Unit 31: Text and context. Text types: main critera for text typology. Register.

UNIT 31
TEXT AND CONTEXT. TEXT TYPES: MAIN CRITERIA
FOR TEXT TYPOLOGY. REGISTER.
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION.
1.1. Aims of the unit.
1.2. Notes on bibliography.
2. A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE ANALYSIS OF TEXT AND CONTEXT.
2.1. Text vs. sentence.
2.2. The relevance of semantics and pragmatics.
2.3. The notion of text linguistics.
3. TEXT AND CONTEXT.
3.1. On defining text.
3.1.1. Textual features:texture and ties.
3.1.2. Textuality: the seven standards.
3.1.3. Text types.
3.1.4. Main criteria for text typology.
3.2. On defining context.
3.2.1. The context of situation.
4. TEXT TYPES: MAIN CRITERIA FOR TEXT TYPOLOGY.
4.1. Text typology: main criteria.
4.1.1. Literary devices.
4.1.2. Order and sequence.
4.1.3. Text structure.
4.2. Text types: classification and description.
4.2.1. Narration.
4.2.2. Description.
4.2.3. Exposition.
4.2.4. Argumentation.
4.2.5. Instruction.
5. REGISTER.
5.1. On defining register.
6. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING.
6.1. New directions in language teaching.
6.2. Implications in language teaching.
7. CONCLUSION.
8. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
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1. INTRODUCTION.
1.1. Aims of the unit.
The main aim of Unit 30 is to present the issue of text and context, text type and main criteria for
text typology, and register. Our aim is to offer a broad account in descriptive terms of these notions
and examine how text, context and register relate to each other in a communicative situation. In
order to do so, we shall divide our study in seven chapters.
In Chapter 2 we shall offer a theoretical framework for text, context and register so as to locate
them within linguistic studies and analyse how they related to each other in a communicative
context. Therefore, we shall provide an account of key notions and related issues which prove
essential in the understanding of these three concepts. So we shall review (1) the definition of text
vs. sentence, (2) the relevance of semantics and pragmatics and (3) the notion of text linguistics in
order to frame the following chapters on the issue of text, context, register and their main features.
Chapter 3 will offer then an insightful analysis and description of ‘text and context’ by offering (a)
definition and (b) main features; Chapter 4 will examine (1) the main criteria for text typology and
(2) a description of the main types of texts; Similarly, Chapter 5 will analyse the term ‘register’ in
relation to the previous notions. Chapter 6 will be devoted to present the main directions and
educational implications in language teaching regarding text, context and register following the
model for a Communicative Approach. Chapter 7 will offer a conclusion to broadly overview our
present study, and Chapter 8 will include all the bibliographical references used in this study.
1.2. Notes on bibliography.
An influential introduction to the analysis of text, context and register is based on relevant works of
van Dijk, Text and Context (1984); Brown and Yule, Discourse Analysis (1983); Cook, Discourse
(1989); Beaugrande and Dressler, Introduction to Text Linguistics (1988) and, still indispensable,
Halliday and Hasan, Cohesion in English (1976). Classic works on the influence of semantics,
pragmatics and sociolinguistic on text analysis, include van Dijk, Studies in the Pragmatics of
Discourse (1981); Hymes, Communicative Competence (1972) and Foundations in Sociolinguistics:
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An Ethnographic Approach (1974); Halliday, Explorations in the Functions of Language (1975)
and Spoken andWritten Language (1985); and Searle, Speech Act (1969).
The background for educational implications is based on the theory of communicative competence
and communicative approaches to language teaching are provided by Canale, From Communicative
Competence to Communicative Language Pedagogy (1983); Canale and Swain, Theoretical bases
of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing (1980); Hymes, On
communicative competence (1972). In addition, the most complete record of current publications
within the educational framework is provided by the guidelines in B.O.E. (2002); the Council of
Europe, Modern Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. A Common European Framework of
reference (1998); Hedge Tricia, Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom (2000); and
Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, Discourse and context in language teaching (2000). New directions on
language teaching is provided by the annual supplement of AESLA 2001 (Asociación Española de
Lingüística Aplicada).
2. A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE ANALYSIS OF TEXT AND CONTEXT.
We shall offer a theoretical framework for text, context and register so as to locate them within
linguistic studies and analyse how they related to each other in a communicative context. Therefore,
we shall provide an account of key notions and related issues which prove essential in the
understanding of these three concepts. So we shall review (1) the definition of text vs. sentence, (2)
the relevance of semantics and pragmatics and (3) the notion of text linguistics in order to frame the
following chapters on the issue of text, context, register and their main features.
2.1. Text vs. sentence.
The terms ‘text vs. sentence’ differ at the highest grammatical level of analysis in the rank scale,
where paragraphs and texts are considered to be ‘larger stretches of language higher than the
sentence’ (Aarts, 1988). At this level, language does not occur in solitary words or sentences
(simple, complex and compound) in grammatical terms, but in sequences of sentences, that is,
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utterances in terms of meaning and use in connected discourse. Then we shall deal with sequences
of utterances which are semantically interrelated and that interchange in order to establish relations
of social interaction either in spoken or written language.
2.2. The relevance of semantics and pragmatics.
In fact, we can affirm that a sentence may be defined in grammatical terms whereas a text is under
the influence of semantics and pragmatics, that is, in terms of meaning and use. Several years ago,
syntax and semantics were studied with little regard for the ways people used grammar and
meaning in communication and the use of language was relegated to the field of pragmatics.
Nowadays, the question of use is freely treated in syntax and semantics and the notions of
‘cohesion’ and ‘coherence’, usually related to semantics, can be also helpful when studying a text
only if they deal with how connections and relations are actually set up among communicative
contexts.
