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SOME TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ESP(EXCLUDING TERMINOLOGY)
Frequent use of list bullets
[elenco puntato]
Use of discourse/ logical connectives
Use of modals different from general English
Non-temporal use of tenses (Trimble, 1985)
Use of grammatical as well as lexical metaphors
DISCOURSE CONNECTIVES
Cohesive devices that signal logical relations between parts of discourse, e.g.
o
Subordinate conjunctions (when, although, because etc)
o
Coordinate conjunctions (and, but, or)
o
Adverbials (however, therefore, as a result, etc)
Studies on the frequency of connectives in general vs. specialized English have revealed thatthe frequency and distribution of connectives crucially depend on:
o
Register (context of situation)
o
Culture (context of culture)Errors that must be avoided:In this book, we deal with…CORRECT!In this book, we are dealing with…WRONG!In this book, we will deal with…QUITE INAPPROPRIATEShe knows a lot about illnesses
she must be a doctor
/
she certainly is a doctor
modality stays herecertainly ≠ indeedis more similar to in fact (I’m adding information)
Modality
Modal forms express the speaker’s attitudes towards himself/ herself, listeners or subject matters.They can be expressed through:1.MODAL AUXILIARIES (may, might, can, could, will, would, shall, should, must)
 BUT ALSO
2.Adverbs (probably, admittedly, arguably, perhaps, absolutely ecc.)This is arguably an interesting event = it can be argued this is an interesting event [=si può sostenere che l’evento sia interessante]3.Phraseologies (kind of, in a way, in some respects, to be sure, I guess, as far as I know,IMHO (=in my honest opinion)...) When they aim at distancing yourself from what you’re saying, these expressions are also known as“hedges” [attenuare]Modals [I sensi dei modali]
Degree of commitment (
epistemic
=how much you know about it)
Degree of obligation, permission and prohibition (
deontic
=your duty
à
stronger modality)
Ability, tendency (
dynamic
=e.g. I can swim
à
weaker modality)
F.R. Palmer’s description of modalsEPISTEMIC & DEONTIC
δέον [DEON]
à
obligation, duty (has originated words such as “deontology”)
επιστήμη [EPISTEME]
à
knowledge
 
δύναμη (Ancient Greek was δύναμις [DÜNAMIS])
à
strength, ability to
PALMER’S CATEGORIZATION OF MODALS
Epistemic Possibility (
may
),
It may rain tomorrow; It can raintomorrow
Epistemic Necessity (
must 
),
Epistemic (?) (
will 
);
will for the future
Deontic Possibility (
may, can
),
a matter of register: may
à
more formal; can
à
informal
Deontic Necessity (
must 
),
oblige
Deontic ? (
 shall 
);
use in legal English and law text [obbligo legale]
Dynamic Possibility (
can
),
Dynamic ? (
will 
). (Palmer 1990: 36-37)
[più che la capicità esprime la tendenza]e.g. People will do anything for money / are prepared [=sono disposti]DEFINITIONS OF MODAL VERBS: aptitude or subjective characteristics
Lyons
(1977:452): related to the speaker’s
‘opinion or attitude towards the proposition that the sentence expresses or the situation that the proposition describes’.
Palmer (1986: 16):
‘concerned with subjectivecharacteristics of an utterance, and it could even be further argued that subjectivity is anessential criterion for modality.’ 
SEMI-MODALS (they have the “to”)Phrasal or periphrastic expressions which convey the meaning of COMMITMENT and variousdegrees of OBLIGATION, but act more like regular verbs than modals
can, could >>> be able to
will, shall >>> be going to (gonna)
(spoken form)
, be about to
must >>> have to, have got to
should >>> be to, be supposed to
may, might >>> be allowed to, be permitted to
 
o
Rare in written ESP
o
But more and more common in spoken presentations (e.g. conference)
 REMEMBER!
It is in SPOKEN language that most grammatical changes first appear in a language. Writing,especially ‘formal’ professional writing, tends to be more conservative.
MODALS IN ESPShould & May
à
stronger modality in ESP than in general English. Used to give instructions, e.g.
“All exterior doors should be secured with a double cylinder or single cylinder dead bolt”The instructions to close the airplane doors are given with
“should”
because it is more polite than
“must”
.
This hazard may be minimized through the use of tempered glass or a covering over 
CAN & MAYOften similar to “tend to”
(often it is so)e.g.
“The process may be carried out indiscriminately by the wind or by insects which fly from flower to flower”
(Palmer, 1979: 153-154)
 
WOULD & MAY
Expressing criticism in a polite, non-aggressive way,
e.g.
“The classical school have tacitly assumed that this would involve no significant change intheir theory; It may well be that ... but...”
[attenuano i propri enunciati] (He doesn’t say the changewere wrong)
Expressing a hypothesis, possibility (EPISTEMIC), e.g
 .
“It may be the case that within a certain range the demand of labour is for a minimum money-wageand not for a minimum real wage. Suppose, then, that a price is put on the emissions of automobiles. Obviously continuous metering of such emissions would be impossible”
WILL
Different degree of commitment depending on adverbial modification (e.g. will certainly, probably, possibly...)
Often avoided in academic writing, e.g.This paper will present ≠ This paper presents
Intention, less certainlyA fact, more objectiveWILL IN ACADEMIC ENGLISH
To which we return ≠ To which we will return[non ci ritorna in continuazione] [su cui ritorneremo]The use of the simple present tense is non temporal: it doesn’t mean that we return to this pointREGULARLY, but that we are CERTAIN to do so
 
SHALL (LEGAL ENGLISH)
(e.g. bidding process)Very strong modality, describes a duty, e.g.
In contracts: “The Contractor shall furnish all the materials and perform all of the work shown on the drawings/projects and/or described in the specifications entitled Exhibit A...”(ancient form)
In non-negotiable orders, e.g. the Commandments “I am the Lord your God, Thou shalt haveno other gods before me...” =you shall
SHOULD & OUGHT TO
In EST (English for sience and technology meaning is close to “must” but
“with less force, lessinsistence that something be done”
, must would be too strong (Trimble, 1985: 119), e.g.
“The theoretical mathematic model ought to enable us to establish optimal procedures for thecryopreservation of human egg cells and embryos...”
INTERNAL vs. EXTERNAL OBLIGATION (it’s you who feel this obligation)
“Must” and “should” are usually considered to express “internal obligation” (a necessity thatis felt by the individual herself/himself)e.g. “I must go” the obligation start from me
“Have to” and “ought to” are usually considered to express “external obligation” (anecessity that comes from outside)e.g. “I have to go” external force, “because of my mother”
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