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Text grammar

A text grammar is the study of texts above the level of the sentence. It shows how textsare put together so as to convey ideas, facts, messages, and fiction.

A similar term is discourse analysis. Both are mostly concerned with natural language

use; discourse analysis would include spoken language. Speech is also the parent of

rhetoric, the ancient study of persuasive speaking. In a similar way, literary criticismparallels text grammar, because both concentrate on theprintedword. A text grammar

approach puts emphasis on the linguistic structure of a text, rather than its cultural or

symbolic meaning.

A text is a coherent body of sentences.Coherent means they are linked by a consistenttheme. The text ends when completion is signalled. For example, when aproblem

introduced at the start is solved, or when a promised discussion has reached a conclusion.

Text types

Each text focuses on certain things. If text are grouped by what they are doing, then thereare five basic text types:

1. Description. Common in science and technology.

2. Narration. Covers the passage of time, and is common in thehumanities.

3. Exposition. In which the narrator or writer offers an analysis and explanation ofsome issue.

4. Argumentation. In which the communicator compares alternative points of view,

judges and persuades.5. Instruction. In which the communicator tells readers what to do. Uses "action-

demanding sentences in sequence".

Many texts, of course, can and do have a mixture of two or more of these types.

Discourse analysis is a subject which studies a text or a conversation. This is a subject inlinguistics which does not study sentences, like in syntax, but the entire text or

conversation. The text or conversation is known as discourse. Discourse analyst prefer to

use real life discourse in their studies, rather than invented sentences like in traditional

linguistics. This way of studying real life discourse is called corpus linguistics.

Discourse analysis is related totext linguistics. However, text linguistics studies how

discourse is structured so that they are connected (how sentences are joined to each

other). Discourse analysis studies this, and also how the discourse is connected to the

context. This context includes who the people talking or writing are, the social andcultural context. Also, it studies the way mode, which is the way the language is

represented (is it a letter, speech, email, Internat chat?), influences discourse. Discourse

analysis is also interested in thegenre(topic) of the discourse.

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentencehttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_analysishttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorichttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorichttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticismhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallelhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguisticshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culturalhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problemhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problemhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitieshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitieshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitieshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysishttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texthttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversationhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguisticshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Traditional_linguistics&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Traditional_linguistics&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Corpus_linguistics&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Corpus_linguistics&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_linguisticshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_linguisticshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mode(linguistics&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genrehttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genrehttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genrehttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentencehttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_analysishttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorichttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticismhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallelhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguisticshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culturalhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problemhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitieshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysishttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texthttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversationhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguisticshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Traditional_linguistics&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Traditional_linguistics&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Corpus_linguistics&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_linguisticshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mode(linguistics&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre

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Discourse analysis is studied not only in linguistics, but also insociology,anthropology,

psychology,communication studiesand translation studies.

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropologyhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropologyhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychologyhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Communication_studies&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Communication_studies&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Communication_studies&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Translation_studies&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropologyhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychologyhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Communication_studies&action=edit&redlink=1http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Translation_studies&action=edit&redlink=1