El discurso explicativo en la divulgación científica

Abstract

Firstly, this paper reviews the characteristic procedures of explanation, based on previous studies (Adam 2001, Borel 1981, Grize 1981 and 1990), as well as proposals regarding paradigms of definition and designation (Mortureux 1993, Moirand1996-1997). Secondly, we offer the results of an analysis carried out on a corpus of six articles on donation which appeared in 1997-1998, in six different magazines, two of which represent institutional popularization, two commercial popularization and two of which appeared in gener al interest magazines. Finally, we show that explanation can be present not only in explicative sequences, but also in explicative reformulations ant that the incidence of explicative sequences, as well as definitional and designational paradigms in a text is revelatory of the degree of popularization as well as pedagogic intent.