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LINGUISTIC ATTRIBUTES OF THE SCIENTIFIC STYLISTICS IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE Kavilova Tamara
Jizzakh State Pedagogical University Jizzakh, Uzbekistan https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10791701
ARTICLE INFO
Received: 29th February 2024 Accepted: 06th March 2024 Online: 07th March 2024
KEYWORDS Lexicon, jargon, linguistic incorporation, academic prose.
ABSTRACT
The factors shaping the style of scientific literature include the necessity for a logical progression in presenting complex material and a rich tradition, resulting in a preference for complete, cohesive, and ideally standardized syntactic structures. Consequently, a notable characteristic of mathematical articles in foreign is the utilization of intricate syntax, manifested through the prevalence of compound sentences featuring various types of coordination and subordination. However, there has been a recent trend in foreign scientific style towards simplification.
Genres vary in topics, structural features, and the predominance of specific speech types depending on the mode of communication. This paper examines the linguistic and stylistic attributes of scientific discourse through the analysis of foreign master's dissertations. Scientific discourse holds a unique position in societal communication. It is founded upon scientific knowledge, which is encapsulated within textual form. Knowledge comprises organized information rather than isolated facts, amalgamated into a cohesive system during the process of cognition. Cognitive science, characterized by its distinctive features, is concerned with elucidating the cognitive process. The phenomena of globalization, democratization of public discourse, and the accessibility of cutting-edge scientific advancements enable widespread dissemination and exchange of scientific and technical information. Scientific texts are crafted with the intent of constructing a structured representation of reality, describing objects, phenomena, knowledge systems, and substantiating their existence or interrelationships.
The scientific text, encompassing both oral and written communication, represents the culmination of rigorous scientific inquiry. Scholars have long grappled with the intricacies of studying scientific texts, resulting in numerous scholarly works dedicated to this subject. Among various definitions, one particularly noteworthy description characterizes a scientific text as a cohesive amalgamation of content, form, and expressive means. Positioned within the functional style of literary language, scientific discourse exhibits distinct traits, including deliberate deliberation in articulation, a predominantly monological nature, meticulous selection of linguistic tools, and a tendency towards standardized language usage.
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Interestingly, the style of scientific text bears resemblance to the artistic style of speech, with historical precedents revealing a divergence between artistic and scientific styles during the Alexandrian period, coinciding with the emergence of scientific terminology in the Greek language.
Incomplete grammatical assimilation of borrowed words is evidenced by retaining the plural form from the source language. Latin scientific borrowings in Foreign exemplify this phenomenon, as seen in words such as "automaton - automata" and "phenomenon -phenomena."
Book words, constituting a substantial portion of the lexical inventory in Foreign mathematical articles, exhibit international appeal across languages. Examples include "theorem," "axiom," "lemma," "analysis," "synthesis," "statistics," "combinatorics," "geometry," "stereometry," "endomorphism," "parallelogram," "parallelepiped," "parabolical," "extrapolate," "factorial," "gradient," and "homomorphism."
Another distinctive feature of scientific style is the generation of neologisms. Neologisms, as defined by Halperin I.R., encompass any newly coined vocabulary and phraseological units that emerge in a language during its developmental stage, signifying novel concepts arising from advancements in science, technology, changing societal conditions, and socio-political shifts. The emergence of new concepts through research necessitates the creation of new terminology, making scientific prose particularly fertile ground for neologism formation.
For instance, mathematical articles introduce vocabulary that may not yet be documented in Foreign dictionaries, such as "poset" (partially ordered set) and "half-life" (period of semi-decay).
Certainly, the most prominent aspect of scientific texts at the lexical level is the extensive use of scientific terminology. V. N. Komissarov defines terminology as "words and phrases that denote specific objects and concepts employed by specialists in a particular field of science or technology." Characteristics of terminology include objectivity, precision, and monosemantics, indicating independence from context.
Foreign-language mathematical articles exemplify dense terminological usage, featuring terms such as "function," "theory," "equation," "segment," "solution," "graph," "period," "series," "sequence," "set," "fraction," "divergence," "proof," "theorem," "endomorphism," "factorial," and "matrix." It's noteworthy that, similar to other styles, the vocabulary in scientific literature predominantly comprises neutral words. Given that the scientific style aims to convey cognitive information, the diverse linguistic tools employed in scientific texts serve to enhance their objectivity.
The imperative to convey reliable information at the textual level is reflected in its timelessness. Hence, in mathematical articles, the predominant tense is the present simple, facilitating the expression of ideas in an eternal present tense.
The principal stylistic attributes can be categorized across linguistic levels into lexical (1), grammatical (2), and syntactic (3) elements.
1. Lexical Level:
- A key lexical feature of the scientific style involves the abstract and generalized nature of presentation, primarily achieved through extensive use of abstract vocabulary. For instance: "In general, the literature on adopted children indicates that these youths are more susceptible to adverse developmental outcomes compared to their non-adopted peers of the same age." Additionally, "... Adolescents, both domestically and internationally adopted, must integrate their adoption status into their self-perceptions."
2. Grammatical Level:
- The grammatical structure of scientific texts often exhibits precision and clarity. For example, "The results of the experiment confirmed the hypothesis."
3. Syntactic Level:
- Syntactically, scientific texts tend to prioritize coherence and logical organization. For instance, "Following the introduction, the study proceeded to outline the methodology, present the findings, and discuss their implications."
These features collectively contribute to the distinctiveness and effectiveness of the scientific style in conveying complex information and concepts.
One of the prominent lexical features is the emphasized precision of expression, achieved through the utilization of specific terms (highlighted in the examples by A.M.):
"... The term 'asset' denotes the capacity of a trait to yield favorable outcomes; ... Peer victimization (i.e., repeated instances of physical and relational aggression from peers); gratitude (a transient cognitive and affective state resulting from positive experiences); dual-factor model of mental health (a conceptual framework in which conventional indicators of psychological distress (e.g., anxiety or depression) are juxtaposed with indicators of positive psychological well-being, such as life satisfaction) ... "
This lexical precision ensures clarity and accuracy in conveying complex concepts within scientific discourse.
The primary grammatical characteristic involves the prevalence of nouns in the text (emphasized in the examples by A.M.): "... The current study explored positive experiences (such as gratitude, life satisfaction, and hope) alongside character strengths (such as social competence, self-regulation, responsibility, and empathy), categorizing them based on whether they represent psychological states or psychological traits. A psychological state denotes a transient experience resulting from a stimulus or biological event, whereas a psychological trait remains stable over time..."; "... The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between alliance and the outcomes of couple therapy" ("... This study investigated positive experiences (e.g., gratitude, life satisfaction) alongside characteristic strengths (e.g., social competencies, self-regulation, responsibility, and empathy), grouping them based on their status as psychological states or traits, where a psychological state is a transient experience resulting from a stimulus or biological event, while a psychological trait exhibits stability over time...").
Hence, the scientific functional style in the foreign language exhibits numerous linguistic and stylistic traits, many of which align with those found in the corresponding French style. However, foreign scientific texts tend to be more condensed and streamlined in their presentation compared to their French counterparts.
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