科技英語中長句的句法特點和句法結(jié)構(gòu)

董愛華

(新鄉(xiāng)學院外國語學院，河南新鄉(xiāng)453000)

科技英語中長句的句法特點和句法結(jié)構(gòu)

董愛華

(新鄉(xiāng)學院外國語學院，河南新鄉(xiāng)453000)

科技英語;長句;句法特點;句法結(jié)構(gòu)

科技英語作為一種嚴肅的文體，深受拉丁文風的影響，長句的歷史由來已久。由于組句較長，結(jié)構(gòu)嚴謹，成分復雜，給讀者的解讀帶來了困難。擬從傳統(tǒng)語法角度來探析科技英語中長句的句法特點和句法結(jié)構(gòu)，并試圖通過分析給讀者閱讀時帶來一定的啟示和指導。

科技英語(English for science and technology)產(chǎn)生于20世紀50年代，自20世紀70年代以來引起了人們的廣泛關注和研究。它是“人們從事科學技術(shù)活動時進行交際的工具，是英語全民語言用于理、工、醫(yī)、農(nóng)等自然科學題材時產(chǎn)生的變體”。(侯維瑞，1996)科技英語是用來陳述自然界、科技界所發(fā)生或出現(xiàn)的事情。描述其規(guī)律、特點，以及過程等的語言，其表達客觀準確、邏輯性強、結(jié)構(gòu)嚴謹。為了更好地記錄自然界的現(xiàn)象和科技界的動態(tài)，用來記錄的句子往往偏長，結(jié)構(gòu)復雜，所以造成了科技英語長句中語言結(jié)構(gòu)層次多，成分多，修飾語多的特點。本文擬從傳統(tǒng)語法角度來探析科技英語中長句的句法特點和句法結(jié)構(gòu)，并試圖通過分析給讀者閱讀時帶來一定的啟示和指導。

一、科技英語長句的句法特點分析

科技語言是客觀現(xiàn)實的真實反映，由于其本身的性質(zhì)決定了其文體具有嚴謹周密、概念準確、邏輯性強、行文簡潔、重點突出、句式嚴整、少有變化等特點?？萍加⒄Z的長句常常是由一個主語帶著若干個從句，從句又帶著短語，短語又帶從句，從句又套從句，相互依附，相互制約，一環(huán)扣一環(huán)，錯綜復雜。下面本人擬就科技英語中出現(xiàn)的長句的句法特點做粗略的分析，試從以下四個方面來探討。

(一)被動語態(tài)的大量使用

科技英語的長句在句法上最突出的特點就是被動語態(tài)數(shù)量之多，可以占到全部謂語動詞的1/3～1/2以上。究其原因主要有三點，其一:科技作者在探討事物發(fā)展過程和闡述科學原理時，往往著眼于演繹論證的結(jié)果，而不大考慮動作的實行者。這需要使事物，過程和結(jié)果處于句子的中心地位，而被動結(jié)構(gòu)正好能突出要論證和說明的對象;其二:科技作品對現(xiàn)象的描述，對規(guī)律的論證，對事物的分析和對事物相互關系的推理，要求盡量客觀，而客觀的表達與感情色彩有沖突，被動結(jié)構(gòu)正好可以避開人的主觀因素。其三:科技文章崇尚準確，嚴謹和精煉，而被動結(jié)構(gòu)在很多情況下正好使句子更為緊湊和簡短。被動語態(tài)的使用在下面兩個長句中可見一斑:

例一:The Harry Diamond Laboratories performed early advanced development of the Arming Safety Device(ASD)for the Navy’s 5-in guided projectile．The early advanced development was performed in two phrases．In phrase 1，the ASD was designed，and three prototypes were fabricated and tested in the laboratory．In phrase 2，the design was refined，35 ASD’s and a large number of explosive mockups were fabricated，and a series of qualification tests were performed．The qualification tests ranged from laboratory tests to drop tests and gun firing．The design was further refined during and following the qualification tests．The feasibility of the design was demonstrated．

例二:As oil is found deep in the ground its presence cannot be determined by a study of the surface．Consequently，a geological survey of the underground rock structure must be carried out．If it is thought that the rocks in a certain area contain oil，a“drilling rig”is assembled．The most obvious part of a drilling rig is called“a derrick”．It is used to lift sections of pipe，which are lowered into the hole made by the drill．As the hole is being drilled，a steel pipe is pushed down to prevent the sides from falling in．If oil is struck a cover is firmly fixed to the top of the pipe and the oil is allowed to escape through a series of valves．