Then, in a text, pragmatics explores the attitudes of producers by means of such devices as
‘intentionality’ (the goal-directed use of conversation) and receivers by means of ‘acceptability’
(inmmediate feedback), and ‘informativity’ (the selection of contributions to conversation). In
addition, the communicative setting is described in terms of ‘situationality’ (particularly direct
communicative context; intonation contours) and ‘intertextuality’ (text types in operation, that is,
how to frame your text in regard to other people’s texts in the same discourse).
On the other hand, semantics explores the relationship between syntactic structures (and therefore
grammatical categories building phrases, sentences and clauses) and the logical relationship
between them in a text by means of coherence and cohesion, having as a result the whole text under
the shape of a pragmatic coherent discourse, that is, in a communicative context.
2.3. The notion of text linguistics.
Finally, the notion of text linguistics designates ‘any work in language science devoted to the text as
the primary object of inquiry’ (Beaugrande & Dressler, 1988). In fact, many fields have approached
the study of texts: linguistics (from grammar, morphology and phonology), anthropology (different
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speech acts in different cultures), psychology (speaker and hearer behaviour), stylistics (correctness,
clarity, elegance, appropriateness, style), literary studies (text types) and so on, but the most
important fields are sociology (which explores conversational studies and gives way to text
analysis), semantics (coherence, cohesion, connectors) and pragmatics (speech acts, contexts) which
shape the text into a pragmatic coherent structure (van Dijk, 1984).
Yet, the oldest form of preoccupation with texts and the first foundation for the analysis of texts and
its articulation is drawn from the notion of text linguistics which has its historical roots in rethoric,
dating from Ancient Greece and Rome through the Middle Ages up to the present under the name
of text linguistics or discourse. Traditional rethoricians were influenced by their major task of
training public orators on the discovery of ideas (invention), the arrangement of ideas (disposition),
the discovery of appropriate expressions for ideas (elocution), and memorization prior to delivery
on the actual occasion of speaking.
In the Middle Ages, rethoric was based on grammar (on the study of formal language patterns in
Greek and Latin) and logic (on the construction of arguments and proofs). Rethoric still shares
several concerns with the kind of text linguistics we know today, for instance, the use of texts as
vehicles of purposeful interaction (oral and written), the variety of texts which express a given
configuration of ideas, the arranging of ideas and its disposition within the discourse and the
judgement of texts which still depends on the effects upon the audience.
3. TEXT AND CONTEXT.
3.1. On defining text.
Following Halliday & Hasan (1976), “the word ‘text’ is used in linguistics to refer to any passage,
spoken or written, of whatever length, that does form a unified whole”. As a general rule, we know
whether an utterance or sequence of utterances constitute a text or not though it may be “spoken or
written, prose or verse, dialogue or monologue, and also anything from a single proverb to a whole
play, from a momentary cry for help to an all-day discussion on a committee” (1976). Hence, a text
is not defined by its size but by its meaning.
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Although it may be envisaged as a grammatical unit larger than a sentence, a te xt is not a
grammatical unit but a unit of language in use; in other words, a text is best regarded as a semantic
unit and not a unit of form. Linguistic form is important but is not itself sufficient to give a stretch
of language the status of a text, for instance, ‘Dangerous road’ is an adequate text though
comprising only a short noun phrase.
3.1.1. Textual features: texture and ties.
It must be born in mind that a text does not consist of sentences; it is realized by sentences. In fact,
the property of ‘being a text’ is given by textual features such as texture and ties. First of all, the
concept of texture expresses in itself the property of ‘being a text’ and this is what distinguishes a
text from something that is not a text. Texture, then, functions as a unity with respect to its
environment. The resources that English has for creating texture contribute to its total unity and
they are called ‘ties’.
Halliday and Hasan (1976) define ‘ties’ as the term used to refer to a single instance of cohesive
relation (anaphora, cataphora, reference). The concept of a tie makes it possible to analyse a text in
terms of its cohesive properties and give a systematic account of its patterns of texture. We can
characterize any segment of a text in terms of the number of kinds of ties which it displays:
reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical cohesion1 .
3.1.2. Textuality: the seven standards.
As it has been stated above, a text is not an undifferentiated sequence of words, much less of bytes.
In addition, written texts conform to rules that most successful writers unconsciously follow and
native readers unconsciously expect to find. It is relevant, then, to address the term textuality in
written and oral texts as it is involved in rules governing written discourse. In the approach to text
linguistics by de Beaugrande & Dressler (1988), a text, oral or printed, is established as a
communicative occurrence, which has to meet seven standards of textuality : cohesion, coherence,
intentionality and acceptability, informativity, situationality and finally, intertextuality. If any of
1
It must be borne in mind that the concept of cohesion can therefore be usefully supplemented by that of
register (the context of situation), since the two together effectively define a text.
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these standards are not satisfied, the text is considered not to have fulfilled its function and not to be
communicative.
(1) Cohesion and coherence are text-centred notions, designating operations directed at the text
materials. On the one hand, cohesion is related to the function of syntax and therefore, it
concerns the ways in which the components of the surface text (the actual words we hear or
see: phrase, clause, sentence) are mutually connected within a sequence. It also deals with
cohesive ties as mentioned above (anaphora, cataphora, ellipsis, etc) and signalling relations
(tense and aspect, modality, uptdating, junction, conjunction, disjunction and
subordination).
(2) Coherence is “the outcome of actualizing meanings in order to make sense” (Beaugrande &
Dressler, 1988). It concerns the ways in which the components of the textual world are
mutually accessible and relevant. These components are the concepts and relations which
underlie the surface text: a set of relations subsumed under causality (cause, enablement,
reason, purpose time) and global patterns (frames, schemas, plans, and scripts). They are
responsible for making a text be “senseless’ or non-sensical”. In other words, if cohesion
gives meaning to a text, coherence enhances the continuity of sense within the text
(meaning vs. sense).
