Scientific and Technical Writing: Structure and Characteristics

Scientific and technical texts aim to interpret reality, applying knowledge to explain phenomena without modifying the human environment. The objective of the sender is the transmission of knowledge. Scientific texts typically follow a tripartite structure:

• 1. Presentation: An introduction to the topic. It may consist of a definition of a concept or the contextualization of a fact.
• 2. Development: An orderly and logical exposition of ideas. It follows a linear order governed by causal relationships and enumeration.
• 3. Conclusion: A brief summary of the ideas expressed or the final state of the situation.

Characteristics of Scientific and Technical Language

• Clarity: Uses referential and metalinguistic functions with clear, unambiguous concepts.
• Objectivity: Language centered on the subject, depersonalized through an impersonal style where reason prevails.
• Denotation: Uses denotative language, where each word corresponds to a single concept.
• Accuracy: Tailored to a specialized audience, using characteristic vocabulary, specific terminology, monosemic words, and mathematical or chemical symbols.

Lexical Creation in Science and Technology

New terms are obtained through several procedures:

• Reinterpretation of existing terms: Creation of new words from special combinations (e.g., smog).
• Union of Greek or Latin roots: Composition (e.g., telephone).
• Lexicalization of existing words: (e.g., gravity).
• Adoption of borrowings: (e.g., camping).
• Abbreviation and use of symbols: (e.g., Fe for iron).

English has become the international language of science due to scientific advances in English-speaking countries, though other languages find solutions that adapt to their own linguistic systems.

Comparison: Scientific vs. Humanistic Texts

Scientific Texts

• Objectivity and formal language.
• Written in the 3rd person (impersonal).
• Adoption of borrowings and technicalities.
• Clear, concise, and precise.
• Monosemic words.
• Simple syntax with short sentences.
• Empiricism.

Humanistic Texts

• Subjectivity and polysemous words.
• Reflective texts with a trend toward abstraction.
• Theoretical and modifiable.
• Formal language with jargon.
• Complex syntax and figurative language.
• Alternation between 1st and 3rd person.