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Exploring Texts and Text
Linguistics: An Overview
THE NOTION OF TEXT
TEXTS AND TEXT LINGUISTICS
The Oxford English Dictionary defines text as the wording of anything written or printed, the structure formed by the words in their order, and the very words, phrases, and sentences as written. It is a unit of connected discourse with a communicative function, forming the object of analysis and description.
Text linguistics is a branch of linguistics that studies texts, viewing them as language units with a definable communicative function. These units are characterized by principles like cohesion, coherence, and informativeness, which define their textuality or texture. Texts are classified into genres such as road signs, news reports, poems, and conversations.
Text linguistics designates any work in language science devoted to the text as the primary object of inquiry. The oldest form of preoccupation with texts can be found in rhetoric.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE
A key aspect of a text is its connectedness and the principles that make a language sample a text. Not all language samples are texts; random, non- connected, or non-communicative successions of graphemes or sounds do not qualify. A science of texts requires its own terms and notions due to the nature of its object. Communication, like any human activity, has its own special properties.
The systemic functional model emphasizes the interrelation of form and meaning. This field of study was developed in the 1960s by M.A.K. Halliday. The linguistic system is composed of strata: semantics (meaning), phonology (sound), and lexicogrammar (wording, including syntax, morphology, and lexis).
An empirical approach is informed by the models mentioned, incorporating the notion of strata from the formal/structural (functional) approach and the concept of connectedness and texts as human process and communication.
MATERIALITY
The physical setting, or the material dimension of a text, is an important determinant of language choices and meanings. Producers of texts make choices based on these factors, and receivers have expectations accordingly. The context is relevant for written as much as oral texts.
THE WH- QUESTIONS
A science of texts should be able to describe or explain both the shared features and the distinctions among texts or text types. The words and sentences on the page are reliable clues, but they cannot be the total picture. It is possible to understand texts without being able to analyze explicitly and in detail how the language is being used.
To analyze a text, consider the following questions: What happens in a text, what is in it? Where is the text ‘taking place’, in which situation? When is the text ‘taking place’ (place the text in its context of origin)? How is the language of the text? Why is the language of the text as it is?
QUALITATIVE METHODS
Qualitative methods involve examining the cotext, which is the linguistic surrounding of each item constituting a text. This includes identifying nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and connectors.
QUANTITATIVE METHODS
Quantitative methods involve counting the number of words, verbs, adjectives, etc. This includes analyzing frequency, such as the ratio of adjectives to the number of words, the frequency of words from a specific semantic field, and the use of active versus passive verbs. It also involves counting phrases and clauses.
SUMMING UP
A formal, detailed description of the language of a text will encompass linguistic features, including lexical density, semantic fields, verbs (finite/ non-finite, active/passive, dynamic/static, modality, tense), and syntax (simple/compound/complex).
A formal, detailed text analysis will also situate language in context, taking into account extra-linguistic features, such as references to place and where the text appears. Extra-linguistic features can help explain why the language of a text is as it is. Consider whether the extra-linguistic features and language are expected/suited to one another or mismatched/ unexpected.
LEXICAL AND SEMANTIC LEVEL
Patterns of vocabulary/lexical patterns/features of vocabulary help analyze texts better. Understanding them is important to learn how to analyze and explain how texts work. Key points include the referring/reference function of vocabulary, lexical and grammatical words, words and morphemes, semantic fields and word families, meaning and ambiguity, collocations, connotation, metaphors, and lexical cohesion.
Personal pronoun reference involves readers linking a pronoun with something that has already been mentioned (anaphora) or will be mentioned (cataphora). Pronouns can also act as signposts, leading outside the text (exophoric reference).
Grammar and Cohesion
Comparative reference links items and ideas. The reference point for comparison can be explicit or implicit. Examples include "Get your clothes whiter," "For a tastier meal," "Be healthier, live longer," "A cleaner fuel – For cleaner air," and "McVities bake a better biscuit." Implicit comparisons are "Whiter than they’ve ever been," "Healthier than you are, longer than you are expected to," "Cleaner than the fuel you use, and the air you breath now," and "Better than the other biscuits."
Substitution and ellipsis make texts more concise by avoiding repetition. Ellipsis implies shared meanings and creates an informal tone. For example: A: Has the agent for your house put it in the local newspaper? B: I think he must have done, because Terry saw it advertised. A: That must have been a bit of a shock if you hadn’t told him. B: I think so. A: You going to the party? B: Might be.
