医学论文英译的名词化问题

Overuse of Nominalization in English Abstracts of Chinese Medical Journals

名词化一直被国内语言学家看作是科技英语的一大特点。许多中国医学研究人员撰写的英文论文中存在着名词化过滥的现象,这与现行的国际惯例要求尽量避免名词化以求语言清晰是背道而驰的。本文探讨了名词化过滥的原因,并以实例总结医学论文在汉译英过程中名词化滥用的类型以及避免的方法,目的在于使中国医学工作者提高英译水平,写出符合国际惯例的高水平的医学论文。

Nominalization, primarily making a noun from a verb, is regarded as one of the striking features of EST （English for Science and Technology）. However, there is an excessive reliance on nouns at the expense of verbs in biomedical papers written by Chinese researchers, which is now condemned by international conventions. This article discusses the causes and patterns of overuse of nominalization and suggests ways to avoid them with sample sentences to exemplify rules that determine correct usage. We hope this will encourage medical workers in China to improve their English translating skills to meet the international standards.