El lenguaje y su importancia para la ciencia

Abstract

The author emphasises the importance of respecting certain linguistic and formal aspects in scientific prose in so far as they are representative of such texts. In addition to certain basic characteristics such as spelling and punctuation; the author identifies and explains the merits of the following; l)a preference for impersonal verb forms 2) the predominance of short paragraphs 3) a "neutral" non-judmental style and tone 4) the use of technical terms and 5) the avoidance of innecessary foreign loan words. The author illustrates his argument for a good "scientific ana technological style" using examples from the field of medicine. In conclusion the author urges researchers in all fields to be more linguistically aware although not fanatical in order that scientific interchange and communication can occur without innecessary "noise".