kazm.cdr


The  Place  of  Academic  English  
in  Scientific  Discourse

The term ‘discourse’ has a number of uses. It refers tothe system of rules for language use that evolve in a
community, whether by conscious choice or under the
influence of cultural and other factors. ‘Discourse’ also refers
to the patterns of language that can be identified as bound to
a particular community and context.1

Proceeding from the above-mentioned, we can also
speak of ‘scientific discourse’ which, is actually, associated
with language patterns used among scientists for academic
purposes. English has undoubtedly become a means of
international communication and, naturally, the ‘general

language of science’ - English used for academic purposes - is bound to become
international. The present article aims at discussing some problems concerning
international scientific discourse. 

It is a well-known fact that a language is rule-governed. That is, when we speak or
write, we must follow rules guiding pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary as well as
more specialized rules for communicating in a specialized sphere. Such kind of
specialized sphere, for example, is science, where rules or conventions evolve over time,
in response to new pressures and needs. Sometimes writers make conscious decisions to
change or add new rules for written communication that will ensure greater efficiency
and clarity. These linguistic or discursive rules develop over time as a result of cultural
norms and internal/external pressures. For example, the experimental article, as C.
Reeves states, has shortened and become more technical, losing the narrative or
‘storytelling’ voice of its earliest forms.2

Thus, today’s ‘scientific discourse’ which is the result of some objective influences
differs in quality from that of the earliest times. For example, judging by the analyses of
the linguistic characteristics of some texts from the scientific papers of the XVII century,
it can be stated that in earlier texts of ‘scientific discourse’ the first-person pronoun ‘I’
was used very often, but at present such cases are replaced by the plural first-person
pronoun ‘we’ to avoid more personal and subjective tone in the text. The use of the plural
first-person pronoun ‘we’ in scientific texts signals collaboration which may be effective
if communication among scholars is realized with the help of international scientific
discourse. With respect to pronoun ‘we’, it can be concluded that besides creating a more
polite and restrained tone in texts of ‘scientific discourse’, this pronoun also acquires an
ability to unite co-thinkers psychologically. Thus, changes of psycholinguistic nature can
bring about some debatable issues concerning ‘scientific discourse’.

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Linguistics Armenian  Folia  Anglistika

Ofelya Poghosyan



At present the political, economic, cultural and scientific contacts between different
countries are increasing faster than ever. Today the world needs a ‘global’ international
language that can serve not only as a means of communication ‘in general’ to realize
everyday communication but, also as a ‘tool of their trade’ for the specialists of different
spheres of science and technology.3 In fact, it is a professionally-oriented international
scientific language, in other words, a language for specific purposes.

It is obvious that today the leading candidate to hold the position of an international
language is English. In 1977 it was calculated that the 4/5 of the world’s publications
written in the language of science were in English.4 It is also an acknowledged fact that
the role of International English at present is of paramount importance because it is
mainly due to international communication that the countries of the world may succeed
in deepening their contacts to pave a path for democracy, technological progress,
integration into different activities for the sake of mutual understanding, assistance and
coexistence.

Consequently, the question of teaching/learning English as an international
language becomes more essential, especially nowadays, because most of the newly-
independent, developing countries that are trying to build a stable, successful and
healthy society have to communicate mainly in English. With the incredible progress we
have in science and technology today, learning a language for specific purposes comes
to the fore. If the command of English of modern specialists is confined only to the
knowledge of ‘general language’, they will have great difficulties in their professional
communication. 

To use a foreign language as a means of effective international professional
communication, one must necessarily get acquainted with the basic language of his/her
profession as well, in other words, with the variety of the language that this or that
specialist can use for specific purposes. In fact, such language can be very helpful for the
specialists of all the countries to walk side by side in the world of science, share thoughts
on their professional experience and find the wisest solutions to the global problems of
today and tomorrow.

Thus, it is necessary that the specialists become proficient in this register of English
as it will help them avoid any misunderstanding when discussing professional topics at
international conferences, disputes, round-tables or seminars. The specialists will be able
to exchange their professional experience with colleagues from other countries, write
articles on the latest achievements in science, do research work (possibly a joint one as
well), get information or just follow the progress in their field of science.

Teaching and learning Academic English as a means of international scientific
communication presupposes not only a thorough investigation of the linguistic
peculiarities of natural human language, but also a good choice of lexical and
grammatical means of language. Such a register (a variety related to a particular use of
the language, a particular subject or occupation)5 will serve as a kind of language

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appropriate for ‘specific’ use.6

It follows logically from what has been said that this special register (or functional
style) can be recommended as highly effective in terms of LSP teaching/learning, as the
elaboration of ‘this special register’ will provide the learner with proper linguistic
experience to realize both the purposes of everyday and professionally-oriented
communication.7 To master such a register, it is necessary that a sufficient amount of
pragmatically-oriented material be worked out which, in its turn, has to be combined
with the learner’s knowledge of English ‘in general’. Thus, on the basis of these two
factors a special register, that of Academic English, can be formed which will serve as a
universal or international scientific language – a means of communication for educated
people.

In this respect some linguists state that such register of Academic English becomes
something like a ‘shared code’ between the members of both written and oral
communication, in other words a ‘shared code’ between the writer and the reader or the
speaker and the listener.8

Finally, it can be concluded from what has been said above that, as a kind of LSP,
Academic English can serve as a special type of scientific language or as a means of
communication among the scientists of the 21st century. In fact, it can serve as an
international language of science in ‘scientific discourse’. In this respect it should also
be stated that the thorough investigation of the correlation of the linguistic units of the
system of language and speech acquires a role of crucial importance because such kind
of special language can serve as a ‘shared code’ for the members of international
communication.

References:

1. Reeves Carol. The Language of Science. London and New-York, 2005.
2. Ibid.
3. Ìèõàéëîâñêàÿ Í.Ã. Î òåîðåòè÷åñêèõ è ïðàêòè÷åñêèõ çàäà÷àõ èçó÷åíèÿ

ðóññêîãî ÿçûêà êàê ñðåäñòâà ìåæíàöèîíàëüíîãî îáùåíèÿ. // Âîïðîñû
ÿçûêîçíàíèÿ 1983, No 5; Gvishiani Natalya. Terminology in English Language
Teaching. Mîñêâà, 1993; Crystal David. English as a Global Language.
Cambridge, 2003.

4. Ðîæäåñòâåíñêèé Þ.Â. Ïîñëåñëîâèå. // Òåêñòîëîãèÿ àíãëèéñêîé íàó÷íîé    ðå÷è.
/ Ïîä ðåä. Ì.Ì. Ãëóøêî, Þ.À. Êàðóëèíà. M., 1978; Fishman Joshua A., Cooper
Robert L., Conrad Andrew W. The Spread of English. London, 1977.

5. Strevens Peter. New Orientations in Teaching of English. Oxford, 1978.
6. Halliday M. A. K. McIntosh A. and Strevens P. The Linguistic Sciences and

Language Teaching. London, 1966.

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7. Gvishiani N. Terminology in English Language Teaching. M., 1993.
8. Magidova I. The Pragmalinguistic Register of English: The Theory and Practice.

Doctoral Thesis, MGU, 1989; Gasparyan S.K. ESP as an Object of Learner-
Oriented Teaching. // Didaktik und Methodik des Fremdsprachenunterrichts. Bonn,
Heft-4, July, 1998.

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Armenian  Folia  Anglistika Linguistics