The Style of Scientific Works

The Style of Scientific Works The genre of scientific works exists for the most part within the bounds of the written form of language (scientific articles, monographs or textbooks), but it may also manifest itself in its oral form (in scientific reports, lectures, discussions at conferences, etc.); in the latter case this style already has some features of colloquial speech. The aim of scientific speech is to present precise information, therefore it requires the use of special terminology which does not admit of polysemy or of figurative meanings, of emotional connotations (all of which is typical of colloquial and publicist styles). The author of scientific works tends to sound impersonal, hence the use of the pronoun "WE" instead of "I", of impersonal constructions, of the Passive Voice (which allows the author not to mention himself or any other subjective participants of the events described). The syntax of scientific speech is characterized by the use of complete (non-elliptical) sentences (unlike the syntax of colloquial speech), the use of extended complex and compound sentences without omission of conjunctions, as these connectors enable the author to express the relations between the parts more precisely (as different from the asyndetic connection typical of colloquial speech); the use of bookish syntactic constructions, such as complexes with non-finite forms of the verb; the use of extended attributive phrases, often with a number of nouns used as attributes to the following head-noun (Noun + Noun construction). See some examples of grammar structures typical of scientific language: Noun + Noun constructions: the sea level; the time and space relativity theory; the World peace conference; a high level consensus; the greenhouse effect; carbon dioxide emissions): fossil fuel burning; deforestation problems (= problems related to the disappearance of forests on the earth). 19 Passive Voice constructions: Water is not the sole variety of substance from which oxygen can be obtained'. Methane is produced by leaks from gas pipelines. Bookish syntactic structures: The compound type of predicate: These gases are easy to control but they are persistent once emitted (= // is easy to control these gases, but it is hard to stop them when they come out)'. Deforestation is probably even harder to change (= It is even harder to change the situation when forests begin to disappear). The use of abstract nouns, gerundial, participial or infinitive phrases and complexes instead of the much simpler clauses with conjunctions: Apart from this, controlling emissions of greenhouse gases would require huge increase in energy efficiency (= Besides, if we want to control the gases which come out when the air becomes warmer, we shall have to produce much more energy); Agreement to implement such huge projects would require overcoming differences between countries (= If we want to agree to carry out such big projects, we shall have to change the situation when every country is different from another); The measures suggested are worth considering/require careful consideration (= It is necessary to think about the measures that we have suggested); Our planet is known to have been hot once and to have grown cooler in the course of time (= We know that once it was hot and then grew cooler). Special emphatic constructions to lay a logical stress on some part of the sentence: It is not solely from water that oxygen is to be obtained (= we can get oxygen not only from water). It is on these terms that the UN would be prepared to intervene into the conflict (= The UN will intervene only on these terms).