So, a text is organized for different purposes, divided into many different units and different
types or sizes. For instance, prose text might be divided into sections, chapters, paragraphs,
and sentences. A verse text might be divided into cantos, stanzas, and lines. Once printed,
sequences of prose and verse might be divided into volumes, gatherings, and pages (Swales
1990). Also, structural units of this kind are most often used to identify specific locations or
reference points within a text (the third sentence of the second paragraph in chapter ten or
page 582), but they may also be used to subdivide a text into meaningful fragments for
analytic purposes (how many paragraphs mention a specific word or how many pages a
book has).
(3) The remaining standards of textuality are user-centred, concerning the activity of textual
communication by the producers and receivers of texts. A language configuration must be
‘intended’ to be a text and ‘accepted’ as such in order to be used in communicative
interaction, that’s why we shall examine the attitudes of intentionality and acceptability
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together. They both involve some tolerance towards disturbances of cohesion or coherence,
as long as the purposeful nature of the communication is upheld. Hence the production and
reception of texts function as discourse actions relevant to some plan or goal.
Intentionality, on the one hand, subsumes the intentions of text producers, that is, their
attitude. In the most immediate sense of the term, the producer ‘intends’ the language
configuration under production to a cohesive and coherent text instrumental in fulfilling the
writer intentions. This standard deals with the pragmatic perspective of discourse, that is,
the conversational maxims of co-operation: quantity, quality, relation and manner on saying
‘be informative, be truthful, be relevant and be brief’ (first, quality envisages messages to
be truthful; quantity , by means of which messages should be as informative as is required,
but not more informative; relation, for messages to be relevant; and manner, where
messages should be clear, brief and orderly). Acceptability, on the other hand, concerns the
receiver attitude. Here a set of occurrences should constitute a cohesive and coherent text
having some use or relevance for the receiver in an appropriate context of communication.
(4) Informativity concerns the extent to which the occurrences of the text are expected vs.
unexpected or known vs. unknown or uncertain. Usually, this notion is applied to content,
but occurrences in any language system might be informative. The emphasis on content,
that is, content words (verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs), arises from the dominant role of
coherence in textuality, while language systems like phonemes or syntax seem to have
focused less attention. Content words activate more extensive and diverse cognitive
materials and can elicit more pronounced emotions or mental images than can function
words (articles, prepositions and conjunctions). Hence we expect different types of texts
(poetic, scientific, literary, etc).
(5) Situationality concerns the factors which make a text “relevant to a current or recoverable
situation of occurrence” (Beaugrande & Dressler, 1988). The effects of a situational setting
are very rare when there is no mediation and therefore, the extent to which one feeds one’s
own beliefs and goals into one’s model of the current communicative situation. Yet, the
accessible evidence in the situation is fed into the model along with our prior knowledge
and expectations about how reality is organized but then, we guide the situation through
situation monitoring and situation management, which can vary depending on the views of
the individual participants (i.e. in dramatic texts, as a subclass of literary texts, there exist
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the prerogative of presenting alternative organizations for objects and events in live
presentations (prologue, unusual frequency of events, actions with no reason, etc).
(6) Finally, intertextuality concerns the factors which make the use of one text dependent upon
knowledge of one or more previously encountered texts, that is, the ways in which the
production and reception of a given text depends upon the participants knowledge of other
texts. The usual mediation is achieved by means of the development and use of text types,
being classes of texts expected to have certain traits for certain purposes: descriptive,
narrative, argumentative, literary and poetic, scientific and didactic. Usually, the are defined
along functional lines (descriptive: to enrich knowledge spaces; narrative: to arrange
actions and events; argumentative: to promote the acceptance of certain beliefs; and so on).
The above seven standards of textuality are called constitutive principles (Searle 1965), in that they
define and create textual communication as well as set the rules for communicating. There are also
at least three regulative principles that control textual communication: the efficiency of a text is
contingent upon its being useful to the participants with a minimum of effort; its effectiveness
depends upon whether it makes a strong impression and has a good potential for fulfilling an aim;
and its appropriateness depends upon whether its own setting is in agreement with the seven
standards of textuality (Beaugrande & Dressler 1988).
3.2. On defining context.
The term context means literally ‘accompanying text’ and it is defined as ‘the state of affairs of a
communicative situation in which communicative events take place’ (van Dijk, 1981). A context
must have a linguistically relevant set of characteristics for the formulation, conditions and rules for
the adequate use of utterances, for instance, it must be ‘appropriate’ and‘satisfactory’ for the given
utterance. Moreover, the notion of context is rather static when it is merely used to refer to a state of
affairs. Hence we may introduce the term ‘communicative’ so that an event may be successful if a
given context changes into a specific new context (i.e. speaking face to face vs. speaking on the
phone).
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3.2.1. The context of situation.
The term ‘situation’, meaning the ‘context of situation’ in which a text is embedded, refers to all
those extra-linguistic factors which have some bearing on the text itself. These external factors
affect the linguistic choices that the speaker or the writer makes on the basis of the nature of the
audience, the medium, the purpose of the communication and so on. The concept of ‘context of
situation’ was formulated by Malinowski in 1923 2 and further on, Hymes (1969) categorized the
speech situation in terms of eight components: form and content of text, setting, participants, ends
(intent and effect), key, medium, genre and interactional norms. It is within this context that we
shall develop later the construct of register (linguistic features typically related to situational
features).
