Changing patterns of the grammatical stance devices in medical research articles (1970–2020)

While the grammatical marking of stance in academic writing is dynamic and susceptible to change over time, relatively few studies have tracked the changing patterns of stance expressions in contemporary medical academic writing. Based on 480 medical research articles published in top medical journals between 1970 and 2020, this study investigated the use of three major types of stance devices (modals, stance adverbials, and that-complement clauses) from a diachronic perspective. Results showed that the three types of stance devices and their functional/syntactic categories displayed a clear downward trend. In terms of stance markers within functional/syntactic categories, results demonstrated that stance markers indicating certainty declined in use, whereas stance markers conveying uncertainty increased. The results indicate that medical academic writing tends to become less interpersonal and more informational over time. In addition, medical writers are inclined to make more cautious and tentative knowledge claims across the years. These changes may be related to the development of medical science and have important pedagogical implications.