10. The style of scientific prose

The style of scientific prose can be divided into: 

• the language style of humanities, 

• the language style of science, 

• the language style of popular scientific prose.

This style is also known as academic. We can come across such collocations as academic vocabulary, academic communications, etc.

The aim of scientific prose is to describe a scientific experiment, to prove a hypothesis, to create new concepts and so on. The language means used here tend to be objective and precise. N. Razinkina writes that on the whole the language of scientific prose style is the result of group speech activity and is in contrast to emotive prose, which is the result of individual speech. Stereotypes of texts lead to the feature of this style which is called «predictability» of language means. Another feature linguists wrote about   is «automation». It was defined as «habitual usage of a language means, providing its easy and spontaneous perception». On the other hand, emotive prose possesses a property, called «actualization».The latter is understood as «a usage of language means that attracts attention by itself»

According to I. Galperin, there are several main features of scientific prose style:

1. the logical sequence of utterances with clear indication of their interrelations and interdependence;

2. the use of terms specific to each given branch of science;

3. the so-called sentence-patterns (There are three types: postulatory, argumentative and formulative.);

4. the use of quotations and references (These references also have a definite compositional pattern.);

5. the use of foot-notes (Anything that breaks logical coherence but at the same time supports the idea is placed in a foot-note.);

6. impersonality of scientific writings (This quality is revealed in the frequent use of passive constructions, such verbs as to suppose, to presume, to conclude and so on).

N. Razinkina opposes the last statement. She says that if we try to solve this problem from a philosophical point of view, we can see that there is no definite boundary between «objective» and «subjective». She also stresses the fact that the language of science cannot be absolutely deprived of emotive aspects because the process of cognition not only has a logical basis but involves the emotional attitude and intuition of the researcher. 

The category of the writer`s personality has a complicated realization in the text. In spite of all that has been said the personal pronoun of the 1st person singular is rarely used in scientific texts.

There are three ways of representing the author`s personality: 

• the author is known (definiteness) (In the first case the subject of the action is represented as a definite person. The narration is given in the 1st person. To this class belong such genres as memoirs, traveler`s notes, letters and so on.), 

• the unknown (indefiniteness) (It represents the author as an indefinite person or several people unimportant for the information they give. In English scientific texts this category is expressed by means of the personal plural pronoun «we». The indefinite character of this pronoun is explained by the fact that the public to whom the text is addressed is indefinite. They have no individual features. In this function the pronoun «we» is often used in mathematics and physics. There the readers are involved in the process of doing  a sum or proving a theorem.), 

• generalized (The third category is the category of generalization. In English it is expressed with the help of the indefinite pronoun «one». It includes both the speaker and the reader. This pronoun shows the situation as more abstract than «we» and has nothing personal in it. This way of representing the author is widely spread in English and can be explained by two reasons: 1) a necessity to characterize the properties of the object as independent of the cognizing subject; 2) a wish to be modest in expressing the author's point of view). 

The use of personal and indefinite pronouns makes an influence on the structure of the text and its composition. Indefinite pronouns make the parts of the text more obvious and personal pronouns make the whole text more integral.  

In a scientific text the general is usually given as a piece of information known to a wide circle of people. (E.g., Sea ice accounts for nearly two-thirds of the earth`s ice cover. | Unlike the polar icecaps and alpine glaciers, its vertical dimension is small compared to its horizontal extent. In the Arctic, ice thickness averages 2-4 metres). 

In scientific texts the first statement is very often given in the Present Perfect and the continuation is normally Past Simple. Present Perfect shows the connection between the past and the present. Together with the tenses such words as recent, lately carried, etc can be used. 

Such adjectives as general, various, numerous, certain, different can be used in a statement before the explanation. On the other hand, special nouns such as procedures, modifications and so on can also be found. (E.g., There are numerous modifications of the grain stain, many which have been listed by…| The two modifications given below have proved especially useful.)

On the whole concretization in a scientific text can go in one or in several directions.