Different types of writing use different connectors. Stories focus on event sequences (first, then, after that). Argumentative texts use connectives to show interconnected ideas (on the one hand [...] on the other).
Cohesion problems can occur. For example: Our kitchen floor is very damp.
Sentences perform different functions, relating directly to the text's purpose. The four main functions are questioning, stating, commanding, and exclaiming. Question sentences seek information. Statement sentences describe the state of things. Command sentences (imperatives) tell the reader to do something. Exclamations express emotion.
Certain types of writing use particular verb tenses. Non-fiction information texts describe the nature of things, rules, and reality. Prose fiction often uses past tense.
Voice varies by genre. Passives depersonalize a text, making it sound neutral and emphasizing the process or event. For example: the safe had been blown open, the security guard shot and left for dead.
Modality expresses a relationship with reality and truth, using modal verbs and adverbs. Modal verbs (can, could, will, would, must, should, shall, may) express degrees of certainty (epistemic modality) and desirability or obligation (deontic modality). Adverbs like possibly, maybe, and probably are modal in meaning.
The Standards of Textuality
Working on Text 2 for Week 1, different ways in which texts can be used indicates that they belong to different text types, in particular: road sign, nursery rhyme, magazine article, science fiction (?), dramatized dialogue, poem.
Syntactic ambiguity can occur, such as "[SLOW][CHILDREN AT PLAY]" or "[SLOW CHILDREN][AT PLAY]". Knowledge of the world helps determine the most likely situation. The sense and use of the text are decided via implicit understanding and explicit analysis of its situationality.
A text is a communicative occurrence meeting seven standards of textuality. If any standard is not met, the text is not communicative. These standards are cohesion, coherence, situationality, intentionality, informativity, intertextuality, and acceptability.
Cohesion
Cohesion is connectedness at the grammatical and lexical level, the surface of the text. It can be achieved through repetition, substitution, synonymy, antonymy, pro-forms, and collocations.
Coherence
Coherence is connectedness at the level of concepts and ideas, its underlying logic. It refers to argumentation, synthesising and integrating readings, organising and clarifying ideas. Conjunctions, adverbs, or structures link sentences with logical relationships. These include identity/ clarification (that is, in other words), addition (and, too, also, furthermore, moreover), cause and effect (therefore, so, consequently, as a result, hence, because, since, for), concession (admittedly, true, of course, naturally), exemplification (for example, for instance, indeed, in fact), and argumentation (as shown, as demonstrated).
Informativity
Content words are generally more informative than function words. Informativity interacts with cohesion and coherence. A text might be syntactically expected but conceptually improbable, having low informativity in cohesion but high informativity in coherence.
Beaugrande and Dressler define "orders of informativity" from most to least probable and predictable. First order is fully predictable in cohesion, coherence, and planning, with an obvious situation and recognizable sign. Second order is the normal standard for textual communication. Third order involves infrequent occurrences demanding much attention, such as discrepancies or missing material.
through deictics. Stress and intonation emphasize parts of the discourse, and body language enhances communication. Speech often includes hesitation fillers, loose structure, inaccuracy, repetitions, and reformulations. Colloquialisms and slang are common.
Writing Characteristics
Writing lacks immediate feedback and co-presence. It relies on punctuation to suggest rhythm and emphasis. Accuracy and complex sentence construction are prioritized. Layout and font contribute to the message.
Deixis
Deictics, such as "I," "you," "here," and "now," depend on context. Writing requires explicit or implicit inclusion of references to person, place, and time within the text.
Emphasis and Non-Verbal Communication
Oral communication uses stress, pitch, and intonation, along with non- verbal cues like gestures and facial expressions. Writing uses punctuation, italics, bold types, type-size, page layout, and pictures to underline concepts. Emojis in e-writing attempt to visually express intonation and feelings.
Discourse Markers and Hesitation
Speech includes words and phrases like "well" and "you see" that indicate the speaker's attitude or draw attention to the discourse itself. Hesitation fillers ("er," "um," "ah") are used while the speaker formulates their thoughts. Sentences may be incomplete, and grammatical constructions can be mixed.
Structure and Accuracy
Speech is loosely structured, with information units identified by intonation. It often presents as a chain of main clauses. Writing is more hierarchically constructed, using syntax to emphasize importance. Written sentences are typically more complex, with subordinate clauses and embedding. Grammar mistakes are tolerated in speech but not in writing.
Practice
Analyze a phone call transcript, a radio transcript, and the use of deixis in a radio program transcript compared to the opening of the novel Still Life with Woodpecker.
