1. Introduction
English for Science and Technology (EST) is used in scientific works, academic thesis, research papers,
experimental reports, and the description or explanation of natural phenomena. In one word, it is a variety of
English, dealing with the theories and applications of science and technology.
As an independent science, it was established and developed in London in the middle of the 20
a branch of the English language for special usage. In the 1980s, many research centers of EST were successively established in England and other western European countries, and have a great influence on the whole world.
th century. It is2. Linguistic Description
EST is a style of writing as a result of the development of science and technology. It is characterized by
soundness in logic and accuracy in thinking. This kind of writing is usually formal in style and serious in tone. It does not take artistic beauty of language as its goal. Instead, it tries to achieve clarity in logic and accuracy in meaning. Thus, it has its own stylistic features, which are different form the literary English and other English
styles. There are many prominent stylistic features on different levels of language as we can see from the
following analysis.
2.1 At the graphological level
In EST, the writing form varies a little. It is used as a convenient and communicative medium to convey the
latest information in science and technology and exchange academic achievements concerning this field. As a
result, this kind of writing is formal in style. Only so, it can clearly communicate the information to the people
who are interested in it.
2.1.1 Punctuation
The punctuations can help the readers to have a better understanding of the sentence structures and the wholemeanings the passages are going to convey. So the punctuations in EST are very beneficial to the readers whenthey are reading such texts.
In the following passage we can find that the punctuation mark comma is used more frequently than in other
types of writings. Yet, the question mark is never used. Thus, it shows that the sentences in this kind of English style are quite long. Also, the sentences are not interrogative sentences but totally declarative sentences. As a result of these, the structures in EST are tightly organized and its subject matters are quite single. As we all know, it is used to convey scientific information, but not to exchange feelings which the interrogative sentences, the exclamatory sentences and the imperative sentences are quite used to convey.
2.1.2 Paragraphing
There are 440 words totally, 8 paragraphs, and 18 sentences in this text. In each paragraph the average
number is 55, and the average sentence number is 2.3. The average number in each sentence is 24.4. From these figures we can see that in EST the sentences are quite long and in each sentence there are a lot of words. This is because this kind of style aims to describe the scientific facts, explain the scientific phenomena and conclude the scientific conceptions. It needs a certain number of words and sentences to communicate the information to the users. So it has formed such sort of long sentences and a great many paragraphs.
2.2 At the lexical level
2.2.1 Use of long words and big words
In this passage, long words are quite frequently used, such as investigation, determination, assumption and so
on. These words are very suitable for the English for science and technology, because they can express the
meaning in a more accurate way. These words are in accordance with the requirements of the scientific English that it tries to avoid the ambiguity in words or expressions.
2.2.2 Use of prepositional phrases
This passage also has quite a lot of prepositional phrases, especially the preposition “of”. The prepositional
phrases can make the sentences organized more closely and the structures understood easily.
2.2.3 Use of nominal words
Nominal words such as “motion, investigation, and separation” are used many times. Such kinds of words
indicate the formality of the text, and make much information combined together closely coherently and logically. Science and technology is a formal and objective subject, which can not use the ambiguous words. In other styles, verbs, adjectives and other words act as the grammatical components, while in EST it is often the nominal words that are quite often used instead of the verbs and adjectives.
2.2.4 Frequent use of technical terms
Technical terms are frequently used in this passage, among which there are many a word coming from the
words commonly employed in the ordinary English style. However, in the domain of science and technology they are used differently in meaning and have special meaning different from what we usually see and understand. So they could make the information and the content more scientific and well-knit. Here, these words “branch, rigid, force, body, parts, flexible, etc” are such examples to be used in a different manner in meaning from that in the other types of English writing.
2.3 At the syntactical/grammatical level
2.3.1 Frequent use of passive voice
In the whole passage the passive voices are used for 13 times. A foreign linguist has ever investigated
statistically. In physics, chemistry, and engineering textbooks, one third of all finite verbs are passive voice. In
EST, passive voice not only occurs quiet frequently but also becomes one of the important devices to make the text objective and standard. Since the scientific style attaches more importance to facts, phenomena, or processes, and also it is not involved in the relevant people, passive voice is employed to stress the objects and the contents
2.3.2 Frequent use of declarative sentences
Coherence in logic, clarity and fluency in expression are typical of the scientific English, therefore, the
declarative sentences have a high proportion in the following text. The author of such style could not express his own feelings, because EST tries to avoid subjective opinions or evaluations. The agents of the actions could be anybody in many cases. Besides, the focus of the text is not on the people or the agents but on the objective phenomena and the information itself.
