Abstract
Despite the variety of disciplinary discourses, the global academic discourse in English preserves the uniform language of study and research, the lexical corpus of which contains structures composed of classical elements, morphemes of Latin and Greek origin. Understanding and mastering this international academic corpus is essential for all members of the academy, especially neophytes and international researchers. However, the information concerning classical combining forms and word-formation in dictionaries, reference books and academic English teaching materials is often insufficient, inaccurate or unsystematic. The paper analyses the state of affairs in the study of classical elements in academic discourse in English and offers an interdisciplinary approach to more effective comprehension of academic vocabulary. The approach draws from linguistics, discourse analysis, contrastive rhetoric (viewed as intercultural rhetoric) and the theory of common underlying proficiency of language acquisition, aimed at developing academic vocabularies simultaneously in both the native language and English. The approach has been tested in a variety of academic contexts and provides an efficient model for developing academic vocabulary by activating the prior, tacit knowledge of classical elements shared by participants of academic discourse across cultures.
Highlights
Academic discourse is inseparable from the language of the academy, which is shared by all the members to interact and create knowledge
Academic discourses vary in different disciplines, genres and cultural contexts, the global academic community preserves a single unified language, which enables effective communication among the members of the academy across disciplines, genres and academic cultures and is essential for all the members to master
The language of study and research is a specific form of English, which includes complicated lexical structures formed of classical elements and employs the principles of Latin word-formation
Summary
Academic discourse is inseparable from the language of the academy, which is shared by all the members to interact and create knowledge. Mastering academic English is crucial in the global world with intensive information exchange, members of the academic community whose native language is other than English face more challenges in coping with scholarly texts and tend to be discriminated in writing for study (Hyland 2000, 2006; Bhatia 2002; Bizzel 1999) and publication (Flowerdew 2008; Tardy 2004; Uzuner 2008) They are even more disadvantaged by language and cultural diversity if the social aspects of academic discourse are taken into account, for it does imply the knowledge of language conventions in education and research, but “constructs the social roles and relationships which create academics and students and which sustain the universities, the disciplines, and the creation of knowledge itself” (Hyland 2011: 171). The specific features of the common underlying proficiency concerning classical elements in both Russian and English presented in the model, are meant to provide researchers and students with an explicit set of linguistic and analytical skills, which will help them develop conceptual knowledge of classical elements in both languages and master the lexis of both the global and native academic discourse across disciplines
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