Stylistic Analysis of Science and Techno
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Introduction:
General speaking, this text analyses “Electricity from the Sun’’ from three aspects: 1) Solar cells work. 2) How a solar cell work. 3) How a solar cell is made.
In a more detailed sense, it is mainly about solar electric, a safe, nonpolluting and renewable energy producer, will help to reduce the demand of natural resources to relieve the energy crisis and benefit the whole world if its cost can drop to as low as conventional electrical power .In addition, it also explain the way solar electric works, how a solar cell is made up of and the techniques to make it.
The language of Electricity from the Sun includes a large variety of registers. In terms of field, it is concerned with the natural science: solar energy. In terms of mode, it is a scientific paper relevant to solar electric .In terms of tenor: it is concerned with communication between the specialist and layman.
I choose this text because I want to gain a better understanding of science and technology by means of analyzing its different features at different levels.
Textual Analysis:
1. At the Phonological Level
Phonology is the study of the sound system of a given language and the analysis and classification of its phonemes. That is, phonology is a science which transfers spoken sounds into written symbols. Therefore ,sound and writing are two ways of representing the same thing .Also , there are two kinds of languages to represent the same thing : spoken language and written language .As this text is a scientific paper , it can only be written as written language .Then questions arise as to what features its language has . The answers are as follows:
1). It communicates indirectly. The author generally has time to get well prepared and revise the text before it is sent out.
2). It is used in formal situation. It employs a lot of big words and formal words. Big words: photovoltaic, Gossamer Penguin, semiconductor, polycrystalline, etc.
Formal words: turn out to, require, alter, etc.
3). It is written in a detailed and logical way. In the text, the author uses a number of examples to prove that solar cells work, illustrate how a solar cell work and how a solar cell is made in details, which are ranked logically.
4).It is very constant and developed around a single subject. The whole text is developed around solar electric: Introduction: the importance of solar electric
----- Main body: Solar cells work, how it work and how it is made ----- Conclusion: the techniques of making solar cells are being perfected.
2. At the Graphological Level
Graphology refers to the writing system of a language .It studies symbols such as period, comma, exclamation mark, colon, dash, parentheses, quotation mark, most of which are fully uses in this text. In this scientific text, the periods occur at the end of declarative sentences, expressing meaning clearly. The two commas in ‘‘maybe, just maybe, ’’ at the beginning of the first sentence in Para1 are used to emphasize that the scientists are not sure about the brewing of the solar revolution. And it uses commas frequently in order to offer information. In addition, capitals are also important prominent device for stylistic effects .For example, “ONE SENSES THAT …..” at the beginning of the text is written in capital, which is of great prominence.
3. At the Lexical Level
Lexicology is concerned with the study of the meaning of words and lexical items and also the composition of words .Words are the basic units of meaning .Therefore, what words to select in the creation of a text will be significant in creating certain stylistic effect. This text is a scientific paper, so it should use standard or common words, and avoid using colloquial, non-standard, slang, informal words. That is why it is full of scientific words and technical terms of natural science, such as photovoltaic, utility, mini-computer, semiconductor materials, brittle photovoltaic cells, silicon, crystals, polycrystalline, molds, etc. In the broad sense, these scientific words are mainly to provide information for readers. In a more detailed sense, these scientific words have the following functions:
1). To convey general concept, such as solar electric.
2).To convey concept in a specific field, such as solar cell, brittle photovoltaic cells, etc. in electricity from the sun.
3). To refer to objects concerned in natural science, such as silicon, crystals, polycrystalline, molds.
4. At the Grammatical Level
The corn of grammar is syntax, which can be used to achieve a particular style .In this scientific paper, in order to achieve the desired effect, it is of high frequency of occurrence of sentences of certain length .On the one hand, this scientific text uses a large amount of long sentences, which can not only produce solemn and formal style, but also can give detailed description of its topic: solar electric. On the other hand , it also uses some short sentences like the first sentence in para.2 “Solar cells work’’ and the first sentence in para.9 “ How does a solar cell work ?’’ , which can produce direct , concise ,clear effect .
