English for Academic Purposes: Vocabulary
Specific Vocabulary
Specific vocabulary for use in your academic area.
As well as knowing the frequent general words and the general academic words, there are two other types of words you need to know. You also need to know some of the less frequent words used in English and it is also necessary to know the specific words for your subject.
I have used Paul Nation’s computer program Range to take subject specific texts and make a list of words in the text that are not in GSL or AWL. Here are some examples with help from colleagues to distinguish between subject specific vocabulary and less frequent words and a little editing.
Science and Technology
aboard, above-described, absorbed, absorption, ac, accelerate, accelerated, accelerators, acceptor, acceptor-impurity, accomplish, accomplished, accomplishing, acoustic, acoustical, acoustics, activate, activated, actuated, actuating, acute, ad, adder, advantageous, advent, adverse, agitation, airborne, air-circuit, aircraft, air-type, algebraic, align, aligned, aligning, alkali, alleviated, allotted, alloy, alloys, alternately, alternates, alternating-current, alternation, alternator, alternators, altitude, aluminium, aluminium-clad, amateur, ammeter, amp, amperage, ampere, amperes, amplification, amplified, amplifier, amplifiers, amplifies, amplify, amplifying, amplitude, amplitude-modulated, amplitudes, analogue, anatomy, announced, anode, anodes, anomalous, antenna, antennas, antimony, aperture, apparatus, appliances, arc, architectural, arithmetic, arithmetical, armature, armatures, array, arsenic, arthritis, ascertained, astronauts, atmosphere, atmospheres, atmospheric, atom, atomic, atoms, attenuated, attenuation, audible, audio, audio-frequency, audiometer, auxiliary, axis, backup, bands-short-wave, bandwidth, bandwidths, batteries, battery, battery-powered, benzene, billionths, binary, biologist, bismuth, black-and-white, blackouts, blank, blanking, blast, blend, blends, blurred, bob, bombardment, boosting, brakes, breakdown, breaker, breakers, bridged, brilliant, broadcast-band, broadcasters, brownout, bubble, buffers, bypassed, cable, cables, calculus, calibrated, calibration, cancel, candles, capacitance, capacitance-coupled, capacitances, capacitor, capacitors, capture, captured, carbon, car-ignition, carrier, carriers, cassette, cathode, cathode-ray, cell, cells, cellular, centimetre, ceramic, chemistry, chrominance, cinemas, circuit, circuitry, circuits, circulates, circulating, circumventing, clad, clapper, clef, closed-circuit, close-up, clues, clumsy, cluster, clusters, clutches, cm, coated, coating, coaxial, cohered, coil, coils, commercial-radio, commonplace, compact, compass, composers, compound-wound, compression, compressions, compromise, concentric, condenser, condensers, conduction, conductive, conductivity, conductor, conductors, cone, consoles, consonance, continental, continually, continuous-wave, converter, converters, copper-clad, coulomb, counter, counteract, crests, crucible, crude, crystal, crystalline, crystals, Curie, current-carrying, currents, curvature, cutter, cyclotrons, cylinder, cylinders, cylindrical, damping, darkens, dashes, dB, DC, decelerating, decibel, decibels, decode, decoded, decoder, decodes, decreed, deficiencies, deficiency, deflected, deflecting, deflection, deflects, deliberate, demagnetise, demagnetised, demodulated, demodulating, demodulation, denominator, density, dependence, deposited, deposits, devised, diagnostic, diagonal, diagram, diagrams, dials, diamagnetic, diameter, diamond-cubic, diaphragm, diathermy, dielectric, diesel, differential, diffraction, diffuse, digit, digital, digital-computer, digitally, diode, diode-having, diodes, dipole, direct-coupled, direct-current, directional, directivity, direct-satellite, direct-view, disc, discharge, discharged, discourage, discoverer, discriminators, discs, dish-shaped, disks, disproved, disrupted, dissector, dissipate, dissipation, dissonance, distributes, diverging, donor, donor-impurity, dotted, downwind, drawings, droplets, duly, dynamo, dynamoelectric, dynamotor, dynode, dynodes, earphones, echo, echoes, edifice, editing-particularly, efficiencies, efficiently, electrode, electrodes, electrodynamometer, electrodynamometers, electromagnet, electromagnetic, electromagnetism, electromagnets, electromechanical, electromotive, electron, electron-collecting, electronic, electronically, electronics, electrons, electroscope, electrostatic, elementary, emergencies, emission, emits, emitted, emitter, encodes, encoding, end-fed, energised, energising, engraves, engraving, entailed, entails, enunciated, enveloped, euphonious, evacuated, exacting, executed, exerts, expended, fabricated, facsimile, facsimiles, farad, faraday, fax, feats, fed, feed, feedback, feeding, ferrite, ferromagnetic, fidelity, fig, filament, filaments, filings, filter, filtered, filtering, filters, fixed-pitch, fluid, flux, forerunner, fraction, frequencies, frequency-modulated, friction, fulfilled, fulfils, fun-and-fact, funnel-like, funnel-shaped, fuse, fuses, gallium, galvanometer, galvanometers, gamma, gaseous, geared, generator, generators, geologist, germanium, giant, gigahertz, glow, glowing, graphic, graphically, green-to, grid, grids, grid-system, grip, groove, halftone, halftones, half-wave, half-wavelength, ham, hand-held, harmonic, harmonically, harmonics, harmony, hazard, height, helical, heliograph, helix, heptodes, hertz, hexodes, high-fidelity, high-frequency, high-intensity, high-power, high-quality, high-resolution, high-speed, high-voltage, hiss, historically, homogeneous, horizontal, horseshoe, hot-wire, household, households, hue, hum, humidity, hundred-thousandth, hydroelectric, hydropower, iconoscope, illuminated, illuminates, illumination, imaging, imbalance, imbedded, immersed, impedance, impedance-coupled, impede, imperfect, imperfection, impinge, impinged, impregnated, impressed, impulses, impurities, inasmuch, incandescent, incoming, inconvenient, incurring, indestructible, indiscriminately, indium, inductance, inductance-coupled, inductances, inductive, industrialised, inertia, inextricably, infrared, inoperative, installations, installed, instantaneous, instrumentation, insulated, insulation, insulator, insulators, integer, integrated-circuit, intelligibility, intelligible, intelligibly, intensities, interconnected, interdependent, interestingly, interface, interfaces, interlaced, intermediate-range, internal-combustion, interposed, interrelated, interruption, inverse, inversely, inverse-square, ion, ionosphere, iron-vane, jargon, jean, joule, junction, junctions, keying, khz, kilohertz, kilovolt, kilovolts, kilowatt, kinescope, kinescopes, klystron, klystrons, km, laboratories, laboratory, lag, lambda, laminated, laminations, landings, lapse, large-diameter, large-scale, laser, lattice, latticework, launched, launches, leak, leaked, lee, lens, lenses, levitation, lightning, limiter, line-of-sight, line-see, lodestone, lodge, long-distance, longitudinal, longitudinally, long-range, long-wave, loop, loops, loudspeaker, loudspeakers, lower-voltage, low-frequency, low-speed, low-voltage, luminance, luminescence, luminous, lunar, magazines, magnet, magnetic, magnetism, magnetite, magnetisation, magnetise, magnetised, magneto, magnetron, magnetrons, magnets, magnitude, magnitudes, manifests, mapped, mapping, marine, mariner, mars, maser, mask, masking, materials-into, mathematical, mathematician, mathematicians, medium-frequency, medium-wave, megahertz, megaphone, membrane, mercury, mesh, metallic, meter, meters, microcomputer, microphone, microprocessor, microscope, microscopic, microwave, microwaves, millionths, mimic, miniature, miniaturisation, mirror, miscellaneous, missions, mixer, mixers, mobile, modulate, modulated, modulating, modulation, modulation-using, modulator, modules, moist, molecular, molecule, molecules, molten, monochrome, moon-landing, mounted, mounting, movable, mover, multimedia, multiples, multiplier, multiplier-which, multistage, mystical, naked, nanometres, naturalness, navigation, negative-feedback, neighbouring, nongovernmental, north-seeking, nullify, obsolete, octave, octaves, off-screen, ohm, ohms, old-fashioned, one-half, one-hundredth, one-millionth, one-person, one-third, one-twentieth, online, opaque, openings, opposition, optical, optics, oracle, orbit, orbited, orbiting, organic, organist, originating, orthicon, orthicons, oscillate, oscillates, oscillating, oscillation, oscillations, oscillator, oscillators, oscilloscope, outermost, overloaded, overloads, overtones, overwrite, oxide, paramagnetic, paramagnets, particulars, pastime, patent, patented, paths-one, patronage, peak, pendulum, perceptual, perforated, perforations, permanent-magnet, perpendicular, pertaining, phonograph, phosphor, phosphors, phosphorus, photo, photoconductive, photoelectric, photographic, photolithography, photosensitive, phototubes, physician, physicist, physicists, physics, physiological, piano, pickup, piezoelectric, pioneer, pipe-type, pitch, pivoted, plastic, polar, poles, porcelain, portable, postulated, postwar, potentialities, potentials, potentiometer, power-generating, power-transmission, predetermined, present-day, printed-circuit, programmable, propagate, propagated, propagation, propagator, proportionality, proximity, pulse, pulse-code, pulses, pulse-time, pylons, quantitative, quantum, quarter-wave, quartz, quartz-crystal, quench, rabbit-ear, radar, radiated, radiates, radiating, radiation, radiator, radio-broadcasting, radio-communication, radio-communications, radio-detectors, radio-frequency, radio-receiving, radiotelegraphy, radiotelephony, radius, ranger, rarefaction, rarefactions, reactance, readouts, reassembled, rebuilt, receivers, reception, receptor, recipes, recombined, reconstitute, recorded-so, recorder, record-player, re-create, re-creates, re-creating, rectification, rectified, rectifier, rectifiers, rectifying, recurring, reference, reflex, refraction, regenerative, relay, relayed, relaying, relays, remote, remote-control, remote-indicating, render, reorienting, repeater, repel, repels, repetition, reproducible, repulsion, repulsion-induction, repulsive, resemble, resembles, resembling, residual, resistances, resistant, resistor, resistors, resonance, resonant, resonates, resultant, resumed, retrace, retranslates, retransmit, retransmits, retrieval, revolved, revolves, revolving, rhombic, rim, rotary, rotate, rotated, rotates, rotating, rotation, rotor, rotors, rudimentary, satellite, satellites, satisfactorily, saturation, scan, scanned, scanner, scanning, scans, scholar, scrambled, scrap, script, sea-bottom, sealed, segments, selectivity, semiconductor, semiconductors, sensations, separator, series-wound, servomechanism, shaft, shellac, short-circuited, short-circuits, short-wave, shunt, shunt-wound, shutdowns, shutter, sidebands, silicon, simultaneously, single-phase, siren, six-year, skip, slits, smearing, soft-iron, software, software-controlled, solenoid, solid-state, sonar, sophisticated, sound-reproducing, soundtrack, sound-wave, southerly, south-seeking, soviet, spacecraft, spark, sparking, spectacular, spectrometers, spectrum, speculation, spiral, spirals, split-phase, spotlights, spurned, square-wave, squirrel-cage, squirrels, stacks, standardisation, standardised, static, stationary, stator, step-down, step-up, stethoscope, stimulate, stimulated, stimulates, stimuli, storage, strengths, stroboscope, stroked, studio, stylus, subscribers, substation, substations, subtle, suitably, sunspot, superimposing, superior, superposition, supplanted, suppressed, surge, surged, surveyor, switch, switched, switches, switching, symmetrical, synchronism, synchronisation, synchronised, synchronising, synchronous, tank, taut, technologies, telecasts, telegraphic, telegraphy, telephony, telescopes, televising, television, televisions, tempered, tempo, temporal, termed, thereafter, thermal, thermocouple, three-element, three-phase, thunderstorm, thunderstorms, timbre, timing, tiny, tolerant, tone, tones, toothed, torque, trams, transatlantic, transducer, transformer, transformers, transistor, transistors, translucent, transmission-line, transmitter, transmitters, transparent, transverse, transversely, treble, tremors, tricolour, trillion, triode, triple, troughs, trumpet, tubing, tuner, tuners, turbine, turbines, turntable, turntable-into, two-element, two-junction, two-phase, two-pole, two-thirds, two-to-one, UHF, ultrahigh, ultrasonic, underground, underpins, undersea, understandable, underwater, undesired, unidirectional, unintentional, unpaired, upwind, usable, user-adjustable, utmost, vacuum, vacuum-tube, valence, valence-bond, valve, valves, vane, vanes, vapour, vector, vectors, velocity, verified, versa, vertical, vertically, very-high, very-high-frequency, VHF, vibrate, vibrates, vibrating, vibration, vibrations, vice, video, video-frequency, viewer, violin, violinist, viscosity, volt, voltage, voltages, voltaic, voltmeter, voltmeters, volts, wafers, warmer, wartime, watt, watt-hour, wattmeter, watts, waveform, wavelength, wavelength-designate, wavelengths, weaker, weakest, weather-satellite, weighing-balance, well-designed, wind-excited, windings, wireless, workstations, worldwide, x-ray, x-rays, yoke, zinc |