科技翻译

Part A

Reading of EST

Unit 1. The Main Features of EST 科技英语的主要特点

? EST---- English for Science and Technology

? Among the functional varieties of English, EST occupies a very important position due to the vital role played by science and technology in the advancement of human civilization.

? Steam engine--- industrial revolution ? The study of atoms--- the atomic age

? The introduction of computer technology --- an electronic age & the age of ―information technology (IT)‖

? EST exhibits language features peculiar to its own. ? …specified field, subject matter, way of expression. ? 1. Objectivity (客观性) 2. Clarity (明确性) 3. Accuracy (准确性) 4. Formality (正式)

1. Objectivity (客观性)

…matters and processes, properties and changes, natural phenomena and scientific laws.

… observations and conclusions ←hard facts. … observations and assumptions…

… impersonal objective attitude / statements

2. Clarity (明确性)

… how to express themselves clearly

… no need to make their subjects interesting or exciting

… Clarity greatly facilitates effective communication between these professionals. 3. Accuracy (准确性)

The success of scientific researches depends on the accuracy of facts, experimental results, and statistics,…

… specialized words which are rarely used in literature or everyday conversations to achieve exactness and accuracy.

4. Formality (正式)

Scientists… learned people… serious scientific matters.

… their style of writing or speaking should be formal--- a proper reflection of the language features of EST mentioned above : objectivity, clarity and accuracy.

Supplementary materials about ―levels of formality of words‖: [A] 1. frozen （拘谨） 2. formal （正式）

3. consultative（商议）

4. casual（随意） 5. intimate（亲密） [B] 1. scientific & technical（科技语体）

2. literary（书面语体）3.common（中性语体） 4. colloquial（口语体）5. slang（俚语）

[C] In practice,…

1. colloquial （口俗语） 2. common （常用语） 3. formal （书面语）

eg. 1. woman, old woman, better half,… 2. wife

3. consort, spouse, helpmate, helpmeet,…

I. The ways to achieve objectivity and formality in EST

1. The Use of Nouns and Noun Phrases

… uses nouns or noun phrases more often in the place of verbs, adjectives, etc. ? 英语倾向于多用名词，因而叙述呈静态(stative); ? 汉语倾向于多用动词，因而叙述呈动态(dynamic). ? 名词化(Nominalization)是英语常见的现象 ―名词优势于动词‖的倾向

(preponderance of nouns over verbs) 名词化表达法(nominal style)

eg. The doctor arrived extremely quickly and examined the patient uncommonly carefully; the result was that he recovered very speedily.

cf. The doctor’s extremely quick arrival and uncommonly careful examination of the patient brought about his very speedy recovery.

(医生迅速到达，并非常仔细地检查了病人，因此病人很快就康复了。)

cf. (a) The rate of evaporation of a liquid enormously depends on temperature. (b) The dependence of the rate of evaporation of a liquid on temperature is enormous.

2. The Use of Passive Voice

Voice: active voice （主动态） passive voice （被动态）

EST differs from ordinary English in the use of tense, voice, mood, word order and sentence construction.

Probably one-third of the verbs in EST writings are in the passive voice. The tense of these passive verbs is the simple present or the verb is used with modals.

Why does the passive most frequently occur in EST? 1) It is clearer in meaning.

eg. People heat the gas carefully. → The gas is carefully heated.

2) It allows scientists to introduce the most important information at the beginning. eg. Electrons closer to the nucleus are held more tightly than those in the outer orbits. 3) Passive sentences are usually shorter and more concise than active ones. eg. Mathematics is used in many different fields. → People use mathematics in many different fields.

agent/ doer; recipient; action.

… the personal tone is often improper, …

cf. (a) We can improve its performance when we use super-heated steam. (b) An improvement of its performance can be affected by the use of super-heated steam.

