【英語論文の書き方】第43回　Compared with とCompared toの違いは？ 論文翻訳・英文校正　研究者専門の翻訳会社　ワールド翻訳サービス

第42回の前回は
(1) 論文での受動態の使い方。
(2) 図について言及するときの表現。
１つの論文に図や表は複数含まれているものですが、同じ表現が続くと不自然か？
(3)エンダッシュ「＿」の正しい使い方
を取り上げました。

第43回の今回は
(1) Compared with vs. Compared to: A little help from Shakespeare
Compared with とCompared toの違いは？
有名なシェイクスピアのソネット集18にある最初の1行目を引用して解説します。
論文では、はっきりと使い分けできるようにしましょう。

(2) Some common expressions that are not so suitable for scientific writing
論文にあまり適していない単語・表現をご紹介します 。
一般的にはよく使う単語なので、知っておくと安心です。
 
以上2つのテーマを解説します。



 

In this issue, first we look at one of the most famous lines in the works of William Shakespeare to help us remember the correct usage of the word compare. We then review some common expressions that are not so suitable for scientific writing.

In informal writing and speech, many people use compared with and compared to interchangeably. However, when it comes to formal English expression–particularly scientific writing–there is a clear distinction between the usage of compared with and compared to.
 
This distinction is actually quite simple: compared with is used to indicate contrast, while compared to is used to indicate similarity. The first type of usage, to indicate contrast, is by far the most common usage in scientific writing, so in most cases you should use compared with (or in comparison with, which has the same meaning of contrast). Here are some typical examples of sentences in which something is contrasted with something else:

• Compared with the results obtained in the first trial, those obtained in the second trial were consistently higher.
• The magnetic properties of the specimens were compared with those of the control specimen to evaluate their usefulness.

(Note that in the first sentence, Compared with could be replaced by In comparison with, but in the second sentence, which has a different grammatical structure, we could not say were in comparison with, because that expression is not a grammatically natural expression in English).
 
Now let’s look at the second type of usage, compared to, indicating similarity. As mentioned earlier, this expression using to is much less common in scientific writing than the expression using with. A more common expression using to is comparable to, which has the same meaning of similarity. Here are some examples of sentences in which something is shown to be similar to something else, using compared to and comparable to:

• Smith et al.[1] compared this phenomenon to that found by Brown[2]. (In other words, Smith et al. stated in their report that this phenomenon was similar to [not contrasted with] the phenomenon found by Brown.)
• The distance of the current from the coast in summer is comparable to that in winter, but not in other seasons. (In other words, the current is a similar distance from the coast in summer and winter, but the distance is different in spring and autumn.)

 
How can we remember this distinction between compared with and compared to? Let me quote the famous first line in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? ” Here, Shakespeare is saying that his beloved is as beautiful as a summer's day; i.e., he is indicating similarity. (He then goes on to say that his beloved is, in fact, better than a summer’s day in many ways, thus introducing contrast, but his first statement, using compare to, is clearly an expression of similarity.) This is how I always remember the difference between compared with and compared to.

We previously examined some informal expressions to be avoided in scientific writing (see the Summer 2011 and Summer 2012 issues of Quarterly Review; Issues No. 5 and 9), and since this is such an important topic that has a major effect on the quality of your paper, I’d like to highlight a few more expressions that are a little too informal for scientific writing.
  

• Very: The word very has a slightly informal feeling, and I personally tend to avoid it in scientific writing (although I would not say that it should never be used). It is usually better to replace very with a more formal expression such as greatly. For example, rather than writing “X is very different from Y,” I would probably write something like “X differs greatly from Y” or “There is a clear difference between X and Y.”
• Stayed: The word stayed also has a slightly informal nuance. It’s better to use a more formal expression such as remained in scientific writing.
• Keep: It’s possible to use the verb keep in scientific texts, but it does have a slightly informal feeling. I prefer to use maintain, so instead of writing “while keeping the sample upright,” I would generally use an expression such as “while maintaining the sample in an upright position.”
• Just: The adverb just is generally considered to be too informal for use in scientific writing. Instead, you could use words such as only, precisely, recently, immediately, and so on, depending on the meaning.
• One of them: This expression is also a little too informal. To look at an example, if we mention “various phenomena” in one sentence and then want to refer to one of these phenomena in particular, rather than writing one of them in the next sentence, it would be better to use one of these phenomena or one such phenomenon.

