SCIENTIFIC TERMINOLOGY IN LITERARY WORKS (CASE STUDY: N. K. JEMISIN’S “THE BROKEN EARTH” TRILOGY)

Abstract

The article deals with the role of scientific terminology in literary works and provides the case study of N.K. Jemisin’s “The Broken Earth” terminology system. Use of scientific and technical terms is viewed as an effective means, which allows authors to create an illusion of reality in their works. In “The Broken Earth” trilogy, the author utilized a wide variety of terms of different fields and structures in order to create a realistic background and a special atmosphere. Despite the fact that the key function of scientific and technical terms is to provide an accurate definition for a particular process, object or phenomenon, N.K. Jemisin also uses terminology to develop creative stylistic devices, concentrating predominantly on intricate metaphors and similes. The article provides the classification of the terms based upon their scientific fields and structure. It is underlined that N.K. Jemisin’s novels demonstrate an abundance in terms of different fields which include geology, hydrology, meteorology, botany, zoology, chemistry, medicine and biology, technical studies, linguistics, mathematics, economics and political science. Although it should be noted that geological terminology prevails over the other disciplines due to its enhanced relevance to the plot. The article also mentions that besides real scientific terminology, the author also created a number of artificial “terms” – words and word combinations that were designed to describe imaginary notions. In most cases, author does not explain the meaning of the “terms” the moment they are introduced into the storyline, so readers need to get acquainted with the context in order to understand their definitions. All artificial “terms” fulfil the same functions as real terminological units and vary in fields and structure as well. Even though some scientific or technical terms may be unknown to an average reader, they do not pose an obstacle for the understanding of the storyline. At the same time, terms give additional colours to the narration as well as help readers to experience the unusual atmosphere of the author’s new world.