在第一個例子中，12處謂語動詞竟有9處采用被動結(jié)構(gòu)。第二例中，14處謂語動詞包含了13個被動語態(tài)。在這兩例長句篇章中，被動語態(tài)的使用尚且如此，那么在一篇科技文體的文章中的應用就可想而知了。

(二)非謂語動詞的普遍使用

在科技英語的長句中，可以發(fā)現(xiàn)動詞的非謂語形式(分詞，動名詞，動詞不定式及復合結(jié)構(gòu))被廣泛應用，尤其是分詞短語用作后置定語的現(xiàn)象更是層見疊出。究其原因主要有兩點，其一:在科技作品中，人們往往要說明各個事物之間的關系，事物的位置和狀態(tài)變化，如:機器，產(chǎn)品，原料等的運動，來源、型式、加工手段、工藝流程和操作方法，這些都要求敘述嚴謹、準確。動詞的非謂語形式容易實現(xiàn)這些要求，而且能用擴展的成分對所修飾的進行嚴格的說明和限定。(每一個分詞定語都能代替一個從句);其二:科技作者為了完整準確地表達某一概念和事物，常需對某些詞句進行多方面的修飾和限定。為了使長句勻稱，避免復雜的復合結(jié)構(gòu)并省略動詞時態(tài)的配合，使長句既不累贅又語意明確，這種語法策略經(jīng)常采用。

例一:Hill’s idea of stating a perturbation theory with a better intermediate orbit than a Keplerian ellipse was quickly applied to artificial satellite theories with some success，depending on the possibility of obtaining higher order theories．

例二:What is really required therefore is a safe，reliable and inexpensive device，which can be inserted between the transmission line and the consuming apparatus，to convert the high voltage and low current of the economical transmission line into the low voltage and high current required by the consuming apparatus，that is，a piece of apparatus to perform the same function in electrical transmission that a pair of reduction gears does in mechanical transmission，in which a high torque and low speed are readily and effectively converted into a low torque and high speed，or vice versa．

(三)形容詞短語作后置定語居多

在科技英語長句中，形容詞短語用作后置定語的現(xiàn)象，雖不及分詞短語后置定語多，但也大量使用。按照R．Quirk的說法，形容詞短語作后置定語可以看作是定語從句的省略形式。其作用是對所修飾的詞語加以嚴格的限定和準確的說明，同時又會句子結(jié)構(gòu)簡短緊湊。

例一:With the acceptance of the Copernican system，the Earth was added to the number of planets revolving around the Sun，and the Moon was recognized as the Earth’s satellite．Uranus，which is barely visible to the unaided eye，was discovered in 1781.

例二:In the 24 years since the birth of Louise Brown，the world＇s first test－ tube baby，thousands of would － be parents have been assure that as far as scientists knew there was no extra risk of genetic damage associated with in － vitro fertilization，or IVF．No matter how sperm meets egg—whether in a woman＇s body or in a Petri dish(and even if the sperm needs some help getting inside the egg)—nature is equally vigilant about preventing serious genetic mishaps from coming to term．With those assurances，test-tube births have soared from a few hundred a year in the early 1980s to tens of thousands today．

(四)虛擬語氣的廣泛運用

科技作者在說明事理、提出設想、探討問題和推導公式時，常常涉及到各種前提、條件和場合。為了避免武斷，總是從假定、猜想、建議或懷疑的角度出發(fā)，這就往往需要采用虛擬語氣;另一方面，有不少作者為了表示自己的謙遜，為了謹慎和留有余地，也樂于采用虛擬語氣而是口吻變得委婉。

例一:Had astronomers then been able to see the ultraviolet part of the spectrum，which our own atmosphere absorbs，they could have seen the Lyman series of absorption energies that come from photons which are absorbed by hydrogen atoms with electrons in the smallest possible orbits，they probably would have made an entirely different classification of stellar spectra on the basis of the still more intense Lyman lines．

例二:In the spring of 1999，ACT’s new troika sat down to discuss just how to venture into what＇s arguably the most controversial area in medicine today．We knew that we would have to fend off attacks，recalls Lanza．But we never imagined all the insanity that would come．Over the course of the next two years，the men would be called ‘mad scientists’，‘baby killers’，and‘monsters’;their names would be added to antiabortion‘a(chǎn)ssassination’lists on the Web;the FBI would warn them of threats on their lives，and conservatives would push a bill through the House of Representatives declaring them federal criminals deserving of 10 years in prison and a$1 million fine．