I hope that the above points are helpful to you in your work.
 
Sincerely yours,
 
Bob Gavey
For World Translation Services, Inc.

第１回　if、in case、when の正しい使い分け：確実性の程度を英語で正しく表現する
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbunwriting-1/index.html
 
第2回 「装置」に対する英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-equipment/index.html
 
第3回　助動詞のニュアンスを正しく理解する：「～することが出来た」「～することが出来なかった」の表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun3/index.html
 
第4回　「～を用いて」の表現：by と with の違い
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-writing4/index.html
 
第5回　技術英文で使われる代名詞のitおよび指示代名詞thisとthatの違いとそれらの使用法
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-daimeishi/index.html
 
第6回　原因・結果を表す動詞の正しい使い方：その1 原因→結果
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun6-kekka/index.html
 
第7回　原因・結果を表す動詞の使い方：その2 結果→原因
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-kekka/index.html
 
第8回　受動態の多用と誤用に注意
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-writing8/index.html
 
第9回　top-heavyな英文を避ける
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigoronbun-topheavy/index.html
 
第10回　名詞の修飾語を前から修飾する場合の表現法
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun10/index.html
 
第11回　受動態による効果的表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun11/index.html
 
第12回　同格を表す接続詞thatの使い方
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun12/index.html
 
第13回 「技術」を表す英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun13/index.html
 
第14回　「特別に」を表す英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun14/index.html
 
第15回　所有を示すアポストロフィー + s ( ’s) の使い方
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun15/index.html
 
第16回　「つまり」「言い換えれば」を表す表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun16/index.html
 
第17回　寸法や重量を表す表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun17/index.html
 
第18回　前置詞 of の使い方: Part 1
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun18/index.html
 
第19回　前置詞 of の使い方: Part 2
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun19/index.html
 
第20回　物体や物質を表す英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun20/index.html
 
第21回　句動詞表現より1語動詞での表現へ
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun21/index.html
 
第22回　不定詞と動名詞: Part 1
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun22/index.html
 
第23回　不定詞と動名詞の使い分け: Part 2
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun23/index.html

第24回　理由を表す表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun24/index.html

第25回　総称表現　（a, theの使い方を含む）
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun25/index.html
　
第26回　「研究開発」を表す英語表現
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun26/index.html

第27回　「0～１の数値は単数か複数か？」
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun27/index.html

第28回　「時制－現在形の動詞の使い方」
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun28/index.html

第29回 　then, however, therefore, for example など接続副詞の使い方
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun29/index.html

第30回　 まちがえやすいusing, based onの使い方－分詞構文
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun30/index.html

第31回　 比率や割合の表現（ratio, rate, proportion, percent, percentage）
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun31/index.html

第32回　英語論文の書き方　総集編
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun32/index.html

第33回　Quality Review Issue No. 23　report, show の時制について
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun33/index.html

第34回　Quality Review Issue No. 24　参考文献で日本語論文をどう記載すべきか
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun34/index.html

第35回　Quality Review Issue No. 25　略語を書き出すときによくある間違いとは？
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun35/index.html

第36回　Quality Review Issue No. 26　％と℃の前にスペースを入れるかどうか
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun36/index.html

第37回　Quality Review Issue No. 27　同じ種類の名詞が続くとき冠詞は付けるべき？！
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun37/index.html

第38回　Quality Review Issue No. 22  日本人が特に間違えやすい副詞の使い方
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun38/index.html

第39回　Quality Review Issue No. 21  previous, preceding, earlierなどの表現のちがい
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun39/index.html

第40回　Quality Review Issue No. 20　using XX, by XXの表現の違い
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun40/index.html

第41回　Quality Review Issue No. 19　increase, rise, surgeなど動詞の選び方
http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun41/index.html

第42回　Quality Review Issue No. 18　論文での受動態の使い方
​http://worldts.com/english-writing/eigo-ronbun42/index.html