe et al! '19815201) conclude these generaliBations by saying5 9it should be
noticed that "e only claim that these generali)ations hold for professional
,ournals9.
7
(s the tables above indicate% both the active and #assive are used in
scientific/technical writing! "hus% we could conclude the debate by saying that the
choice of either active or #assive voice is de#endent on the function that the writer
#refers Iudey=*vans 2 John '1998576) state that5
:The idea that scientific("riting uses the passive voice more fre#uently
than the active is a myth; "hat is true is that such "riting uses the passive
voice more fre#uently than some other types of "riting(.The choice of
active or passive is constrained by functional considerations...6
2.2.2 xamples of gi!en extract" #see Appendix$
i! (ctive voice5
- 'e report a double blind(
- 'e used a crossover study and carried out(
ii! ,assive voice5
- Each patient "as given either enalapril or placebo(
- (in "hich treatment given "as randomised(
- 1andomisation "as carried out(
2(3 )ominalisation:
7ominalisation is a word derived from a verb or an ad;ective 'e!g! applicability from
applicable)! $t is usually ended by suffies such as <ation+ -ity+ or -ment!
7ominalisation% according to Iudey=*vans 2 John '1998) is a &ind of abstract or
economical language! "hus% as we will see in the given etract 'see (##endi)%
nominalisation is used to ma&e the #hrases more sim#le! Iudey=*vans 2 John
'1998578) cited the tet below indicating that nominalisation 9(enables complex
information to be pac$aged into a phrase that is simple from a grammatical point of
vie" and that can be pic$ed up in the theme of the follo"ing sentence =
8
9. high primary producti!it% is almost invariably related to a high
crop yield. !igh producti!it% can be achieved by ensuring that all the
light "hich falls on the field is intercepted by the leaves(. &reater
efficienc% in photosynthesis could perhaps be achieved by selecting
against photorespiration9.
(da#ted from Iudey=*vans 2 John '1998578)
2.&.2 xample of gi!en extract" #see Appendix$
- 1andomisation "as carried out by the suppliers of the drug.
Section 3:
Lexical features of scientific/technical language
7otion '20015198) has divided technical vocabulary into four categories% ordered
from the most technical in category 1 to the least in category 45
i! Kategory 15 "he vocabularies are restricted to the following fields!
6aw5 ,actitation+ per curiam+ closture
(##lied 6inguistics5 morpheme+ hapax legomena+ lemma
*lectronics5 anode+ impedance+ galvanometer+ dielectric
Kom#uting5 "ysi"yg+ rom+ pixel
9
ii! Kategory 25 "he vocabulary can be found in different fields% but with different
meanings!
6aw5 cite 2to appear3+ caution 2vb3
(##lied 6inguistics5 sense+ reference+ type+ to$en
*lectronics5 induced+ flux+ terminal+ earth
iii! Kategory 35 "he vocabulary is found in and outside this field% but the ma;ority
of its uses with a #articular meaning are in this field!
6aw5 accused+ offer+ reconstruction 2of a crime3
(##lied 6inguistics5 range+ fre#uency
*lectronics5 coil+ energy+ positive+ gate+ resistance
Kom#uting5 memory+ drag+ "indo"
iv! Kategory 45 the vocabulary is more common in this field% but there is little or
even no s#ecialisation of meaning! 1owever% a learner with &nowledge of the
field will &now the meaning better!
6aw5 ,udge+ mortgage+ trespass
(##lied 6inguistics5 "ord+ meaning
*lectronics5 drain+ filament+ load+ plate
Kom#uting5 print+ program+ icon
$t is obvious from the categories above that there is a degree of 0technicalness? in
which% as 7otion '2001) states% this degree is governed by a word0s restriction to a
s#ecific field! "hus% category 1 involves clearly technical words% since they are
eclusive to a s#ecific area in both form and meaning! $n contrast% words in category 4
are ca#able of being used in more than one field% and% therefore% can be considered as
less technical!
&.1 Semi'technical !oca(ular%"
"here are some words which could be related to all s#ecialised disci#lines! +uch
words% according to Iudely=*vans 2 John '1998)% are counted as semi=technical
words! 3e will see eam#les of it below!
10
&.1 xample of gi!en extract" #see Appendix$
i! "echnical leis5
- ...crossover trail of an angiotensin...
- Each patient "as given either enalapril or placebo(
- ...fluid overload receiving dialysis...
ii! +emi=technical vocabulary5
- ... an angiotensin converting en)yme...
-... patients "ith chronic fluid...
-...of the ethics committee of this hospital...
Section 4:
Some Implications for Teaching Grammar and oca!ular" in #S$
$n the light of sections 2 and 3% we could answer the .uestion raised at the beginning5
$s the language of scientific and technical tet different from general language- "he
short answer is Les! 3e have seen that scientific/technical language is different from
general language! "herefore% it is worth focusing on the grammatical and leical
features of a area being considered% in order to im#rove the methods of *+, and its
im#lications% following the statement by *wer 2 Iavies '1988) that the wor& done to
identify the features of scientific language and its differences with general language
has a #ositive im#act! $n this section% we will attem#t to #oint out the role of grammar
11
and vocabulary in the contet of teaching *+,% and to indicate some im#lications for
teaching grammar and leis in *+,!
$t has been claimed that *+, teaching is not concerned with grammar! 1owever%
Iudley=*vans 2 John '1998) declare that grammar teaching is one of the *+,
teacherGs duties! +tudents who have grammatical difficulties will face a lot of troubles
in language s&ills! 3or& on grammar% according to Iudley=*vans 2 John '1998)% is
su##osed to integrate with the teaching of language use!
<egarding vocabulary% some scholars 'see Iudley=*vans 2 John '1998)% and 7otion
'2001))% and claim that it is not the *nglish teachers0 ;ob to teach technical words!
1owever% there is some circumstance where teachers should #ay an effort to hel# their
students in understanding the technical vocabulary! 4or eam#le% Iudley=*vans 2
John '1998581) declare that 9(students usually need to be able to understand the
technical vocabulary in order to do the exercise?! "hus% 9( it may be also the duty
of the ES0 teacher to chec$ that learners have understood technical vocabulary
appearing as carrier content for an exercise?! Moreover% 7otion '20015204) has
determined that ?considering the large number of technical "ords that occur in
speciali)ed texts+ language teachers need to prepare learners to deal "ith them.
4urthermore% 7otion '2001520>) states that5
9The main purpose in isolating an academic or technical vocabulary is to
provide a sound basis for planning teaching and learning. >y focusing
attention on items that have been sho"n to be fre#uent..6
$n terms of language courses% ,ar&inson '2000) states that in teaching language
through content% students are not only learning the language% but they are using the
language to learn! "herefore% ,ar&inson '20005374) has suggested a theme=based
language course for science students% in which learners D9must be embedded in a
real to#ic and any reference to grammar or strategies for wor&ing out the meaning of
new vocabulary etc! is subsidiary to this ma;or to#ic!M "he #ur#ose of this is5
to ma&e the materials authentic% involving% as far as #ossible% real scientific
activityH
12
to ma&e them relevant and interesting in themselves! Crammar eercises% for
eam#le% if done for their own sa&e% are usually boring whatever the to#icH
most im#ortantly% the #ur#ose is to ma&e material ca#able for teaching
a##ro#riate genres i!e! ca#able of #roviding the students with schemata in
terms of form as well as content% in addition to teaching grammar% vocabulary
and coherence etc!

