It is heat that causes many chemical changes.
3.3科技英语用于表达科学理论、原理、规律、概述以及各事物之间错综复杂的关系,而复杂的科学思维是无法使用简单句来表达,所以语法结构复杂的长句较多地应用于科技英语,而这种严谨周密、层次分明、重点突出的语言手段也就成了科技英语文体又一重要特征。如:
Laser, its creation being thought to be one of today’s wonders, is nothing more than a light ①that differs from ordinary lights only in②that it is many times more powerful and so be applied in fields ③that no ordinary light or other substance has ever been able to get in.
4.语篇特点
语篇也就是我们通常所说的篇章,是由一组相互连贯的句子组成的。语篇的语义结构和语篇机制,即衔接手段确保了语言由句子组成语篇,从而形成了一个有机的整体,所以对这一层面的分析包括了衔接手段和语篇结构(吴洁,2003)。
4.1词汇衔接
词汇的重复出现可以减少语言在传递中产生的歧义,使读者易于正确地理解作者所要论述的客观事实或复杂的认识过程,体现了科技英语的准确性。如:
Many stories abort the spread of AIDS are false. You cannot get AIDS working or attending with someone who has the disease. You cannot get it by touching drinking glasses or other objects used by such persons.4.2逻辑连接
通过逻辑连接手段的运用,读者可以了解句子的语义联系,甚至可经前句从逻辑上预见后续句的语义(胡壮麟,1994),体现了科技英语的逻辑推理性和严密性。如:
Microsurgery is helping to solve all kinds of medical problems that had been thought hopeless. For example, doctors can use the technique to restore blood flow to the brain to prevent strokes. And they can reopen parts of the reproductive system so some men and women who are not fertile can have children. Eye and ear doctors have used the techniques of microsurgery since the 1920s. But it was not until the early 1970s that doctors began to develop a better understanding of the possibilities of microsurgery.
4.3语篇结构
科技文章一般由导言、正文和结论或结束语三部分组成。当然语篇结构可以因陈述的内容、时间、场合、对象的不同而有所差异。
5.结语
科技英语在其演变和发展过程中逐渐形成自身特有的体裁或文体特征,了解科技英语与普通英语之间的差异,对于科技工作者无疑是大有裨益的。但值得指出的是,这种差异是相对的而不是绝对的。换言之,科技英语文体往往也借用其他文体(如文学文体)的词语或句式,其他的修辞手段以增加语言表达效果。
参考文献:
[1]胡壮麟.语篇的衔接与连贯[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,1994.
[2]贾睿霞,王永红.浅谈科技英语的特点.燕北师范学院学报,2001,17(3):9-11.
[3]李庆明.英语科技文体的语言特征.西安理大学学报,2002(3):315-319.
[4]吴洁.科技英语的文体特征.山西财经大学学报:高等教育版,2003(4):38-34.