Following Halliday and Hasan (1976), “the use of context in the collocation context of situation
seems to us a metaphorical extension. But it is fairly easy to see that there is a logical continuity
from naming (referring to a thing independently of the context of situation), through situational
reference (referring to a thing as identified in the context of situation) to textual reference (referring
to a thing as identified in the surrounding text); and in this perspective, situational reference would
appear as the prior form”. In fact, the nature of a text is closely related to the context of situation in
which it takes place.
The context makes explicit the basis on which utterances are formed by the speaker and received by
the listener. In other words, the context of situation is related to the material, social and ideological
environment whe re those words are uttered. The linguistic patterns make it possible to identify what
features of the environment are relevant to linguistic behaviour and so form part of the context of
situation (here again we prepare the ground for the concept of register).
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4. TEXT TYPES: MAIN CRITERIA FOR TEXT TYPOLOGY.
Chapter 4 approaches the concept of text from two main perspectives: (1) the main criteria for text
typology by means of which we review basic principles for all types of texts regarding literary
devices, order and sequence elements and common text structures; and (2) a text type classification
and description.
4.1. Text typology: main criteria.
4.1.1. Literary devices.
Before providing a brief account of text types and their respective instances within a literary
production, it is relevant to mention those basic principles (or main criteria) by which all text types
are interrelated as literary productions, that is, lay behind the notion of intertextuality, as we shall
see below.
Literary texts are formed from constituents that are not always immediately recognizable, such as
specific conditions of production, contradictory cultural discourses, and intercultural processes. For
such reasons, literary texts may be polysemous, having a range of in terpretive possibilities.
However, there are some basic principles of literature which have common characteristics that make
it possible for them to be classified into genres and text types.
These basic principles are considered to be literary elements and devices to evaluate how the form
of a literary work and the use of literary elements and devices, such as setting, plot, theme, and
many more to be mentioned, contribute to the work’s message and impact. Among the basic
principles of literature applied to all text types, we may find that the subject is expressed in terms of
theme ; the writer approaches this subject with a specific point of view, both physical and
psychological, and from a definite perspective; the writer’s attitude toward a subject is expressed
through his voice, real and assumed, which is marked by a distinctive tone. Satire, irony, and
hyperbole are special attitudes and tones.
2
It was published in a supplement called ‘The Meaning of Meaning’ which further developed into a paper called ‘Personality and
language in society’ (1950).
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Furthermore, the distinctive voice of the writer speaks through his style, which essentially is a
product of language, the choice and combination of words, sentence structures, and the rhythms of
larger elements; the writer also structures the material of experience into artistic forms and patterns;
contrast and likeness of elements are important aspects of pattern and form, and are heightened
through repetition, balance, and the internal rhythms of the piece itself.
4.1.2. Order and sequence.
Moreover, basic to the concept of form is the notion of order and sequence, which can be logical,
chronological, or psypchological; much of literature deals with storied elements which have their
genesis in some type of conflict; plot, then, moves from complication, through conflict, to
resolution where deeper levels of meaning are suggested through image, metaphor, and symbols;
such storied literature takes place in a real or imagined setting, within a time and a place; and
finally, participants are considered to be characters, and the reality they represent is
characterization.
4.1.3. Text structure.
By studying the textual and lexical elements of text types, one can learn to regularly recognize the
overall structure of a text. For example, if one finds lexical signals that indicate situation-problemresponse-result (Hoey 1994), we can know with some certainty that we are dealing with a ProblemSolution test. When one identifies vocabulary items that signal doubt or skepticism, (words such as
appear, suggests, speculation, etc.), we know we are dealing with a Claim-Counterclaim structure.
In fact, while the sequence of these structures may be varied, we should always find all the elements
we are looking for in a well-formed text.
Following a general division of any kind of text we may sometimes begin with a brief heading or
descriptive title, with or without a byline, an epigraph or brief quotation, or a salutation, such as we
may find at the start of a letter. They may also conclude with a brief trailer, byline, or signature.
Elements which may appear in this way, either at the start or at the end of a text division proper, are
regarded as forming a class, known as divtop or divbot respectively .
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The following special purpose elements are provided to mark features which may appear only at the
start of a division. Firstly, the head, which may contain any heading, such as the title of a section, a
list or a glossary. Sometimes regarding text type, the heading may be categorized in a meaningful
way to the encoder. Secondly, an epigraph which contains a quotation, anonymous or attributed,
appearing at the start of a section or chapter, or on a title page. Thirdly, an argument in terms of a
formal list or prose description of the topics addressed by a subdivision of a text. Finally, an opener
which groups together dateline, byline, salutation, and similar phrases appearing as a preliminary
group at the start of a division, especially of a letter. The conclusion will be characterized by a brief
trailer of the subject matter as a summary of facts. A byline or a signature may also conclude any
piece of writing.
4.2. Text types: classification and description.
Literary works are not created merely in an individual author’s mind. A literary work can be said to
have a ‘personality’ of its own, which is interwoven with the ruling social and cultural
circumstances. However, a literary text is influenced not only by the social and political
circumstances of its time. It is also engaged in a dialogue with other texts to which it relates,
critically or affirmatively. This process is called intertextuality.
Moreover, literary works do not occur in isolation, but as members of groups, as a novel among
novels, a poem among poems, or a drama among dramas. Historically and structurally, they are
connected to other works of the same genre, as well as other genres. The relationship between text
types and genres is not straightforward since genres reflect differences in external format and text
types may be defined on the basis of cognitive categories (Smith 1985). For all genres,
intertextuality is a basic feature. If each literary work relates to other works and other forms, it is
also influenced in subtle ways by the form or medium in which it is presented. A literary text is
capable of changing its manner of access and presentation.
