The Language of Science: A Lexical Study of Academic Writing in Computer Science (Published)
Language is a veritable tool for conveying knowledge and information. In the field of science and technology, it is indispensable in disseminating, concepts and facts. Ideas and novel thoughts cannot be formulated without the use of languages in the sciences. Thus, language is the means of understanding science and technology. In fact, language and science are so inextricably linked that learning science is analogous to studying language. However, some second language learners of English fail to realize the relevance of language in the study of science and technology. Also scientific language expressing technical facts pose a lot of problems to second language learners in the field of computer science because the texts introduce the learners to many unfamiliar words. Therefore, this study examines and interprets some technical words in the field of computer science and shows its peculiar usage in the academic context. Excerpts culled from academic journals and texts in computer science are analyzed to explore some ordinary and technical words with specialized meanings. It is discovered that there is a significant number of technical jargons in computer science texts. A major implication of this study is that the second language learners of computer science need to understand and interpret the technical words for their studies and skills in professional communication.
Keywords: Academic Writing, Computer Science, Language, Lexical Study