:ne of the most significant im#lications is the use of cor#ora in the *+, field%
es#ecially when the teachers and researchers have established their own cor#ora to
hel# them in s#ecific aims! "his &ind of small cor#us has a #ositive im#act on
grammar and vocabulary teaching in *+, contet% in a way which is more suitable
than a large cor#us! ,artington '1998) cites 4lowerdew0s eam#le '1993)% which is a
collection ada#ted from Aiology lecture tets% used for teaching *nglish for
undergraduate students attending classes in this #articular area of science!
%onclusion
$n this #a#er $ have considered the grammatical and leical features of scientific
writing that will hel# both the learners and teachers of *+, in understanding the
differences between scientific writing and general writing! $ have clarified the
grammatical and leical features of scientific writing! $n each feature% $ have referred
to the eam#les ada#ted from the given tet! (lso $ have stated some #edagogical
im#lications that would be useful in teaching *+,! $n conclusion% studying the
features of scientific writings will enable us to understand and therefore develo# *+,
courses that would be useful! 4urthermore% develo#ing s#ecial cor#uses for each
13
scientific field will ma&e it easier both the teachers and learners of *+,! 4rom all this%
$ would li&e to #oint out the im#ortance and significance of cor#ora in *+,!

&eference
Iudley=*vans% "! and +t John% M! 1998! ?evelopments in English for Specific 0urposes= .
multi-disciplinary approach! KN,!
*wer% J! and 1ughes=Iavies 1987! 4urther 7otes on Ievelo#ing an *nglish ,rogramme for
+tudents of +cience and "echnology0 $n +wales% J!'ed)! Episode in ES0! ,rentice 1all! #!4>!
4erguson% C! 2004! 1andout5 06ecture on "he Crammar in *+,5 7oun Kom#ound0
Nniversity of +heffield!
4erguson% C! 2006! 1andout5 06ecture on in "he Crammar in *+,5 "he Nse of "he ,assive in
+cientific and "echnical 3riting0 ! Nniversity of +heffield!
14
1utchinson% "! and 3aters% (! 1987!! F*+, at the KrossroadsG! $n +wales% J!'ed)! Episode in
ES0! ,rentice 1all! #!174!
Master% ,! 1991! (ctive verbs with inanimate sub;ects in scientific #ros! English for specific
purposes. 1@+ 1A-33.
Master% ,! 2003! 7oun Kom#ounds and Kom#ressed Iefinitions! 8olume 41% $ssue 3!
(vailable on line5 htt#5//echanges!state!gov/forum/vols/vol41/no3/#02!#df
7ation% $! 2001! 8earning Bocabulary in .nother 8anguage. Kambridge5 KN,!
,ar&inson% J! 2000! (c.uiring scientific literacy through content and genre5 a theme=based
language course for science students! English for Specific 0urposes! 1C 3DC-3EF
,artington% (! 1998! ,atterns and meaning! (msterdam5 John Aen;amins!
"arone% *!% Iwyer% +!% Cillette% +!% $c&e% 8! 1987! :n the use of the #assive in two
astro#hysics #a#ers! $n +wales% J! 'ed!)! Episode in ES0! ,rentice 1all! #!188!
3ood% (! 2001! $nternational +cientific *nglish5 "he language of research scientists around
the world! $n 4lowerdew% J! and ,eacoc&% M! 2001! 1esearch 0erspective on English for
.cademic 0urposes. Kambridge Nniversity ,ress! #71
'ppendix5
The given text=
3e re#ort a double blind% #lacebo=controlled% crossover trial of an angiostensin
converting enByme inhibitor% enala#ril% in #atients with chronic fluid overload
receiving dialysis! O9P 3e used a crossover study and carried out #rocedure within
the study according to the standards of the ethics committee of this hos#ital! *ach
#atient was given either enala#ril or a #lacebo in the first #eriod of the treatment!
3hat was given was randomised% with 13 #atients receiving enala#ril first and 12 the
#lacebo first! <andomisation was carried out by the su##liers of the drug!
1>

16