THE CONCEPT OF TEXT: FEATURES

The concept of text is used to refer to any passage, spoken or written, of

whatever length, which forms a cohesive whole and shows semantic unity. It
may be any piece of language provided with formal and semantic unity, from a
single proverb to a whole play, from a short poem to an all-day discussion on a
committee.

Coherence and Cohesion

The term cohesion refers to the set of linguistic resources that link the different
parts of the discourse. Cohesion makes the discourse hang together, providing
it with coherence (what Halliday and Hasan call texture of discourse) and
differentiating it from a jumble of disconnected sentences. In English, cohesion
is created through five devices: reference, ellipsis, substitution, conjunction and
lexical cohesion.

Reference

Reference is the relation held between an element in the discourse and a

correlative other element. Reference may be exophoric, when it is aimed at one
element outside the discourse or endophoric, when one element points to
another mentioned previously or afterwards in the discourse. Endophoric
reference can be anaphoric or cataphoric:

a) Anaphoric reference or anaphora (looking backwards): an element in the

discourse refers to another that has been previously mentioned, like in
Joe made a cake. It was gorgeous.

b) Cataphoric reference or cataphora (looking forwards): in this case one

element refers to another which has not been mentioned yet but is to
come, like in We stayed there all night long, in Joe’s cabin.

The set of reference items include pronouns and comparatives, which establish
a referential contrast:

- Personal pronouns: it seems quite likely that reference first evolved as an

exophoric relation, as a means of linking outwards to some person or object.
At some stage in the evolution of language the reference to persons was
deictic, to be interpreted in relation to the situation here and now. Therefore,
I would be the person speaking and you the person being spoken to. He,
she and it would be the rest of participants in the situation. The first and
second person retains an almost exclusively deictic meaning but the third
person is generally used anaphorically, pointing backwards to some referent
(a person or a thing) mentioned previously in the discourse: John repeatedly
 interrupted his teacher’s explanations; that’s why he was finally sent out. He
anaphorically refers to John.

- Comparatives: comparatives also contribute to discourse cohesion.

Whereas pronouns, when used anaphorically, set up a relation of co-
reference, that is, they establish a relation of sameness or correspondence,
comparatives set up a relation of contrast, that is, something dealt with now
is equal or unequal, the same or different from the referred element. In this
case reference is accomplished by elements such as the same, another,
similar, different, as big, bigger, less big, etc. and adverbs such as likewise,
differently or equally.

Substitution
Substitution is the replacement of one item in the discourse by another of the
same structural function; there are three types of substitution: nominal, verbal
and clausal:

- Nominal substitution: carried out by one, ones and same: Bring me that
book, the one on the chair.

- Verbal substitution: carried out by do, does, did and the negatives don’t,
doesn’t and didn’t: - Does she speak Italian? - Yes she does.

- Clausal substitution: carried out by so and preceded by an affirmative or

negative verbal form: - Did Peter come late again? - I think so.

Ellipsis

This is another of the devices which contributes to create cohesion relationships

within the discourse. An ellipsis is an omission; something is omitted when its
presence would only repeat an idea already mentioned. Again, there are three
types of ellipsis depending on the grammatical category of the element which
has been elided: nominal, verbal and clausal:

- Nominal ellipsis: Have you got an umbrella? I used to have two (umbrellas)
but I lost them both.

- Verbal ellipsis: Has he seen it? He may have (seen it).

- Clausal ellipsis: when clausal ellipsis takes place there are two possibilities;
either the whole clause or just part of it is omitted: - Have they arrived yet? -
Maybe. (whole-clause omission) / - Are you coming back today? - This
evening. (part-of-the-clause-omission).
Lexical cohesion

This concept refers to the particular distribution of words within the discourse.
Lexical cohesion is achieved when lexical items are referentially connected,
creating a semantic framework. Lexical cohesion is created through reiteration
and collocation. Reiteration involves the repetition of a lexical item or the use of
synonyms or related words to point at the same referent (like child and little
boy). Lexical cohesion can also be created through collocation, that is, the
particular association between items that tend to co-occur because they refer to
the development of the same referential field, for example the set of items
related to winter: ice, snow, white, cold, etc.

