The Evolution of the English Scientific Register

Between the early stages of scientific writing in the late Middle English period and today, there have been significant changes in the grammatical properties and the rhetorical strategies of scientific discourse. These developments had an influence on the style of scientific writing, resulting in the change from a narrative towards a more argumentative style. According to this, the purpose of the present essay is to consider, from a historical stance, the evolution of linguistic features in the English scientific register. Thus, the essay takes into account several examples of linguistic features which are characteristic of late Middle English and Early Modern English scientific writing. Based on these examples, it is further the aim of my essay to provide an overview of the evolution of the English scientific register concerning its grammatical properties and rhetorical strategies up to the present day.