3. The Use of Anticipatory ―it‖ It-pattern:

[1] referring ―it‖

[2] non-referring ―it‖:

a) empty ―it‖（虚义it ）--- weather, temperature, time, place, distance,etc. b) anticipatory ―it‖(先行it)--- infinitive / -ing participle construction/ nominal clause

c ) cleft sentence(分裂句)/ emphatic construction（强调句型） --- It+be+focal element+that-/who-clause

cf. (a) Some scientists suggested that this ―active nitrogen‖ consisted of the gas in its atomic state.

(b) It was suggested by some scientists that this ―active nitrogen‖ consisted of the gas in its atomic state.

II. The ways to achieve accuracy in EST

1. Using Specific Expressions

Cf. (a) The reflected light was taken in by the transducer. (b) The reflected light was absorbed by the transducer. (more specific)

2. Using Statistics and Figures

Cf. (a) Costs can be reduced by this process.

(b) This process consumes 5% less fuel and produces 12% more power. (more specific)

Unit 2. Technical Words 科技专业术语

? The special vocabulary of EST includes technical and semi-technical terms. I. Highly Specialized in Meaning

eg. stratosphere (同温层), seismology (地震学) polysomic (多倍体的), leukocyte (白细胞), sequoia (红杉)…

II. The Use of Prefixes and Suffixes

The commonly used prefixes and suffixes in EST: ? Prefixes (前缀) ? Suffixes (后缀) 1. Prefixes (前缀)

? aero-: aerobiology; aeronautics; aeromechanics ? astro: astrodynamics; astrogeology; astronomy ? anti: antibody; anticancer; anticorrosive ? auto: autocontrol; autoignition; auto-switch ? bio: biochemistry; bioelectricity; biosphere ? cyber: cyberaddict; cyberattack; cyberspace ? de: deforestation; desalter; desensitizer ? di: dioxide; diode; diproten

? electro-: electroanalysis; electrobiology; electromagnetism ? geo-: geodynamics; geochemistry; geoscience ? hydro-: hydrobiology; hydrocarbon; hydrology ? infra-: infra-acoustic; infrared; infrahuman ? in-: inactive; inorganic; instability

? micro-: microcomputer; microorganism; microscope ? mono-: monochromator; monotreme; monoxide ? multi-: multiprocessing; multipropellant; multivitamin ? photo-: photoconductor; photochemistry; photosynthesis ? radio-: radiobiology; radiodetection; radioelement ? semi-: semiconductor; semifluid;semisphere ? sub-: subcircuit; subcompound; subsonic ? super-: superaltitude; superfluid; supersonic

? tele-: telecontrol; telemechanics; telemetry

? thermo-: thermodynamics; thermometer; thermosphere ? trans-: transgene; transluner; transplant ? ultra-: ultrasonic; ultraviolet; ultravirus 2. Suffixes (后缀)

? -fold: fivefold; manifold

? -free: ice-free; nuclear-free zone; oil-free; static-free ? -gram: spectrogram; bathygram; electrogram ? -cide: insecticide; weedicide

? -meter: seismometer; speedometer; multimeter ? -ology: cosmology; psychology; seismology

? -proof: airproof; fireproof; water-proof; heatproof; shockproof ? -scope: telescope; spectroscope; radioscope ? -tight: airtight; watertight Unit 3. Semi-Technical Words 半专业术语 [1] family:

eg. animals of the cat family

the halogen family; family of functions the Indo-European family of languages [2] focus:

eg. real focus; virtual focus; focus coil axis [3] force:

eg. force arm; air force; electromotive force; component of force a 12(th) force typhoon

[4] mass:

eg. the law of conservation of mass; mass energy tabular mass; molten mass; ore mass [5] matter:

eg. the motion of matter; solid matter; liquid matter gray matter

[6] power:

eg. horse power; power source; power network; rated power chemical power; catalytic power

1000-power microscope; telescope of high power brake power; power shaft; power gas the fourth power of x [7] work:

eg. available work; mechanical work

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