Linguistic features of an English-language Scientific Article on Economics

Abstract

The study aims at the analysis of the linguistic specifics in the English scientific Economics article. The author focuses on the functions of its structural features considered from the standpoint of the different language levels’ units pragmatic potential in scientific discourse. The research is conducted on the material of English-language scientific articles on Economics of both high-quality and under-rating scientific periodicals. The method of discourse analysis (cognitive, pragmatic and critical) is used in the research. It is noted that the use of certain lexical units and grammatical structures that prevail within the framework of the scientific communicative space is caused primarily by the need to represent new scientific information with a high degree of reliability and accuracy, to generalize and structure them, to provide an objective, complete and reasoned presentation of the material and its consistency. The key linguistic peculiarities of Economics articles are such lexical characteristics as the use of terms, stylistically neutral words, lexemes with abstract semantics, as well as abbreviations that contribute to information density. In addition, the use of hedges and hedging devices contributes to the representation of a researcher’s personality in the text and the propounded judgments accuracy. Objectivity, logic, completeness and stylistic neutrality of the presentation is promoted by the use of such grammatical means as passive, gerundial, participial and infinitive constructions, impersonal sentences, first-person pronouns to personalize scientific knowledge, the prevalence of the present tense within the convention of atemporality of the text, and the formal explication of cohesion means.

Keywords

• scientific economics article
• scientific discourse
• linguistic features
• term
• hedge
• hedging device
• cohesion