【医学英语】科研论文写作技巧(一)
【前言】
很多人在学习医学英语的过程往往有这样的感受——学习论文写作时更加偏重于方法论的层次,对于用词和句型的润色很少关注,但是医学英语本身的教学过程中,尽管对于写作的用词和句型有所注重,但是难免散乱。为此,本文在“术”的层面,总结归纳了一些医学英语写作中较为常用的润色技巧。
一、注意语言的不对称性
比如,描述家族史:外祖母死于心脏病
常见错误
FAMILY Hx: Grandmother died of “stomach tumor” at age 37.
错误原因:grandmother语义具有对称性,但是我们所想要表达的其实是对称性的语义,为了科学严谨,应该具体指出是祖母还是外祖母。(其实很多同学可能意识到了这种错误,但是苦于不知道如何表述)
(另外可以拓展延伸一下,语言,或者说单词的背后蕴藏着文化,为什么西方人对于grandmother并不区分祖母和外祖母也是一个值得探讨的议题)
较为准确的写法
FAMILY Hx: Grandmother, on the maternal side, died of “stomach tumor” at age 37.
二、科研文章中定性定量的思维——注意副词的运用
(一)because的润色
单单一个because难免显得单调,可以选择加上一个副词,对because进行润色,例如:
Blood is heavier than water and about five times thicker, or more viscous, largely because of its formed elements.
此外,常用的还有:solely because; partly because…
(二)对于性质定性定量的描述
Blood is slight alkaline, with a pH between 7.35 and 7.45.
slight人人都认识,但是在写作中却未必会使用
本文在描述血液是弱碱性时,slight很好的起到了半定性的作用。
三、独立主格结构的应用——巧妙引入概念
Erythrocyte normally account for about 45% of the total volumn of a blood sample, a percentage known as the hematocrit.
此处,相当于独立主格结构表伴随状况或补充说明的一种使用办法,一般放在最后。
四、名词做动词,形容词做动词,描述更形象
个人认为,在科研写作中,名词作动词其本质在于一种抽象的类比,即运用B类事物的本质特点来表述A类事物的某个行为。这一点需要大量阅读的积淀,也很难模仿。但是,我们作为非母语学习者,可以进行背诵和化用,这也是我们医学生所擅长的。
ferry
Erythrocytes function primarily to ferry oxygen in blood to all cells of the body.
bump
Even while you are sleeping, your heart pumps 30 times its own weight (5L) each minute, which amouts to more than 14000 liters of blood in a day and 10 million liters in a year.
branch
As the aorta branches, and these arteries branch in turn, they become successively smaller and smaller.
【说文解字】Formed elements
The formed elements are cells and cell fragments suspended in the plasma. The three classes of formed elements are the erythrocytes (red blood cells), leukocytes (white blood cells), and the thrombocytes (platelets). Erythrocytes, or red blood cells, are the most numerous of the formed elements.
formed element在医学英语中并不是指某某元素,而是特指红细胞、白细胞、血小板三种血细胞。
all in all, formed elements are living blood cells.