For 2,400 years there have been two traditions of classifying texts. The first one, deriving from
Aristotle’s Rethoric, where the term rethoric refers to the uses of language. More specific, it refers
to modes of discourse realized through text types, thus narration, description, directive, exposition
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and argumentation. Within the second tradition, rethoric refers to communicative function as
rethorical strategies. According to Trimble (1985) we may classify texts in two ways. Firstly,
according to purpose, and secondly, according to type or mode.
According to purpose, in terms of communicative functions, the discourse is intended to inform,
express an attitude, persuade and create a debate. According to type or mode, the classification
distinguishes among descriptive, narrative, expository, argumentative, and ins trumental modes
(Faigley & Meyer 1983). Here the focus is on functional categories or rhetorical strategies
regarding abstract meaning. However, genre refers to completed texts, communicative functions
and text types, being properties of a text, cut across genres. Thus informative texts (newspaper
reports, TV news, and textbooks); argumentative texts (debates, political speeches, and newspaper
articles).
Analytic interpretation of texts in all genres should become part of every literary student’s basic
competence (B.O.E., 2002). There are hidden influences at work beneath the textual surface: these
may be sociocultural, inter and intratextual, or ecological. The literary student has to discover these,
and wherever necessary apply them in further examination. Interpreting a literary text thus calls for
a fundamental interest in making discoveries, and in asking questions. The main aims that our
currently educational system focuses on are mostly sociocultural, to facilitate the study of cultural
themes, as our students must be aware of their current social reality within the European framework.
According to Brown and Yule (1983), one of the pleasures of teaching the written language is that it
is so easy to provide good models of almost any kind of writing. We may find models of texts and
models of sentences created for different purposes. We will deal with in this section with models of
texts, as models of sentences will be examined in section six under the heading of routines and
formulae speech. In each case the model is one which the student can profitably base his own
production on and, if he copies the model carefully, the teacher can tell him that what he produces is
right. This comfortable notion of correctness is a good deal less obvious when it comes to teaching
the spoken language since native spoken language reveals so many examples of slips, errors, and
incompleteness that we do not have when writing.
Therefore, this continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of
“writing down” on the one end, to the more complex act of composing on the other end, are
generally classified, as mentioned above, as mainly narrative, descriptive, expository,
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argumentative and instructive texts. Accordingly, these texts belong predominantly to the category
or text types of narration, description, exposition, argumentation and instruction. We shall provide
in five subsections their basic characteristics.
4.2.1. Narration.
The purpose of a narrative text is to entertain, to tell a story, or to provide an aesthetic literary
experience. Narrative text is based on life experiences and is person-oriented using dialogue and
familiar language (Wolpow, & Zintz 1999). Narrative text is organized using story grammar. The
genres that fit the narrative text structure are folktales (wonder tales, fables, legends, myths, tall
tales, and realistic tales); contemporary fiction; mysteries, science fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy,
and historical fiction.
A main feature of narrative texts is the telling of a story of events or actions that have their inherent
chronological order, usually aimed at presenting facts. This story telling involves the participation
of elements such as characters and characterization, setting, plot, conflict, and theme. Besides, we
find other two relevant narratives features which deal with the order of events, and the narrator’s
point of view. Telling a story does not mean, necessarily, that we are dealing with fiction. So
instances of narrative texts are novels, short stories (including myths, folk tales, and legends),
poetry, plays, drama and non-fiction. Also, news story, a biography or a report are text forms that
generally adhere to the narrative text types.
Thus, regarding characters, they may be classified as main characters if they are the protagonists, or
supporting characters if they are secondary to the development of the plot. A similar, but different
term is characterization which refers to the way the author portrays stereotypes, and it is often
related to medieval literary texts where morals were identified in a fable and folk tales. In relation to
the setting, we may say it refers to the environment, the context, and the circumstances of the story,
that may happen in real or imaginery situations. Since the plot involves the action around which the
story is developed, the conflict is directly related to it, as it is usually drawn from complication,
through conflict, to a solution,stated or open-ended. Finallly, the theme is concerned with an
interesting and attractive issue which will be the starting point to develop the story, thus love,
injustice, or a murder.
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The order of events that are structured by time, rather than space, is what marks a text as narrative.
The order is given by the focus on the story ending. Therefore, we may find three types of narrative
developments. Firstly, in order to know the ending of the story, we shall find a linear development
which follows a chronological order from the beginning to the end of the story. Secondly, if the
focus is not on the ending but on the circumstances leading to the ending, events may start at the
end of the story and be described, then, in terms of flash-backs in order to attract the reader’s
attention. Thirdly, if the focus is on both the beginning and the ending, the telling may start at an
intermediate point within the story for events to be described in terms of backwards and forwards
movements. This technique is to be called in medias res narration.
Moreover, another relevant feature within narrative te xts is the narrator’s point of view. Thus, the
narrator is the person who tells the story, and therefore he is in charge of introducing the characters,
and explaining the circumstances in which events may take place. He is, in fact, the one who makes
the story telling a lively and dynamic text. As a result, there are three different perspectives
depending on the point of view the narrator describes events, thus a first person narration where the
the narrator is an omniscient character who knows every detail in the story and takes part in it as
any other character, that is, as a main or supporting character, or as a witness. When the narrator
and the main character are the same person, we refer to an autobiography. Secondly, a second
person narration where the narrator becomes both narrator and character at the same time,
addressing to himself. Thirdly, a third person narration where the narrator is the author and it is a
mere witness in the story.
4.2.2. Description.
The purpose of a descriptive text is to describe and present the attributes and features of people,
animals, items and places, or to provide a detailed, neutral presentation of a literary situation.
Descriptive texts are usually based on material objects, people or places, rather than with abstract
ideas or a chronological sequence of events. In opposition to narrative texts, descriptive texts tend
to be structured in terms of space, rather than time (Halliday and Hasan 1976). The genres that may
fit into the descriptive text structure are brochures, descriptions of animals, or descriptions of
scientific and technical concepts. Yet, the descriptive process is to be compared to the painting
process because of the details the reader may perceive through most of the senses.
