Comparison between grammatical metaphors across registers in geoengineering

Abstract

The scientific texts, specifically scientific discourse, commonly present the sense of prerogative of an elite, which belongs to scientists and experts who specialize in the field. Learners and the general public feel alienated and excluded from this technical jargon. This paper deliberately compares four texts under the same topic – Geoengineering – in different modes (spoken and written), level of formality and specificity. In analyzing the language: its grammar (grammatical patterns) and vocabulary (nominalizations and grammatical metaphors), complicated scientific information in disguise would reveal implicitly its details of the formality and specificity.