Generally, this scientific text develops from general to specific, or abstract to concrete .In this case, the language of science and technology das developed its own characteristics:
1).high frequency of occurrence of passive voice
2).more nominalized elements
Therefore, the characteristics of this scientific text are as follows:
1).passive voice:
a. were developed to….
b. can be sold for…
c. is needed…
d. have been brought by…
e. are energized of ..
f. are made
g. are mounted , wired and covered
h. are being perfected
2). participial phrases:
a. piloted solar airplane
b. high-priced oil
c. charged by
d. wasting at least
3) nominalization of processes:
a. solar revolution ( to revolute solar );
b.our energy horizon ( to horizon on our energy);
c.energy producers ( to produce energy);
d.the mini-computer( to minimum the computer);
e.program director (to direct program)
…
5. At the Semantic Level
Each style has its own semantic features, so does scientific paper .And the semantic system of scientific paper has the following characteristics.
1) The explicitness of the relations between semantic features.
The function of scientific paper is to convey information and knowledge of science and technology, so it will make use of all cohesive devices, including visual devices, to make the relations and levels clear and the structure integral. For example, in this text, the author links the whole text as a string: the importance of solar electric ------solar cells work -----how does a solar cell work? -----what are most solar cells made from? Also, visual device such as statistics, 6000cells, is used to present the fact more clearly and convincingly.
In term of the relations of semantic structures, it has the characteristics as follows.
a.Precise modification and clear logical relations. For example, “just maybe”, “or solar electric ’’can be omitted in other text, but here it is used to make the relations explicit.
b.All conjunctive relations are explicit. For example, “But”, a number of “and” and “on the other hand” are listed in the text.
c.More examples and instances: such as the United States ’ space program, the United States Europe and Japan solar firms ,Federal regulations, etc.
d. The majority of the clauses in the text have relational processes, mainly expressed by “be”, which can be seen throughout the whole text.
2) Depersonification
As scientific paper is needed to convey information objectively, the author has to avoid personal feelings, likes and dislikes, etc. Therefore, in language, it is necessary for the author to distance themselves from the information they convey .This means is called depersonification. And passive voice is often used to achieve such a goal.
In this scientific paper ，it uses many a passive voice .For example, throughout the whole text, passive voice can be easily seen, for example, “They were developed to …” “But they have been exorbitantly …” “More testing is needed …” etc, while in an ordinary narrative text, passive voice is rarely used.
3) Relationalization
As the major aim of scientific language is to convey information and tell the truth to the mass, it will focus on the relations between these actions and events, for which the actions and events will be relationalized into things and concepts, while the relations become the verbal links between them, which is a prominent feature of science and technology.
In term of relationalization, many clauses are nominalized .For example:
a. a solar revolution ( to revolute solar );
b. our energy horizon ( to horizon on our energy);
c. energy producers ( to produce energy);
d.the mini-computer( to minimum the computer);
e.program director (to direct program)
…
Conclusion:
“Electricity from the Sun” is a scientific paper on natural science, solar electric. According to its style, it is analyzed from five levels: phonological level, graphological level, lexical level, grammatical level and semantic level.
At the phonological level, it is mainly concerned with the sound and writing, representing the same thing in two different ways. As the present text is a scientific paper, it is of the characteristics of written language which is formal, detailed, logical and indirect and so on.
At the graphological level, it studies the symbols which are distinctive. In this scientific paper, it mainly focuses on the use of periods, commas and capitals, which are important prominent devices for stylistic effects.
At the lexical level, it concerned the study of the meaning of words. In the present scientific text, it uses a great number of technical terms about natural science, solar electric, avoiding using colloquial, non-standard, slang, informal words to convey information and tell the truth objectively.
At the grammatical level, it is mainly about how the sentences in the present text are arranged in order to achieve the desired effect of scientific paper, frequently using long sentences, passive voice, and nominalized elements.
At the semantic level, it focuses on analyzing the text from three aspects: the explicitness of the relations between semantic features, depersonification and relationalization , which aim at conveying information objectively .