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We may distinguish first, types of descriptions regarding the description of people and animals
(prosopographic), the description of landscapes (topographic), and the description of objects. On the
other hand, there are other types of description concerning the mode of discourse, thus scientific,
literary, static and dynamic. Firstly, the scientific description is concerned with the notions of
objectivity and rigour. Mechanisms, different phenomena, or reactions are accurately described in
terms of external appearance, elements, and features, mainly in technical and scientific research.
Secondly, the literary description is concerned with the writer’s subjectivity, where his or her point
of view is emphasized, regarding practical and sensorial things, such as the five senses: hearing,
smelling, tasting, touching, and seeing.
Within the static description, the writer describes in a precise way the object which is placed
statically at a certain distance. It is depicted by means of photographic techniques, giving details on
shape, size, colour, material, among other aspects. Finally, the dynamic description is featured by
movement. Thus, the object is progressively described as the writer sees it passing by. In it, the
writer describes the reality in front of him by means of a cinematographic technique through which
he makes the reader discover the object at the same time as him.
Descriptive texts are usually aimed at precision and clarity. The choice of words may range from
metaphors, similes or comparisons in order to give as many details as possible in terms of colour,
height, length, beauty, or material type. The vocabulary used can therefore be expected to be exact
and price, the overall style neutral, unemotional and sometimes technical and dry to the point of
boredom. Qualifying adjectives and relative sentences may also enrich the descriptive process.
Usually in descriptive writing, the main topic is introduced and then the attributes are included in
the body of the paragraph. An organized structure may be used to map the indiv idual characteristics
or traits of the topic being introduced. This structure can be expected to be mirrored in the text by
means of different paragraphs which would deal with different parts of the object described. For
instance, in the description of a person’s physical appearance, the first paragraph may deal with an
overall impression of the individual regarding average age, beauty, height, or weight; the second
with his head description in detail, thus hair, eyes, mouth, or eyebrows; the third with his body, thus
arms, legs, and so on; and the fourth with special body features.
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4.2.3. Exposition.
Expository texts are usually written in attempts at analyzing, explaining, describing and presenting
events, facts and processes that may be quite complicated. Besides, they may be used to persuade as
well. Their structure would be determined mainly by logical coherence, but aspects of time and
space may also be quite important, depending on the subject-matter. It is thus not always easy to
differentiate between expository texts and narrative or descriptive texts, especially as expository
texts sometimes include elements of narration or description. An expository essay should be fairly
detailed and precise in order to convey accurate and objective information.
The organization of the structure of expository text is dependent upon the form or genre, and,
therefore it may include a letter, a brochure, a map, essays, speeches, lab procedures, journal
entries, government documents, newspaper and magazine article s, and directions, among other
things. Moreover, the language used in expositions is virtually always neutral, objective and
analytical. You would not expect to find emotionally loaded terms or subjective comments in an
expository text.
First, students ne ed to understand the characteristics of an expository text. A narrative text includes
such elements as a theme, plot, conflict, resolution, characters, and a setting. Expository texts, on
the other hand, explain something by definition, sequence, categorization, comparison-contrast,
enumeration, process, problem-solution, description, or cause-effect. Where the narrative text uses
story to inform and persuade, the expository text uses facts and details, opinions and examples to do
the same. There are, however, seven basic structures of expository text and researchers recommend
that teachers begin to teach expository text structure at the paragraph level. Heller (1995) lists the
following text structures: definition, description, process (collection, time order, or listing),
classification, comparison, analysis, and persuasion. Included for each type of text structure will be
designed questions that can be asked for each text structure. Expository text is subject-oriented and
contains facts and information using little dialogue.
4.2.4. Argumentation.
Argumentative texts are intended to convince, or only to persuade, the reader of a certain point of
view, or to understand the author’s reason for holding certain views on a matter under discussion.
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This subject-matter may often be a controversial issue, but that is not a necessary requirement of
argumentative texts. Argumentative texts include demonstration brochures, government speeches,
debates, face-to-face discussions, thesis and the research field.
The author will analyze the question or problem he wishes to discuss and will present his own
opinion to the reader, along with the arguments that lead him to this opinion. Most argumentative
texts weigh the pros and cons of the issue, but simpler argumentations may restrict themselves to
merely one side of the debate. The argumentation in these simpler texts would thus be linear in
nature, while more complex argumentations can be expected to be dialectical
A framed layout is to be applied in these type of texts. Firstly, the writer starts by stating the idea
that constitutes the starting point of the argumentation, and besides he also holds a subjective
position regarding the stated issue. Secondly, within the development body of the text, the writer
must support his assertion by means of presenting good, convincing and solid arguments for, and
poor, unconvincing and dubious if the arguments are against the issue. Also, the writer illustrates
his view with several examples to prove the assertion made above. His aim is to persuade the reader
about the rejection or acceptance of the theory stated. Finally, the author concludes by presenting
his arguments in a neutral or balanced way on the convinction of persuading the reader through his
line of reasoning. His line of argumentation must be consistent, logical and conclusive.
In any argumentative text, the language used by the author will, to a greater or lesser degree, reflect
his personal views on the subject-matter. It is generally less neutral than the style employed in other
non-fictional texts and may, in some cases, make use of devices such as irony or sarcasm, as well as
rather emotional terminology and phrases that express a clear opinion. You would also expect to
find more of the stylistic devices common in fictional texts in argumentation than in any other type
of non-fictional text.