2.3.3 Frequent use of the present tense
The scientific disciplines and phenomena are not restricted by time. For this reason, the present tense appears almost throughout the whole passage. The word “will” is used for judging or guessing but not for the future tense.
2.3.4 Frequent use of long sentences
According to the statistic research conducted by QIAN Yuan (1991), the average simple sentence in all
English styles includes 17.8 words. In this passage there are totally 440 words, and 18 sentences. The average word in each sentence is 24.4. This indicates that the sentence length in EST is longer by far than that in other types of English styles. EST is a functional style. It is to express the complicated thoughts and logical relationships. As a result of these, the long sentences are frequently put into use.
2.3.5 Frequent use of complex sentences
The majority of the sentences in the following passage are complex sentences. The sentences are usually long
and complete. There is no need to go bother unduly with the consideration of stylistic elegance. Therefore, the sentence patterns vary a little. The relative pronouns “which” and “that” appear numerously in the scientific and technical passages. In order to enhance the objectivity and the accuracy of the information, such sentences are frequently used in the passage.
3. Contextual Factors Analysis
Context refers to all elements of a communicative situation: the verbal and nonverbal context, the context of
a given speech situation, and the social context of the relationship between the speaker and the hearer, their
knowledge and their attitude. So as to have a detailed understanding of the stylistic features the EST passages have, it is not sufficient to just describe the passage linguistically. Because any kind of styles could be understood clearly and correctly on the basis of a certain situation or setting in which the passage takes place, it is necessary to analyze the passage’s style in a contextual situation. According to functional stylistics, contextual factors include the following aspects:
3.1 Field of discourse
Field of discourse exerts great influence on the vocabulary and sentence patterns of the language used.
Further studies have discovered two aspects embraced in “field of discourse”. One is the subject matter; the other is the nature of the activity. These two factors have great impact on stylistic features. This passage is a scientific discourse in English. Science cannot make any mistakes. The subject matter is concerned with the scientific information which is objective. It is no doubt that the nature of the scientific activity is objective. The objectivity plays a critical part in choosing the vocabulary and the grammar the language uses. This linguistic function makes the EST unique and distinctive from other types of writing in style. For example, the technical terms and the passive voice are used frequently in such passages, which rightly fulfill the
requirements of the objectivity the EST needs.
3.2 Tenor of discourse
Tenor of discourse refers to the relations among the participants in a discourse (Halliday, 1964). It chiefly
concerns the degree of formality of the language in use. The scientific professionals and the people in this field
play an important role in the scientific activities or conferences. They use the EST as a convenient media to
convey the latest scientific information and exchange the scientific achievements with each other. In addition to the professionals, there are other groups of people who are interested in this subject or have received higher education. Therefore, in this passage, the declarative sentences and the present tense are employed more often than not. The participants in the scientific field could not express their own feelings in a subjective way. Otherwise, they could not convey the scientific information to the public. It is not like the literary English which includes so many parts of speech to show the author’s subjective opinions and evaluations.
3.3 Mode of discourse
Model of discourse “refers to the medium or mode of the language activity, and it is this that determines or
rather correlates with, the role played by the language activity in the situation” (Halliday, 1964, p. 91). To be more explicit, language style varies with different communicative channels. EST is written English and informative English in style. The two parties in the communicative process communicate their information through the visual medium. Its communication could be limited by the communicative channels. Therefore, in the passage of EST, the long and complex sentences and the declarative sentences are used frequently to indicate clarity and accuracy in contents and avoid the ambiguity in words or expressions.
4. Conclusion
The paper is analyzed from the two perspectives: linguistic descriptions and contextual factors. The features
listed above are quite representative in the English for science and technology. EST is to account, exchange and communicate the scientific information as its main aim. So, as an informative style, EST is characterized by its accuracy and logic. We must analyze its stylistic features deeply and in detail, then we could make an effective achievement with little efforts when we study or use the English for science and technology.
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