[优秀论文]基于语料库的学术期刊论文摘要时态的对比研究.pdf

Chapter 1 Introduction

Research Background

English, “the world’s predominant language of research and scholarship”
(Swales, 1990: 99), has been assuming an ever-increasing pivotal role in recent years.
Academic researches in various disciplines are resorting to English for international
recognition; scholars of diverse cultural and academic backgrounds are keeping pace
with world’s leading academic researches and exchange in English. Academic Journal
Research Articles (henceforth RA), serving as the latest carriers of academic
researches, not only build platform to exhibit the up-to-date achievement to
researchers in time, but also allow access for the lay people to the latest development
of science and technology.
As an indispensable part of a RA, the abstract is an “essential writing form”
(Swales, 2004) in today’s research world. Well-prepared abstracts can “equip scholars
to summarize their work in clear pelling ways”(Swales, 2004). As it captures
the essence of the whole article, the abstract tends to be the first part of a journal
article to be read (Hartley, 2003; Salager-Meyer, 1990); Very few journals would not
require an abstract to be submitted with the main RA (Martín-Martín, 2003). Many
journals published in languages other than English also require the submission of an
English version of the abstract (Lorés, 2004; Ventola, 1994).
Researchers municate their findings with others in academic
community and mon way of transmitting academic achievement is to publish
their RAs. Similarly, graduates and postgraduates are also required to submit articles
for publication. In China, most journals require academic papers to be published with
an abstract both in Chinese and in English. Writing an abstract in a foreign language is
not for a non-native writer without its problems, even when the writers are very
experienced in their field (Ventola, 1994). Using a foreign language when writing an