4.2.5. Instruction.
Instructive texts exist for the sole purpose of telling their reader what to do in a clearly specified
situation, usually referring to future activities (Wolpow, and Zintz, 1999). While an argumentative
text may very well try to persuade the reader to engage in a certain course of action, the author of an
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instructive text assumes that the reader knows very well what he wants to do, but he needs to be told
how to do it.
A typical example of an instructive text might be a recipe in a cookery-book or the user’s manual
giving instructions for a high-tech product. The author´s style and choice of words are generally
fairly objective and unemotional although decisions the author makes about structure and word
choice contribute to the effect of the literary production on the reader, as assembly and operation
instructions.
The style in instructive text is simple, straight-forward and aimed at utmost precision. However,
sometimes the reader may find a sheet of instructions that has been translated from Korean into
Japanese, which in turn, has been translated from English into German, in which case the language
tends to make no sense. This fact may leave the reader with an emotional sensation of feeling
helpless and confused.
You can often recognize instructive texts simply by the fact that the syntax is dominated by simple
imperatives, sentences in the passive form, and suggestive remarks. Besides, stage directio ns take
the form of simple present tense. Regarding the use of vocabulary, there is an emphasis on technical
and impersonal use of vocabulary.
5. REGISTER.
5.1. On defining register.
As stated above, the concept of register can be usefully supplemented by that of cohesion since the
two together effectively define a text. Following Halliday & Hasan (1976), “a text is a passage of
discourse which is coherent in these two regards: it is coherent with respect to the context of
situation, and therefore consistent in register”. Neither of these two conditions is sufficient without
the other, nor does the one by necessity entail the other.
The term ‘register’ is closely related to that of situational reference, that is, referrring to exophoric
(situational) and also endophoric (textual) reference. Within the latter type , ‘register’ is related to
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anaphora (elements referring to preceding text) and cataphora (referring to following text). One of
the features that distinguish different registers is the relative amount of exophoric references. If the
situation is one of ‘language -in-action’, with the language playing a relatively small and subordinate
role in the total event, the text is likely to contain a high proportion of instances of exophoric
reference. Hence it is often difficult to interpret a text of this kind if one only hears it and has no
visual record avalaible (i.e. a conversation between an adult and a four-year-old child. For instance:
Child:- “Why does “that” one come out?”/Father: -“That what?”/ Child: -“THAT one!”/Father: “That what?”/Child: “That ONE!).
6. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING.
6.1. New directions on language teaching.
From a practical perspective in education, providing experiences for contact with language in
context proved difficult for foreign language teachers as they were forced to rely on textbooks and
classroom materials in teaching language. However, nowadays new technologies may provide a
new direction to language teaching as they set more appropriate context for students to experience
the target culture. Present-day approaches deal with a communicative competence model in which
first, there is an emphasis on significance over form, and secondly, motivation and involvement are
enhanced by means of new technologies.
Regarding writing skills, there is a need to create classrooms conditions which match those in real
life and foster acquisition, encouring reading and writing, and within this latter one, to distinguish
text types and its main characteristics. The success partly lies in the way the language becomes real
to the users, feeling themselves really in the language. Some of this motivational force is brought
about by intervening in authentic communicative events. Otherwise, we have to recreate as much as
possible the whole cultural environment in the classroom.
This is to be achieved within the framework of the European Council (1998) and, in particular, the
Spanish Educational System which establishes a common reference framework for the teaching of
foreign languages where students are intended to carry out several communication tasks with
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specific communicative goals within specific contexts and registers. Thus, foreign language
activities are provided within the framework of social interaction, personal, professional and
educational fields.
Writing skills are mentioned as one of the aims of our current educational system (B.O.E. 2002) and
in particular, for students about how to write a narration, argumentation or description. It is stated
that students will make use of this competence in a natural and systematic way in order to achieve
the effectiveness of communication through the different communication skills, thus, productive
(oral and written communication), receptive (oral and written comprehension within verbal and
non-verbal codes), and interactional role of a foreign language as a multilingual and multicultural
identity.
This effectiveness of communication is to be achieved thanks to recent developments in foreign
language education which have indicated a trend towards the field of intercultural communication.
The Ministry of Education proposed several projects within the framework of the European
Community, such as Comenius projects and Plumier projects. The first project is envisaged as a
way for learners to experience sociocultural patterns of the target language (text types) in the target
country, and establish personal relationships which may lead to keep in contact through writing
skills. Besides, the Plumier project uses multimedia resources in a classroom setting where learners
are expected to learn to interpret and produce meaning with members of the target culture.
Current research on Applied Linguistics shows an interest on writing skills, such as on the
pragmatics of writing, narrative fiction and frequency on cohesion devices in English texts, among
others. We may also find research on intercultural communication where routines and formulaic
speech are under revision of contrastive analysis between English and Spanish. However, the
emphasis is nowadays on the use of multimedia and computers as an important means to promote a
foreign language in context.
6.2. Implications in language teaching.
With so much writing in foreign language classes over so many years, one would expect to find
highly effective methods for teaching this skill and marked success in learning it. Unfortunately,
examination papers in composition the world over are, with few exceptions, disappointing. Many
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college and university students with four, five, even six or more years of study of another language
behind them are still unable to express themselves in a clear, correct, and comprehensible manner in
writing (Rivers 1981).
We would do well to examine critically the role of writing in foreign and second-langugage
learning, to analyze what is involved in the process of writing another language, and to trace out the
steps by which this skill can be progressively mastered. At this stage it may be well to recall two
facts often ignored by language teachers, who traditionally have expected students to write
something as a demonstration of learning: first, that many highly articulate persons express
themselves very inadequately in writing in their native language, and, second, that only a minority
of the speakers of any language acquire the skill of writing it with any degree of finesse, and then
only after years of training in school and practice out of school. We must realize that writing a
language comprehensibly is much more difficult than speaking it.