Conjunction: Connectors and Linkers.

This term refers to the semantic relationships held within the discourse; the
elements which establish the different types of conjunction are called
connectors or linkers; there are different types:

- Additive connectors: as their name suggest, they serve to add information;

some examples: and, and also, furthermore, moreover, etc: Sarah bought
the tickets and we all got in.

- Contrastive connectors: they establish a contrast between the logical

expectations and the real course of events: yet, although, instead, but,
however, despite, in spite of, etc: Although we had the tickets we couldn’t
get in.

- Cause and result connectors: they express the cause or result of a previous
situation: as, because, so, then, hence, as a result, consequently, etc: Sarah
had forgotten the tickets, so we couldn’t get in. / We couldn’t get in because
Sarah had forgotten the tickets.

- Time connectors: they make the action go forward: then, next, after that,
finally, eventually, etc: Sarah bought the tickets, then we all got in.

- Purpose connectors: they introduce the purpose of an action: to, in order to,
so as to, so that: Sarah bought the tickets so that we could get in.

- Disjunctive connectors: they are used to pose two different possibilities

about a real situation of which only one is to be carried out: (either)…or,
neither…nor: Neither Sarah got the tickets nor we could get in.
Texture of Discourse
Any cohesive discourse shows a particular texture. This is the particular way in
which the different sections of the discourse are related or hang together; this
term refers to the discourse as a whole but texture begins at a sentence level:

The main components of texture within the sentence are the theme system and
the information system. The theme system is concerned with the organization of
information within individual clauses; this, of course, has an influence upon the
particular organization of the discourse as a whole. Every section of the
discourse is organized as a message related to an unfolding text. The theme
system organizes the clause to show what its local context is in relation to the
general context of the discourse it serves in. This local context or point of
departure is called theme; the rest of the message is what is presented against
the background of the local context, it is where the clause moves after the point
of departure, the rheme of the message. The clause as message is thus
organized into a theme + rheme structure; in English and many other languages
this organization is set positionally, the theme being placed in initial position in
the clause and the rheme following; in this way, the same clause-sized piece of
information embodies alternative theme choices:

Your reporter repeatedly interrupted her replies.

Theme Rheme

Her replies were repeatedly interrupted by your reporter.

Theme Rheme

Repeatedly, your reporter interrupted her replies.

Theme Rheme

The theme is one of the two systems that organize the information presented in
the clause, the other is the information system. While the theme system uses
position within the clause to organize the information into an initial orientation
followed by the rheme, the system of information uses intonation to highlight
what is particularly newsworthy in the message. The new element is enhanced
by being stressed as we speak (more technically, it contains a tonic syllable):

- Which is Lindy’s boy?

- He is the tall one.

Deixis

Deixis is the capacity that human languages possess to locate real or imaginary
objects and events in a concrete context. Deixis is like reference in that it
relates language to its context of appearance but the essential property of deixis
is that it determines the interpretation of the linguistic material in relation to the
time and place of its occurrence and the identity of the addresser and the
addressee.

Filmore talks about different kinds of deixis: personal deixis, place deixis, time
deixis, discourse deixis and social deixis:

- Personal deixis: personal deixis is expressed by personal pronouns and

possessive adjectives and pronouns as they serve the discourse to set the
identity and position of the speaker and hence, the position of the different
subjects that intervene or are mentioned in the linguistic occurrence.