References:
1. Michael J. Toolan. Language, Text and Context: Essays in Stylistics
2. <文体学概论>
Appendix:
Electricity from the Sun from Preparations for IELETS Reading
本文标题：Stylistic Analysis of Science and Techno - 大学英语作文_大学英文作文_大学生英语作文网General speaking, this text analyses “Electricity from the Sun’’ from three aspects: 1) Solar cells work. 2) How a solar cell work. 3) How a solar cell is made.
In a more detailed sense, it is mainly about solar electric, a safe, nonpolluting and renewable energy producer, will help to reduce the demand of natural resources to relieve the energy crisis and benefit the whole world if its cost can drop to as low as conventional electrical power .In addition, it also explain the way solar electric works, how a solar cell is made up of and the techniques to make it.
The language of Electricity from the Sun includes a large variety of registers. In terms of field, it is concerned with the natural science: solar energy. In terms of mode, it is a scientific paper relevant to solar electric .In terms of tenor: it is concerned with communication between the specialist and layman.
I choose this text because I want to gain a better understanding of science and technology by means of analyzing its different features at different levels.
Textual Analysis:
1. At the Phonological Level
Phonology is the study of the sound system of a given language and the analysis and classification of its phonemes. That is, phonology is a science which transfers spoken sounds into written symbols. Therefore ,sound and writing are two ways of representing the same thing .Also , there are two kinds of languages to represent the same thing : spoken language and written language .As this text is a scientific paper , it can only be written as written language .Then questions arise as to what features its language has . The answers are as follows:
1). It communicates indirectly. The author generally has time to get well prepared and revise the text before it is sent out.
2). It is used in formal situation. It employs a lot of big words and formal words. Big words: photovoltaic, Gossamer Penguin, semiconductor, polycrystalline, etc.
Formal words: turn out to, require, alter, etc.
3). It is written in a detailed and logical way. In the text, the author uses a number of examples to prove that solar cells work, illustrate how a solar cell work and how a solar cell is made in details, which are ranked logically.
4).It is very constant and developed around a single subject. The whole text is developed around solar electric: Introduction: the importance of solar electric
----- Main body: Solar cells work, how it work and how it is made ----- Conclusion: the techniques of making solar cells are being perfected.
2. At the Graphological Level
Graphology refers to the writing system of a language .It studies symbols such as period, comma, exclamation mark, colon, dash, parentheses, quotation mark, most of which are fully uses in this text. In this scientific text, the periods occur at the end of declarative sentences, expressing meaning clearly. The two commas in ‘‘maybe, just maybe, ’’ at the beginning of the first sentence in Para1 are used to emphasize that the scientists are not sure about the brewing of the solar revolution. And it uses commas frequently in order to offer information. In addition, capitals are also important prominent device for stylistic effects .For example, “ONE SENSES THAT …..” at the beginning of the text is written in capital, which is of great prominence.
3. At the Lexical Level
Lexicology is concerned with the study of the meaning of words and lexical items and also the composition of words .Words are the basic units of meaning .Therefore, what words to select in the creation of a text will be significant in creating certain stylistic effect. This text is a scientific paper, so it should use standard or common words, and avoid using colloquial, non-standard, slang, informal words. That is why it is full of scientific words and technical terms of natural science, such as photovoltaic, utility, mini-computer, semiconductor materials, brittle photovoltaic cells, silicon, crystals, polycrystalline, molds, etc. In the broad sense, these scientific words are mainly to provide information for readers. In a more detailed sense, these scientific words have the following functions:
1). To convey general concept, such as solar electric.
2).To convey concept in a specific field, such as solar cell, brittle photovoltaic cells, etc. in electricity from the sun.
3). To refer to objects concerned in natural science, such as silicon, crystals, polycrystalline, molds.
4. At the Grammatical Level
The corn of grammar is syntax, which can be used to achieve a particular style .In this scientific paper, in order to achieve the desired effect, it is of high frequency of occurrence of sentences of certain length .On the one hand, this scientific text uses a large amount of long sentences, which can not only produce solemn and formal style, but also can give detailed description of its topic: solar electric. On the other hand , it also uses some short sentences like the first sentence in para.2 “Solar cells work’’ and the first sentence in para.9 “ How does a solar cell work ?’’ , which can produce direct , concise ,clear effect .
