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FUNCTIONAL STYLES: D

SCIENTIFIC PROSE STYLE

The language of science is governed by the aim of the functional style of scientific prose, which is to prove a hypothesis [hai’poo sis] (pl –es), to create new concepts, to disclose internal laws of existence, development, relations between different phenomena, etc. The language means used tend to be objective, precise, unemotional, devoid of any individuality; there is a striving for the most generalized form of expression.

1. The first and most noticeable feature of this style is the logical sequence of utterances with clear indication of their interrelations and interdependence.

It will not be an exaggeration to say that in no other functional style we can find such a developed and varied system of connectives as in scientific prose.

2. A second and no less important feature, and perhaps the most conspicuous, is the use of terms specific to each given branch of science. No other field of human activity is so prolific in coining new words as science is. The necessity to penetrate deeper into the essence of things and phenomena gives rise to new concepts, which require words to name them. A term will make a more direct reference to something than a descriptive explanation, a non-term. Hence the rapid creation of new terms in any developing science.

The general vocabulary employed in scientific prose bears its direct referential meaning, i.e. words used in scientific prose will always tend to be used in their primary logical meaning. Hardly a single word will be used in more than one meaning, none will be used in contextual meaning. The possibility of ambiguity is avoided. Terms are coined so as to be self-explanatory to the greatest possible degree. But in spite of this a new term in scientific prose is generally followed (or preceded) by an explanation.

In modern scientific prose an interesting phenomenon can be observed – the exchange of terms between various branches of science. This is evidently due to the inter-penetration of scientific ideas. Self-sufficiency in any branch of science now belongs to the past. Collaboration of specialists has proved successful in many fields. The exchange of terminology can be regarded as a natural outcome of this collaboration. Mathematics has priority in this respect. Mathematical terms travel freely in other sciences, including Linguistics.

3. A third characteristic feature of scientific style is what we may call sentence-patterns. They are of 3 types:

• postulatory [,postju’leit ri] (принимаемые без доказательств);

• argumentative (приводящие аргументацию);

• formulative [‘fo:mjul tiv] (формулирующие идеи в виде формулы).

A hypothesis or a scientific forecast must be based on facts already known, on facts systematized and defined. Therefore every piece of scientific prose will begin with postulatory pronouncements which are taken as self-evident and needing no proof. A reference to these facts is only preliminary to the exposition of the writer’s ideas and is therefore summed up in precisely formulated statements accompanied by references to sources (if necessary).

The writer’s own ideas are also shaped in formulae (pl.) [‘fo:mjuli:] (sg –formula) which are the enunciation of a doctrine or theory, of a principle, argument, the result of investigation.

4. A fourth observable feature of the style of modern scientific prose, the one that strikes the reader, is the use of quotations and references. They sometimes occupy as much as half page. The references have a definite compositional pattern, i.e. the name of the writer referred to, the title of the book quoted, the publishing house, the place and year it was published, and the page of the extract quoted or referred to.

5. A fifth feature of scientific prose style is the frequent use of footnotes not of reference kind, but digressive in character. This is in full accord with the main requirements of the style, which is logical coherence (связь, согласованность) of ideas expressed. Anything that seems to violate this requirement or does not seem immediately relevant to the matter in hand, but at the same time may serve indirectly to back up the idea, will be placed in a footnote.

6. The impersonality of scientific prose is mainly revealed in the use of passive constructions. Scientific experiments are generally described in the passive voice.

e.g. Ten grams of aspirin were dissolved in a minimum volume of water.

It should be mentioned, however, that the passive constructions used in exact sciences are not always indispensable (necessary) in the humanities. Emotiveness is not entirely or categorically excluded from scientific prose either: emotionally coloured words (e.g. marvellous, wonderful, monstrous, magnificent, brilliant) can be used in hypotheses (pl), pronouncements and conclusions.