ABSTRACT
Specialized fields of discourse can, of course, be more or less restricted in communicability to those who already know a great deal about what is being presented linguistically; and often what they are as pieces of language, particularly as regards their texture, is the consequence not only of their fields of discourse but also of their associated modes and tenors of discourse. Most scientific Englishes are also field-determined. The activity of science is a recording activity which means that it is committed to the written mode; and it has its own conventions of impersonality of presentation which means that there are few variations as regards tenors of discourse. Specialist activities such as 'scientific and learned inquiry, administration, or professional pursuits and amateur enthusiasms' lie behind such restricted languages. These technical fields have their own special vocabulary and favourite grammatical patterns. The lexical items 'keep', 'beseech', the formulaic 'through Jesus Christ our Lord.
