The characteristic of the scientific and technical language

Having studied the material of scientific-technical texts some of the characteristics can be determined:

1. The absence of emotional colouring.

This feature basically also causes absolute convertibility of the scientific and technical texts, as the reader should not have stranger associations, he should not read between lines, be admired by the game of words and calamburs. The writer's purpose of the text is to describe either or other phenomenon or operation, this or that subject or process.

It is necessary to mark, that the English language differs by figurativeness, which cannot be transferred to Russian translation.

E. g. “The mother company bore a daughter in the Far East, granted her a dowry of 2.000.000 pounds and christened her…”

If to translate literally, it will sound so:

"Компания мать родила на Дальнем Востоке дочь, дала ей приданное в 2 млн. фунтов стерлингов и окрестила ее…"

After processing is obtained:

"Эта компания организовала на Дальнем Востоке дочернюю компанию и выделила ей капитал в 2 млн. фунтов стерлингов; новая компания стала именоваться…"

2.rushing to clearness and shortness.

The rushing to clearness discovers expression in application of legible grammar constructions and lexical units, and also in the wide use of a nomenclature. As a rule, the placed terms will be utilized conventional,, though meet and terminoids (terms, having circulation in a narrow orb), which considerably hamper translation. The rushing to a multiplicity expresses in wide application of infinitive, gerundial and subordinate clauses, abbreviations (cuttings) and conventional signs.

3. The special semantic load of some words of ordinary colloquial speech.

The rethinking of words of ordinary speech is one of productive methods of the new terms' construction.

E. g. to put out - in ordinary speech "гасить огонь", but for sailors - "выходить в море"

Stroke - in ordinary speech "удар", but for mechanic - "ход поршня"

Hoe - "мотыга", but for builders - "обратная лопата"

This property of words is an especially dangerous source of difficulties and errors for an initial translator.

4. Rate, distinct from literary language, of the words' use of the basic dictionary fund. The lexicon of the scientific and technical literature is much poorer than lexicon of art products. Therefore rate of separate elements of common lexicon of the scientific and technical literature is higher than rate of elements of lexicon of art products, thus the literary - book words and expressions, foreign drawings, scarcity of portable and contextual meanings treat to characteristic features of scientific and technical style.

5. Distinction from the literary language rate of the use and relative importance of some grammar shapes and constructions.

In the engineering literature Passive Voice is used in 16 times more often, than in art. The definition in the engineering literature is used in 3 times more often, than in art.

6. Scarcity of the idioms' use.

The idiomatic word collocations are original irresolvable expressions having particular sense, frequently independent from elements, included in them. The idioms always have some emotional colouring and consequently are not entered in the scientific and technical texts.

7. Application of abbreviations (cuttings) and conventional signs.

About some features of language of the scientific and technical literature and technique of tutoring translation.

Concept " the scientific and technical literature " combines, as is known different kinds of literature; the monographs, different textbooks, journal papers, descriptions, quick references. These aspects of the scientific and technical literature differ on language. In scientific and technical operations the material is stated briefly, exact and logically and at the same time completely enough and demonstrative. For all aspects of the scientific and technical literature is present much common, as enables to speak about common lexical and grammar features of the scientific and technical literature.

The lexicon of the scientific and technical literature consists of common words and great many of the special terms.

One part of common words such as to work, to know, place, new is known for the pupil from school or other original course of the English language.

Other part of common words is unknown by the pupil and represents that basic lexical reserve, which they should acquire in learning process. This part of common words can conditionally be subdivided on some groups:

Words used in the scientific and technical literature in meanings, distinct from what pupils have acquired in original course. For example verb to offer in the scientific text more often is used in value "оказывать", instead of "предлагать".

To same group it is necessary to refer and some auxiliary words such as for, as, since, after. A feature of these words is that they can execute functions of different parts of speech. For example word for can be a preposition and conjunction, and is translated as "для", "в течение", and as a conjunction "так как".

Words, which on the first stage of tutoring usually are not studied.

E. g. to regard - рассматривать, считать.

to design - конструировать.

Here it is necessary to refer a great many of auxiliary words, not studied before, "on account of" - из-за, “due to “ - благодаря.

Words and word-combinations providing logical connections between separate parts of the text and providing the logic of an account.

E. g. to begin with - прежде всего

Furthermore - кроме того

Summing up - говоря вкратце

Word and word combinations serving for relational expression of the writer to the stated facts or for clarification of these facts.

E. g. needless to say - не вызывает сомнения

strictly speaking - строго говоря

The meanings of such words should be learnt.

Phraseological word combinations.

The feature of phraseological word combinations used in the scientific and technical literature is that they more or less neutral on colouring.

E. g. to be in a position - быть в состоянии

to be under way - осуществляться

to bring into action - начинать действавать

Phraseological word combinations play the important role in the offer and they are necessary for knowing.

The second stratum of the scientific and technical literature is the terms.

E. g. guidance - наведение

combustion chamber - камера сгорания

force of gravity - сила тяжести

If the expert well knows Russian nomenclature, having met in the text the unfamiliar term, he can guess without the dictionary by what appropriate Russian term is necessary to translate.

The greatest difficulty for understanding and translation is represented by the terms consisting not of one word, but from group of words. Disclosure of their meanings requires (demands) particular sequence of operations and knowledge of a method of translation of separate components. It is possible to recommend to start translation from the last word. Then under the order on the right to the left to translate words, facing to it, taking into account the semantic relations between the components.

E. g. If we translate the term "liquid-propellant power plant" - first of all it should be translated "power plant" - силовая установка, and then “propellant" - топливо, and the last word is “liquid" - жидкий. And we can easily translate the whole word combination:

"Силовая установка на жидком топливе"

It is necessary to take into account that many terms are polysemantic.

E. g. stage - in radiotechnics has several meanings:

Каскад;

2. Фаза, стадия

And in the rocket engineering - ступень ракеты.

Thus summing up, it is necessary to underscore, that the mastering of a strictly select and rather restricted amount of words enables the specialist to read the scientific and technical literature, not reverting to common English-Russian language and using only by special dictionaries. Some more examples are submitted in the Appendix 1.