二、科技英語長句的句法結(jié)構(gòu)分析

科技英語由于內(nèi)容、語域、語篇功能的特殊性和悠久的外來語影響，通常使用結(jié)構(gòu)復雜的長句，其句法結(jié)構(gòu)主要包括以下五個方面。其一:大量使用名詞化結(jié)構(gòu)以及垂懸結(jié)構(gòu)來壓縮句子長度;其二:常用先行it結(jié)構(gòu)來保持文風凝重平穩(wěn);其三:常用平行結(jié)構(gòu)使層次清晰;其四:使用圓周句結(jié)構(gòu)，從句交錯重疊;其五:采用介詞詞組的結(jié)構(gòu)準確簡練地反映了事物之間的邏輯關系。現(xiàn)就這五種結(jié)構(gòu)作詳細分析。

(一)名詞化結(jié)構(gòu)

在科技英語中，含名詞化結(jié)構(gòu)的長句出現(xiàn)的頻率很高。這些長句內(nèi)涵豐富，信息量大，語言簡潔嚴謹。R．Quirk在《當代英語語法》(A Grammar of Contemporary English)中說:“人們會發(fā)現(xiàn)，科技文獻中的語言與語法關系更為復雜，分句經(jīng)?！~化’。”(R．Quirk，1973:27)他還提出:“大量使用名詞化結(jié)構(gòu)是科技英語的特點之一?！?R．Quirk，1973:48)

例一:Many attempts for nearly a hundred years having been made to use this property in a reliable system of signaling the electric telegraph was made a practical device about the middle if the last century．

例二:The successful launching of China first experimental communication satellite，which was propelled by a three-stage rocket and has been in operation ever since，indicates that our nation has entered a new stage in the development of carrier rockets and electronics．

例一中使用了獨立主格結(jié)構(gòu)“Many attempts for nearly a hundred years having been made to use this property in a reliable system of signaling the electric telegraph”

作狀語;例二中的主語是由介詞“of”連接成的名詞詞組。通過以上兩例，我們還可以看出，科技英語中的長句離不開短語和分句;而短語和分句之間的緊密銜接又離不開大量的關聯(lián)詞。除了介詞(of，with，over，by，in 等)，還包括關系詞(which，that，when 等 )，連詞(and，if，or等)。

(二)先行詞it結(jié)構(gòu)

使用形式主語it引導句子，把較長的主語子句移到句末，使句子平衡，避免頭重腳輕，從而使行文更加凝重平穩(wěn)，符合科技英語的文體風格。

例一:It is needed to produce many natural hormones，including sexual hormones，as well as vitamin D and bile acids which help us to digest fat，all of which are required to sustain in the body and human life on the planet in general．

例二:It is particularly exciting to have the ability to infer the properties of the meridional circulation，the giant cells，and the general state of the turbulent convection from the fine structure and frequencies of the p-and g-modes．

這類句子通常又叫作無人稱句子。這是因為科技文獻所描述和討論的是科學發(fā)現(xiàn)或科技事實，盡管科技活動時人類所為，但科技文獻所報道的主要是科技成果或自然規(guī)律，但并不強調(diào)是誰發(fā)現(xiàn)或完成。

(三)平行結(jié)構(gòu)

科技英語長句中有許多平行不悖，前后銜接，相互照應的現(xiàn)象。在有條不紊的描述中追求表達的嚴密效果，通常把眾多并列成分納入一體，歸合一句，形成一種“突出”的文體特色。運用平行結(jié)構(gòu)可以使句子鏗鏘有力、富有節(jié)奏、思路脈絡分明，層次清晰等。

例一:If doors，describe physical treatment of walls，ceiling and floor，include a sketch showing location of source and room contents;if outdoors，include a sketch showing location of source with respect to surrounding terrain，including physical description of test environment．(用分號隔開兩個平行的復句，其中 If doors和if outdoors分別為成分省略的條件句。)

例二:The typical digital computer has five different units or sections，an input unit where inform action or orders go into the computer，a control unit which controls the actions of the computer in accordance with the input orders，a computation，or arithmetic，unit where the arithmetic is carried out，a memory unit where information is stored，and an output unit which reports the results．(此長句是由五個帶定語從句的unit構(gòu)成了平行。)

(四)圓周句結(jié)構(gòu)

使用圓周句，從句交錯重疊，關系復雜。從句的意義主要依賴于主句，特別是主句謂語的明確表述。其特點主要是“主句謂語動詞被推遲到句子的中部或后部，這就增加了理解句子的困難。”(侯維瑞，1996)

例一:We assumed that there were forces of attraction between molecules which varied rapidly with the distance so that the attraction between molecules that were more than a few tenmillions of millimeter apart was very small but became considerable when the molecules approached more closely．(此長句句式復雜，信息含量豐富，包含五個子句，看圖解如下:)

