The use of the passive voice in English and Polish medical research articles
Journal Title: Problemy Nauk Stosowanych - Year 2017, Vol 6, Issue
Abstract
Introduction and aim: The passive voice has recently been claimed to be excessively used in medical research papers making them less clear and for some people difficult to understand. Still, it is thought that the passive voice used in scientific writing contributes to an objective presentation of the subject matter, it emphasizes the action rather than the doer of the action and it also acts as a means of impersonalization. The aim of the paper is to investigate the frequency of occurrence of the passive voice in English and Polish medical research articles. Material and methods: The study is based on five medical research articles taken from The British Medical Journal and one article in manuscript and their Polish translations. It is a con-trastive analysis of the use of the passive voice in English and Polish medical research articles. Results: The frequency of occurrence of the passive voice in English and Polish medical re-search articles is roughly the same (an average of 30% of all the finite verbs). The passive with an expressed agent is rare in the analysed articles. The passive voice in English is trans-lated into Polish mainly by means of the -no, - to constructions. Conclusions: The frequency of occurrence of the passive voice in medical research articles is high both in English and in Polish. It is due to the nature and function of scientific writing, by means of which scientists aim to give an impersonal, objective and factual account of their research.
Authors and Affiliations
Dagmara Kotowicz
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP219772
- DOI -
- Views 97
- Downloads 0
Scaffolds knee joint meniscus engineering
Introduction and aims: In the knee joint are located two menisci, which play an essential role in the preservation of chondral surfaces and assurance of knee stability. Due to their activity during knee movement, they ar...
Wykorzystanie sieci neuronowej Kohonena do wizualizacji danych MPG
Wstęp i cel: Zastosowanie sieci neuronowych Kohonena zapewnia zmniejszenie wielowymiarowości danych. Wizualizacja w postaci map samoorganizujących się (SOM) jest użytecznym narzędziem do wstępnego kastrowania (grupowania...
Rola polimorfizmów genów MCPH1 i ASPM/MCPH5 w rozwoju mózgowia
Wstęp i cele: Adaptacja ewolucyjna anatomii mózgowia u człowieka rozumnego właściwego pozostaje w zależności z genetycznymi regulatorami rozwoju objętości mózgowia. Do puli genów ewolucyjnych wykazujących zaangażowanie w...
Wireless device to improve person care
Introduction and aim: The article presents the issues of system and prototype of the device to a wireless diagnostic health of elderly people. This system is able to control a pulse, temperature and ECG recording. There...
Dynamiki w Szczególnej Teorii Eteru.
Wstęp i cele: W artykule przedstawione zostało wyprowadzenie trzech dynamik w Szczególnej Teorii Eteru (STE). STE jest teorią kinematyki i dynamiki ciał z uniwersalnym układem odniesienia. W teorii tej można wyprowadzić...