Text and Discourse
The term "discourse" has varying meanings inside and outside academia, and across different academic fields. It can refer to extensive communication or primarily to spoken language.
Text Types and Genre
Texts are characterized by cohesion, coherence, and informativeness, defining their textuality. Texts are classified into text types or genres, such as road signs, news reports, poems, and conversations. Some linguists treat "text type" and "genre" as equivalent terms, while others use "text type" as linguistic terminology and "genre" as literary terminology.
Genre vs. Text Type
Genres are an open-ended set that changes over time and varies across cultures. Text types are a closed set with a limited number of categories, defined by cognitive categories or purpose. Different genres can be linguistically similar, while texts within a genre can vary greatly. Linguistically distinct texts within a genre may represent different text types, and vice versa. Communicative functions and text types cut across genres.
Text Type Specificity
Text types mainly refer to parts of texts, depending on the semantic profile of the passage. Definitions of text types are based on text-internal data, while definitions of non-literary genres follow both text-external and text- internal criteria. A novel belongs to the narrative genre but likely contains multiple text types. An experimental novel belongs to the narrative genre even if characterized by another text type, such as description. "Ekphrasis" denotes a descriptive genre, while "description" denotes the text type usually dominating ekphrasis.
Register
Approaches to Register
Two main approaches to register exist: context-based (Halliday and Hymes) and text-based (Biber).
Context-Based Register
Context-based register refers to specific lexical and grammatical choices made by speakers based on the situational context, participants, and language function in the discourse.
Register Definition
Halliday's broad concept of register distinguishes between closed (languages of games) and open registers (languages of instructions, informal narrative, spontaneous conversation). Quirk et al. (1989) categorize register into five terms: very formal, formal, neutral, informal, and very informal. Biber identifies four major registers: conversation, fiction, newspaper language, and academic prose. Other labels include technical, literary, humorous, and archaic.
Functional Model
Michael Halliday’s theory of functional grammar shows how language is influenced by the context in which it is produced. Two levels of context are recognized by Halliday: the context of culture (genre) and the context of situation (register). The genre of a text is determined by its purpose. The register of any text is broken down into the field (what the communication is about), the tenor (who is taking part in the communication), and the mode (how things are being communicated).
Scientific Discourse and Popularisation
Essential Timeline
From 1600-1800, science was studied by restricted groups. From 1800-1900, science and technology were exposed to the public due to the steam-powered printing press. From 1900 onwards, science is communicated to the public in various ways, including traditional journalism, live events, and the Internet.
Scientific Discourse
Communicative configurations include intraspecialistic, interspecialistic, didactic/pedagogical, and popular levels.
Participants and Contexts
At the popular level, there is a gap between participants in terms of knowledge and competence. Producers will construct their average reader presupposing a degree of knowledge or ignorance as a function of genre. Inter and intra-specialistic communication involves the diffusion of knowledge. Didactic and popular communication involves the dissemination of knowledge.
Variation
Disciplinary variation exists within scientific discourse, such as medical and legal discourse.
Text Type
Scientific knowledge has been traditionally conveyed through expository texts. Expository texts intend to provide facts, be educational and purposeful, expose the truth through reliable sources, and be clear and concise. Examples include textbooks, articles, and instruction manuals.
Lexis
Intraspecialistic and interspecialistic levels use lexical density, noun strings, abbreviations, and latinization. Didactic/pedagogical levels use some abbreviations and Anglicization. Popular levels use few abbreviations and over-Anglicization.
Syntax
Intraspecialistic and interspecialistic levels use conciseness, premodification, sentence length/complexity, nominalisation, passive voice, and depersonalisation. Didactic/pedagogical levels use moderate sentence complexity or simplicity and depersonalisation/personalisation. Popular levels use coordination, little nominalisation, personalisation, and apposition or postmodification.
Textual Features
Intraspecialistic level uses anaphoric reference, thematic sequence, hedging, omissions, and crypticity. Interspecialistic level uses anaphoric reference, thematic sequence, hedging, exemplification, omissions, and standardisation. Didactic/pedagogical level uses schematisation, exemplification, illustrations, (over)simplification, definitions, and explanation. Popular level uses schematisation, exemplification, oversimplification, definitions, reformulation, analogy, explanation, and multi-media elements.
Popularising Discourse
Popularising discourse may resort to irony, humour, understatement, dialogism, and question-and-answer forms.
Examples
Bugs can thrive in cold temperatures and contaminate refrigerated food.
Practice: Lexis
Keywords include noun strings, Latin/anglicisation, density, synonymy, repetition, and abbreviations.