- Place deixis: the most common place deictic items in English are the
adverbs here and there and the demonstratives this and that, including their
plural forms. They refer to two levels of proximity, taking as a reference point
the location of the speaker; here and this express a higher level of proximity
than there and that. These words can have different meanings when used in
a deictic way; in a sentence like I want you to stay there, there has a
contextual value, as knowing the position the speaker is pointing at is
essential for the proper interpretation of the utterance. In other contexts
place deictic items have a symbolic value, for instance, in a telephone
conversation, when the caller utters a question like Is Mary there? There is
understood as the place where the listener is. Also, place deictics can have
a referential value; in a message like I drove the car to the car park and left it
there, there refers back to a noun phrase previously mentioned.

- Time deixis: time deixis items refer to the time when the communicative act
takes place, including the time when the message is sent (encoding time)
and the time when it is received (decoding time). The main time deictic item
in English is now, used to talk about something occurring simultaneously
with the speech act, or as having an extent which includes the moment of
the speech act: My sister lives in Madrid now. Time periods located earlier or
later than the present or speaking time require adverbs like recently or soon,
or measurement expressions like three weeks ago or ten years from now.
Other expressions indicate the time of an event as occurring within the same
time unit as the moment of the speech act; in these expressions the
demonstrative this is required; e.g. this month, this year, this week, etc.

- Discourse deixis: discourse deixis deals with the lexical or grammatical

elements which indicate or refer to some position or aspect of the discourse.
The typical discourse deictics are the former and the latter; other
expressions are earlier, later, the preceding and the following.
- Social Deixis: social deixis is based on the social relationships of the
participants in a conversation. Conversations can be analysed form an
internal or external point of view. The external analysis refers to the moment
when one of the participants decides to make a contribution to the
conversation, or how he or she gains the attention of the other participants.
The internal analysis tells us how the participants contribute to
conversations, the devices by which utterances establish or reflect
information about the identity of the partners, the nature of the speech
context and the social relationships held among the participants.

TEXT AND CONTEXT

Text and context are two inseparable aspects of the same process of
actualisation of a message. In any text two levels can be distinguished: the
internal level, the text itself, that should accomplish a series of features to be
considered as such, and the external level, all those aspects that are necessary
for the proper understanding the text; this level goes beyond what is said or
written, including the situational and non-verbal environment where the text
unfolds.

The anthropologist Branislaw Malinowski first elaborated the concept of context

of situation (or environment of the text) in 1923. This concept refers to all those
extra-linguistic factors which have some bearings on the text itself. According to
Malinowski, the cultural context where a human being is brought up exercises
an essential influence upon the individual psychology.

The concept of context of situation was re-elaborated by Firth, who

distinguished four main elements which have to be born in mind in relation to
any text:

- The participants in the situation.

- The action of the participants (including verbal and non-verbal actions).
- The relevant features that affect the act of communication, that is, the
surrounding objects and events.
- The effects of the verbal action.

But perhaps the best-known treatment of the notion of context is that of Hymes.
Hymes categorizes the speech situation in terms of components. According to
him, the higher number of known elements, the better understanding of the text.
Hymes’ components are:

- Form and content of the message (setting).

- Participants (intention and effect).
- Key communication.
 - Medium (norms of interaction).
- Genre (type of text).

A more abstract interpretation has been offered by Halliday and Hasan. They
have proposed three headings, field, mode and tenor, to describe how the
situation determines the meanings a text conveys. The field includes the
message and the purpose of the speaker. The mode is the function of the text in
the event, including the channel (spoken or written) and the genre or rhetorical
mode (narrative, didactic, persuasive, etc.). The tenor refers to the interactions
(social relations and roles of the participants). We can say that text
comprehension relies on the correct interpretation of the elements that form the
context of situation. Any piece of text, long or short, carries with it indications of
its context.