However, follow ing Widdowson (1978), and more recently, the guidelines of the Ministry of
Education (B.O.E.,2002), the writing skill is to be given a prominent role, over past years, in
acquiring a foreign language within the framework of a communicative competence theory. Yet,
there is a need for integrating writing with other language skills such as reading, speaking and
listening, in the belief that this leads to the effectiveness of communication.
Byrne (1979) says that writing serves a variety of pedagogical purposes to be enumerated as
follows. First, writing enables us to provide for different learning styles, needs and speeds.
Especially learners who do not learn easily through oral practice alone feel more secure if they are
alllowed to read and write in the target language. Secondly, it also satisfies a psychological need
since written work serves to provide the learners with some evidence that they are making progress
in the language. Thirdly, being exposed to more than one medium is likely to be very effective.
Thus, writing provides variety in classroom activities and increases the amount of language contact
through work that can be done out of the class. Finally, we have to speak about a practical reason.
Writing is often needed for formal and informal testing. Due to the limit of time available for exams
and to the large number of students per class we are often forced to use some form of written test.
All the above considerations on the advantages and disadvantages of writing strongly suggest that
while still concentrating on aural oral skills in the early stages, we can make good use of writing, as
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part of an integrated skills approach to language learning because it seems it has valuable
pedagogical applications.
It is in listening comprehension and reading that a sophisticated level is required for handling the
language, because in these areas there will be no control over the complexity of the material they
encounter. These are the skills through which we can improve our knowledgde of the language at a
later stage. However, in speaking and writing, the non-native speaker rarely achieves the same
degree of mastery as the native speaker, even after living in a country whre the language is spoken.
What students most need in these production areas is to be able to use what they know flexibly,
making the most of the resources at their command to meet the occasion.
7. CONCLUSION.
Taking into account text types, context and register, the role of writing skills in present society is
emphasized by the increasing necessity of learning a foreign language as we are now members of
the European Community, and as such, we need to communicate with other countries at oral and
written levels. Written patterns are given an important role when language learners face the
monumental task of acquiring not only new vocabulary, syntactic patterns, and phonology, but also
discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence, strategic competence, and interactional
competence.
Students need opportunities to investigate the systematicity of language at all linguistic levels,
especially at the highest level of written discourse. Without knowledge and experience within the
discourse and sociocultural patterns of the target language, second language learners are likely to
rely on the strategies and expectations acquired as part of their first language development, which
may be inappropriate for the second language setting and may lead to communication difficulties
and misunderstandings.
One problem for second language learners is not to acquire a sociocultural knowledge on the
foreign language they are learning, and therefore, have a limited experience with a variety of
interactive practices in the target language, such as reading a complaint sheet, writing a letter to a
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department store, or writing a letter to an English person with the appropriate written patterns.
Therefore, one of the goals of second language teaching is to expose learners to different discourse
patterns in different texts and interactions. One way that teachers can include the study of discourse
in the second language classroom is to allow the students themselves to study language, that is, to
make them discourse analysts (see Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2000), by learning in context.
By exploring natural language use in authentic environments, learners gain a greater appreciation
and understanding of the discourse patterns associated with a given genre or speech event as well as
the sociolinguistic factors that contribute to linguistic variation across settings and contexts. For
example, students can study speech acts by searching information on Internet about a job
application, address patterns, opening and closings of museums, or other aspects of speech events
(written discourse).
To sum up, we may say that language is where culture impinges on form and where second
language speakers find their confidence threatened through the diversity of registers, genres and
styles that make up the first language speaker’s day to day interaction. Language represents the
deepe st manifestation of a culture, and people’s values systems, including those taken over from the
group of which they are part, play a substantial role in the way they use not only their first language
but also subsequently acquired ones. The assumptions of discourse analysis, then, are important not
only for understanding written discourse patterns and the conditions of their production, but also for
a critical assessment of our own cultural situation.
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8. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
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B.O.E. 2002. Consejería de Educación y Cultura. Decreto N.º 112/2002, de 13 de septiembre. Currículo de la Educación
Secundaria Obligatoria en la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia.
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la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia.
Brown, G. and G. Yule. 1983. Discourse Analysis. Cambridge University Press.
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B. Pride and J. Holmes (eds.), Sociolinguistics, pp. 269-93. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
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Council of Europe (1998) Modern Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. A Common European Framework of
reference.
Cook, Guy. 1989. Discourse. Oxford University Press.
Halliday, M.A.K. 1975. Explorations in the Functions of Language. London: Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M.A. K. and R. Hasan. 1976. Cohesion in English. Longman.
Halliday, M.A.K. 1985. Spoken and Written Language. Victoria: Deakin University.
Hedge, T. 2000. Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom (OUP).
Hymes, D. 1972. On communicative competence. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Hymes, D. 1974. Foundations in Sociolinguistics: An Ethnographic Approach. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press.
Searle, J. R. 1969. Speech Acts: An essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
van Dijk, T. 1984. Text and Context: Explorations in the Semantics and Pragmatics of Discourse. London: Longman.
van Dijk, T. 1981. Studies in the Pragmatics of Discourse. Mouton publishers.
Revistas de la Asociación Española de Lingüística Aplicada (AESLA):
De la Cruz, Isabel; Santamaría, Carmen; Tejedor, Cristina y Valero, Carmen. 2001. La Lingüística Aplicada a finales del
Siglo XX. Ensayos y propuestas. Universidad de Alcalá.
Celaya, Mª Luz; Fernández-Villanueva, Marta; Naves, Teresa; Strunk, Oliver y Tragant, Elsa. 2001. Trabajos en
Lingüística Aplicada . Universidad de Barcelona.
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