科学写作的一个显著特点是大量使用外壳名词来创建信息密集的文本。本研究采用语料库方法,对比中英母语者在英语化工期刊写作中运用外壳名词的频率、词汇–语法型式,旨在分析其在外壳名词使用方面的差异。研究结果表明,中外化工领域学者在外壳名词以及名词–语法型式上的频率有显著性差异;两个语料库中词汇语法型式以th-N和N-cl为主,其中th-N的比重更高;中国学者偏爱使用非限定性定语从句。A distinctive feature of scientific writing is the extensive use of shell nouns to create information- intensive texts. Using a corpus approach, this study compares the frequency and lexical-grammatical patterns of shell nouns used by Chinese and English native speakers in their writing in English-language chemical journals, with the aim of analyzing the differences in their use of shell nouns. The results of the study show that there are significant differences between Chinese and English scholars in the field of chemical engineering in terms of the frequency of shell nouns as well as lexico-grammatical patterns;the lexico-grammatical patterns in the two corpora are predominantly th-N and N-cl, with a higher weighting of th-N;and Chinese scholars favor the use of non-finite determinative clauses.