TYPES OF TEXTS

The existence of different approaches in the study of types of texts makes it

difficult to establish a single classification of universal character. Nevertheless,
a limited classification of types of texts can be proposed as it is the most
operative device in teaching. Speakers recognize texts as belonging to a
particular type and this allows for a classification into separate textual structures
which share a number of textual and contextual characteristics; thus, we can
distinguish five basic types of texts:

- Narrative: a narrative text tells a story. As narration is intimately connected

with time, the elements of this type of text cohere by means of temporal
conjunctions.
- Descriptive: a descriptive text is designed to give a mental picture of a
scene, person, thing or situation. This type of texts is usually inserted in
narrative or expository texts.
- Expository: its object is to explain, to clarify; definitions, textbooks or
newspapers articles are expository texts.
- Argumentative: they support or weaken statements whose validity can be
argued.
- Conversational or dialogic: a conversational text is made up by an exchange
or a series of verbal exchanges between speakers.

This classification of text types takes into consideration both the strictly textual
aspects which may appear in a text (structure, connection between its
elements, linguistic features, etc.) and also the contextual elements in which the
text unfolds (participants, functions, purpose, etc.).

This typology is based on the one elaborated by J. M. Adams. Adams argues

that, in general, texts do not appear as belonging to a discrete type so he
proposes the term sequence instead of text type. He considers that a text is a
unity made up by a certain number of sequences inserted one into another (in
the same text it is possible to find descriptive, expository or narrative
sequences, for instance). There is always a sequence which exerts a dominant
role and texts are classified according to this dominant sequence. Adams
establishes the main types of textual sequences in relation to the classification
of speech acts which fulfil the functions of uttering, convincing, ordering,
predicting and asking.

Register

A register is the variety of language chosen according to its use at a particular

moment; in other words, register is what an individual is speaking depending on
what he is doing and the nature of the activity in which the language is
functioning. This is a semantic concept, defined as the configuration of
meanings that are typically associated to a particular context of speech,
including the type of message and its functionality, the purpose of the speaker
and the type of interaction between the participants.

Registers can be open or closed, depending on the number of possible

meanings to be conveyed. The variety of language used by pilots when
communicating with the airports, for instance, forms a closed register as the
number of possible messages is fixed and finite; a colloquial conversation in a
pub, on the other hand, will be developed in an open register as the number of
meanings may vary. In any case, complete freedom does not exist as speakers
are conscious of the type of register to be used, which includes a set of
expressions, lexico-grammatical and phonological features and linguistic signals
chosen according to the speech situation.

DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

DEFINITION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

A Descriptive Text is usually defined as a type of discourse concerned with the

representation of people, animals, objects, atmospheres, landscapes, actions
and feelings by means of words. The purpose of a descriptive text is to create a
mental image in the reader's mind by answering the question 'What is it like?'

Descriptive texts are namely characterized by the use of adjectives,

necessary to evoke an image in the reader's mind. Moreover, the notion of
vividness is also achieved by the use of other grammatical categories such as
concrete and abstract nouns, verbs, which may imply something about the
nature of the person or item to be described, and adverbs that combine the
quality of the thing with its action.
But not only adjectives, nouns, verbs and adverbs contribute to achieve
vividness an a description. Specific syntactic structures such as
subordinate clauses (relative, both defining and non-defining),
prepositional and adverbial clauses also play a part.

STRUCTURE

Descriptive Texts follow some principles of order regarding the way

details are grouped so as to present a descriptive sequence. The
sequence is divided into: observation, selection of the most important
aspects, order of events and expressive devices.

Regarding observation we can distinguish a fixed observer , who views

the whole scene or object from a fixed position and regards the items in a
systematic way (i.e. from left to right, from foreground to background, from
general to specific) moving observer, who merely reports details as he
comes to them so they do not follow an order, and the impressionistic
observer, who gives a generalised impression as if it was a movie camera.

The selection of the most relevant aspects is the next step in this
descriptive sequence since, again, the same reality may be described in
different ways depending on the communicative purpose and main features
on the receiver. In fact, each type determines a specific type of selection, for
instance technical and scientific texts are usually quite objective, whereas
non-technical texts are usually subjective.