Generally, this scientific text develops from general to specific, or abstract to concrete .In this case, the language of science and technology das developed its own characteristics:
1).high frequency of occurrence of passive voice
2).more nominalized elements
Therefore, the characteristics of this scientific text are as follows:
1).passive voice:
a. were developed to….
b. can be sold for…
c. is needed…
d. have been brought by…
e. are energized of ..
f. are made
g. are mounted , wired and covered
h. are being perfected
2). participial phrases:
a. piloted solar airplane
b. high-priced oil
c. charged by
d. wasting at least
3) nominalization of processes:
a. solar revolution ( to revolute solar );
b.our energy horizon ( to horizon on our energy);
c.energy producers ( to produce energy);
d.the mini-computer( to minimum the computer);
e.program director (to direct program)
…
5. At the Semantic Level
Each style has its own semantic features, so does scientific paper .And the semantic system of scientific paper has the following characteristics.
1) The explicitness of the relations between semantic features.
The function of scientific paper is to convey information and knowledge of science and technology, so it will make use of all cohesive devices, including visual devices, to make the relations and levels clear and the structure integral. For example, in this text, the author links the whole text as a string: the importance of solar electric ------solar cells work -----how does a solar cell work? -----what are most solar cells made from? Also, visual device such as statistics, 6000cells, is used to present the fact more clearly and convincingly.
In term of the relations of semantic structures, it has the characteristics as follows.
a.Precise modification and clear logical relations. For example, “just maybe”, “or solar electric ’’can be omitted in other text, but here it is used to make the relations explicit.
b.All conjunctive relations are explicit. For example, “But”, a number of “and” and “on the other hand” are listed in the text.
c.More examples and instances: such as the United States ’ space program, the United States Europe and Japan solar firms ,Federal regulations, etc.
d. The majority of the clauses in the text have relational processes, mainly expressed by “be”, which can be seen throughout the whole text.
2) Depersonification
As scientific paper is needed to convey information objectively, the author has to avoid personal feelings, likes and dislikes, etc. Therefore, in language, it is necessary for the author to distance themselves from the information they convey .This means is called depersonification. And passive voice is often used to achieve such a goal.
In this scientific paper ，it uses many a passive voice .For example, throughout the whole text, passive voice can be easily seen, for example, “They were developed to …” “But they have been exorbitantly …” “More testing is needed …” etc, while in an ordinary narrative text, passive voice is rarely used.
3) Relationalization
As the major aim of scientific language is to convey information and tell the truth to the mass, it will focus on the relations between these actions and events, for which the actions and events will be relationalized into things and concepts, while the relations become the verbal links between them, which is a prominent feature of science and technology.
In term of relationalization, many clauses are nominalized .For example:
a. a solar revolution ( to revolute solar );
b. our energy horizon ( to horizon on our energy);
c. energy producers ( to produce energy);
d.the mini-computer( to minimum the computer);
e.program director (to direct program)
…
Conclusion:
“Electricity from the Sun” is a scientific paper on natural science, solar electric. According to its style, it is analyzed from five levels: phonological level, graphological level, lexical level, grammatical level and semantic level.
At the phonological level, it is mainly concerned with the sound and writing, representing the same thing in two different ways. As the present text is a scientific paper, it is of the characteristics of written language which is formal, detailed, logical and indirect and so on.
At the graphological level, it studies the symbols which are distinctive. In this scientific paper, it mainly focuses on the use of periods, commas and capitals, which are important prominent devices for stylistic effects.
At the lexical level, it concerned the study of the meaning of words. In the present scientific text, it uses a great number of technical terms about natural science, solar electric, avoiding using colloquial, non-standard, slang, informal words to convey information and tell the truth objectively.
At the grammatical level, it is mainly about how the sentences in the present text are arranged in order to achieve the desired effect of scientific paper, frequently using long sentences, passive voice, and nominalized elements.
At the semantic level, it focuses on analyzing the text from three aspects: the explicitness of the relations between semantic features, depersonification and relationalization , which aim at conveying information objectively .
References:
1. Michael J. Toolan. Language, Text and Context: Essays in Stylistics
2. <文体学概论>
Appendix:
Electricity from the Sun from Preparations for IELETS Reading
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