Linguistic Features of Writing Technical Documents in English

Abstract

The article is devoted to the linguistic features of English technical documentation. The analysis is performed on the example of such a document as the software requirements specification (SRS). The characteristic of the software requirements specification according to lexical, grammatical and syntactic features is presented. The research is done on the base of 120 SRSs taken from the computer companies and firms. Text material, subtext and type of technical text are considered. The paper describes the vocabulary of the technical documentation. It is noted that integral requirement for the SRS is the use of terms and also general vocabulary. The paper states that the vocabulary of the software requirements specification is rich in the special clichés, conjunctions, pronouns, abbreviations, acronyms, symbols, definitions, multicomponent phrases, continuances, directives, stylistically neutral, general scientific, specialized vocabulary and phrases. Grammatical means of the text of scientific style, scientific and technical substyle of the SRS are considered. They are The Present Simple, The Future Simple in active and passive voice, adjectives, gerund, infinitive and infinitive constructions, conditional sentences (with a real condition), modal verbs with passive constructions. Syntactic features of the SRS are described: clear compositional form, separation of one thought from another, numbering of separate parts of the statement, impersonal style of sentence presentation, use of indirect speech, narrative sentences, sentences with rows of homogeneous members. The research is conducted for the undergraduate students who study computer science or computer engineering. The lexical, grammatical and syntactic features are analyzed with examples in the computer field of knowledge. The examples are taken from the real SRSs. The lexical, grammatical and syntactic means of the SRSs are summarized in the table. Conclusions have been made and further aspects of the research are outlined.