The order of description is related to the way in which the

speaker/writer decides how to group details in relation to the structure of
the item described. It can be:

- linear: when we just enumerate data.

- from general to specific: (and vice versa), that is to say, we can

describe a place, first talking about a global visual feeling and
later starting to describe people and things there.

- temporal: in which the data are ordered from what is nearer related to time to
what is distant or vice versa, what means that we can describe an
experience, a person or an atmosphere according to the present
time or just recalling them as they were in the past.

- round: where all or some facts that appear at the beginning are repeated at
the end.
- recurrent: a structure where periodically fragments that had appear before,
reappear with slight changes.

- From the outside to the inside: that is, from the physical aspects to the
psychological ones.

In descriptions, we expect to find certain types of syntactic structures. For

example, we expect to see many copula ( 'be' link) sentences,
relative clauses, and prepositional and adverbial phrases.
Presentatives ('there is/are' in sentences) and descriptive
adjectives of shape, size, colour, and number are also common.

TYPES OF DESCRIPTION.

We can distinguish different kinds of descriptive texts depending on the

impression that the world makes on the reader's senses and, above all, on the
speaker's intention: first, an objective description ( also called technical and
considered a form of exposition rather than a description); second, subjective
description ( also called suggestive and persuasive) and finally, other types of
description, regarding people, inanimate and dynamic events.

The objective description, whose main aim is to inform about the thing to be
described without giving the reader any ideas about the feelings or opinions of the
author is to be found in instructive, technical and scientific texts. It is conceived as
an account of something not affected by internal or external factors. We can find
this kind of description in reports, essays, chronicles, official letters, a
guidebook, a history chapter, etc ). The language function is referential.

On the other hand, we find the subjective description, also called suggestive or
persuasive, when the writer conveys his feelings and emotions about the item
to be described. This is a kind of description based on the writer/speaker power
of observation and it's namely found in literary texts, the main language
function is aesthetic. It's main aim is to provoke emotions about the object to be
described rather than reflecting the item as it is for details to achieve affective
values.

We may establish three main features of subjective texts:

- an appeal to senses so as to obtain lively effects through visual, auditory,

olfactory, tactile and taste means;

- the selection of words so as to give a much more vivid and immediate effect by
means of adjectives, adverbs, nouns and verbs

- and a balanced use of figurative language devices such as personification(

the attribute 'human' is applied to objects and animals), dehumanization ( humans
are perceived as deprived of their human attributes), hyperboles (reality is
exaggerated), and metaphors or similes ( comparison between two items
using 'like' or 'as'). In publicity, for instance, the description tries to stand out
the advantages of the product.

Apart from objective and subjective descriptive texts, we may mention static and
dynamic descriptions. Static descriptions ,also called topographies, display a
spatial relationship between inanimate items (objects, landscapes,
atmospheres) . On the other hand, dynamic descriptions ,also called
chronologies, represent an age or a period of time where important events
regarding actions,feelings, situations take place.

Regarding people's descriptions, they may be divided into four types:

prosopography, which describes the physical appearance of a person,
etopeia which includes a moral or phychological description of a fictional
or real character, a portrait which combines both physical
(prosopography) and psychological (etopeia) features, and a caricature,
which is associated with the idea of exaggeration under the principle of
dominant impression.

TEXTO EXPOSITIVO - INFORMATIVO - EXPOSITORY TEXTS

The term EXPOSITORY when applied to texts may refer to a wide variety of
them: definitions, instructions, essays, textbooks... All of them, whether oral or
written, share a number of basic characteristics in their global textual structure.
Even so, it may be difficult to establish a clear distinction between what we call
“expository texts” and “argumentative texts”. An expository text aims at
providing and clarifying information on a topic, whereas argumentative texts aim
at convincing the reader or listener of the ideas contained in the text.