例二:Electronics，like any other field of human activity，has gone through several stages in its rapid development which are marked by the electron tube，the transistor，the integrated circuit and the microprocessor．

例三:Owing to the fact that electricity and be transmitted from where it is generated to where it is needed by means of power lines and transformers．Large power stations and be built in remote places far from industrial centers or large cities，as is often the case with hydroelectric power stations that are inseparable from water sources．

上述例二中，主語是“Electronics，like any other field of human activity”為介詞短語作插入語，對主語“electronics”起到了進一步說明的作用，謂語是“has gone through”;在賓語中含有一個由which引導的定語從句修飾stages。在例三中，主語是“l(fā)arge power stations”;謂語是“can be built;owing to……transformers”是分詞短語作原因狀語。但是，在這個短語中還含有三個從句，一個是由that引出的同位語從句，另外兩個是由where引出的地點狀語從句。除此之外，還有far from形容詞短語作后置定語修飾places和由as引出的定語從句修飾全句。

對于上述三個例句，首先應該做的是找出它的主要成分，其它部分是一些起修飾作用的從句或短語等。句子之所以長，大多數(shù)情況下是由于修飾成分多造成的，如果把這些修飾成分先放在一旁，就可以較容易地理解其大意了。

(五)介詞詞組結(jié)構(gòu)

科學注重事實、概念和邏輯，科技文體具有嚴肅性、真實性。為了準確、詳盡地描述事物特點、發(fā)展過程、演變規(guī)律或應用，科技英語敘事要求突出事實本身，避開主觀因素，用結(jié)構(gòu)嚴謹?shù)年P系來明確無誤地表達因果、條件、讓步、目的、對比等上下人邏輯概念。因此，介詞和介詞短語結(jié)構(gòu)在科技英語的長句中出現(xiàn)的頻率很高，主要用于準確而簡練地反映各事物之間的時間、空間、隸屬、依附以及因果等邏輯關系。

例一:According to a pair of reports in last week＇s New England Journal of Medicine，that conventional wisdom may be wrong．In the first study，doctors in Britain and Australia found that infants conceived with both straightforward test－tube methods and a more invasive technique called intra-cytoplasm sperm injection，in which sperm is injected directly into the egg，have an 8.6%risk of major birth defects—including heart and kidney abnormalities，cleft palate and undescended testicles-compared with the 4.2%rate in babies made the old － fashioned way．The second study，conducted by the U．S．Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)，reported that babies conceived through what doctors call assisted reproductive technologies(ART)have 2.6 times the risk of low or very low birth weight—a significant risk factor for cardiac and cognitive problems．

例二:Diagnosis of such unrelated conditions as migraine，gall stones or ulcer of the duodenum sometime depends much more on an understanding of the patient’s history and symptoms and on knowledge of what diseases will produce than on what can be learned objectively．

四、結(jié) 語

上述是對科技英語長句的句法特點和句法結(jié)構(gòu)的粗略探討，并不是說其特點和結(jié)構(gòu)只是局限于此。隨著科學技術(shù)的迅速發(fā)展和國際間科技交流的日益增多，科技書刊和資料作為科技信息交流的重要媒介，越來越重要。目前，科技英語已經(jīng)發(fā)展成為英語科學與理工學科相結(jié)合的一門獨立學科，它除具有一般基礎英語的特點之外，還具有其自身特點?？萍既藛T在閱讀英文科技資料時遇到的困難，主要是科技英語中長句的句法特點和結(jié)構(gòu)所致，因此更值得我們?nèi)ネ魄煤脱芯?。掌握好長句的句法特點和句法結(jié)構(gòu)，對指導科技人員閱讀科技文章有著重要的指導作用。參考文獻:

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A Tentative Analysis of Syntactic Features and Structures of Lengthy EST Sentences

DONG Ai-hua
(Xinxiang University，School of Foreign Language Xinxiang Henan 453000，China)

EST;lengthy sentences;syntactic features;syntactic structures

English for science and technology(abbreviated to EST)，as the term suggests，is a strict style of writing．Because of the influence of Latin writing style，the history of EST lengthy sentences is long-standing．The EST syntactically features are lengthy，strict and intricate，which cause much trouble to the readers’understanding．This paper mainly examines the syntactic features and structures of EST lengthy sentences from the perspective of traditional grammar．After this general analysis，this paper aims to provide a certain instructive significance for the EST readers．

H314

A

2095-2708(2012)01-0110-03

2010-10-18