Text linguistics

The text linguistics is a relatively young discipline of linguistics, which has evolved from the sixties of the 20th century. It deals with sales overarching linguistic structures. Neighboring disciplines text linguistics are literary studies, law and theology. Forerunner of text linguistics are generic teaching, rhetoric and stylistics.

Define text

A central question of the text linguistics is the definition of the linguistic text size, ie the elements characterizing a text from a " non-text " differs, if such a distinction is considered possible. The features that characterize a text as text, are Textualitätsmerkmale

To define the term text, first is an etymological analysis: The Latin word for text (of texere ) means something like fabric; a text can thus be regarded as a fabric of sentences. Texts are not distinguished by their scope. They may consist of only one word ( for example, a sign saying Caution ), or infinitely long ( eg hypertexts → one can consider the Internet as a text ).

Textualitätsmerkmale

Criteria of textuality are especially coherence and cohesion. There are also controversial criteria such as intentionality, acceptability, informativity, situationality or intertextuality. Other important criteria for a text, the text function, the subject of the text and the characteristics of the specific text limits.

Coherence and cohesion

The terms coherence and cohesion have a common linguistic root in Latin and mean as much as the context and cohesion. Their definition is controversial in text linguistics and varies depending on the author and linguistic research direction, especially since both words have undergone a change of meaning. Substantive or formal relationships are established through linguistic means between sets of text with coherence and cohesion.

Coherence

The term coherence refers to characteristics that create a sense of connection, such as: anaphora ( back reference ), Kataphern ( anticipatory ), connectors ( conjunctions, disjunctions, pronouns, articles ) and retrial by Lexemrekurrenz and Lexemderivation. Compounds may also be produced by grammatical congruence in case, number and person. Content and meaning -creating relationship can describe about the sentence boundaries propositions ( facts ) and thus building for larger structures act: Makropropositionen. Furthermore, can be produced by the use of articles by theme - rheme structure, the Lexemrekurrenz and Lexemvariation as well as the isotopic coherence.

Cohesion

As cohesion is called textual features that make a formal or syntactic context of a text, one also speaks of the context of the ' text interface '. Differences are grammatical cohesion and lexical cohesion.

Classify texts

An important research field of text linguistics is the classification of texts into classes, types, genres or varieties. This is also called text classification or text categorization Texttypologisierung. In text linguistics, the discussion is not finished, because " texts as complex major characters have a lot of properties. " ( Adamzik ​​, Kirsten: Text types and their description. Janich, Nina (ed.). Textlinguistics 15 launches Tübingen.: fool 2008. p.164 ). In the recent research literature there is to it approaches to classify texts using a multilevel analysis, or text fields therefore always be analyzed in conjunction with accompanying texts and to classify (cf. discourse linguistics and discourse analysis), in addition there is the approach by Klaus Brinker texts by to classify functions. ( Citation Adamzik ​​, Gansel )

Demarcation of texts and their structure and the study of communicative function and reception of texts.

Analyze texts

Other objects of the text linguistics, the analysis of texts, or text linguistic studies on the determination of characteristic forms of organization of specific text classes, and the justification for the functioning of certain texts in social situations.