Being it so, it is not difficult to understand that in most of the texts we can find
there is no clearly defined distinction between both kinds of text. An expository
text almost always contains argumentation, and an argumentative text will
probably present an explanation of what the issues are before proceeding to
support a particular point of view.

Nevertheless, the practical distinction between them still proves useful,

because, despite their overlapping, a text can be classified as ‘expository’ or
‘argumentative’ according to the predominant function in it: convince or inform.
When talking about the characteristics of Expository texts it can be said that:

The information offered by them is selected taking into account the point of view
from which the addressee is approached, the necessity of carrying out a
thorough explanation or not and the previous knowledge the addressee may
already have of the subject.

Both in the production and in the understanding of an ‘expository’ text, the

following cohesion mechanisms play a relevant role: shared knowledge,
thematic progression and (in written texts only) supralinguistic features.

SHARED KNOWLEDGE

In order to write an ‘Expository’ Text we must have a clear idea of the ‘audience’
the text is addressed to, in order to assess their previous background
knowledge of the subject, their interests... Other characteristics such as
average age, educational background, context in which the text will be read, are
also important.

Bearing in mind this frame of reference allows us to select and organise the
information that will offer in the text and the way in which we will offer it. For
example, it is not the same to explain the symptons of a tropical disease to an
audience consisting of doctors as to an auidence of tourists. Our vocabulary will
be more scientific in the first case than in the second one.

THEMATIC PROGRESSION

Background knowledge is closely linked to the mechanisms of progression in a

text, since expository texts are constantly renewing information. The balance
reached between the new information offered in the text (RHEME) and its
relationships with the information already known (THEME) is one of the
determining cohesive features in this type of texts.

Expository texts are usually organised in paragraphs, which group together

sentences that deal with the same topic. In this way paragraphs work as a
thematic unit within the text and possess a series of specific characteristics
(spatial-temporal connectives, anaphoric references to previous paragraphs,
etc) that allow the existence of cohesion within the text. Inside the paragraph
sentences are regulated by a twofold movement of offering and progressively
restricting interpretation. Each preceding sentence limits the possibilities of
interpretation of the following one in order to preserve the global coherence of
the paragraph and the text.

Therefore, this organisation allows our thematic progression along the text by
introducing the new information making reference to what is already presented

SUPRALINGUISTIC ELEMENTS:

In order to better understand a written expository text, it is important to arrange

information in a way that makes it attractive to the reader, so that he does not
have the impression, when first facing it, of being in fornt of a “ wall of text”.
Aspects such as the use of titles and subtitles if the text is a long one, the
separation between paragraphs, the kind of typographical font chosen... help to
make the text easier to read.

As important as the characteristics of expository texts are to analyse their

structure, and we will do it in the next point number four:

STRUCTURE

Expository texts can be structured in 3 parts: Introduction, development and

conclusion

INTRODUCTION:

The introduction of an expository text usually consists of a paragraph presenting

the topic to be developed. It may also provide some other information such as
the spatial or temporary setting, etc...

From the introductory paragraph we may infer the type of addressee that the
author bears in mind by his use of language (technical or non-technical), the
kind of information provided (concise or extended), references made in the
paragraph.

DEVELOPMENT:

The topic will be developed in a number of paragraphs that may vary according
to the necessities of the subject dealt with. As we have already mentioned, each
paragraph works as a thematic unit that, on one side recovers the information
presented in the previous one, acting thus as THEME, and on the other one
offers new information, that is, works as RHEME. The different paragraphs are
linked by means of cohesive devices such as anaphora, conjunctions, etc,
which convey a logical meaning to the information presented.

The information presented in the different paragraphs may deal with the same
topic in all of them (CONSTANT TOPIC) or introduce new topics related to the
main one (SUBTOPICS).
CONCLUSION, which is one paragraph in which the information presented in
the text is summarised or a logical consequence extracted from it is presented.

Different methods of exposition

As we have already pointed out, exposition is a form of discourse (written or
oral) the object of which is to explain, to clarify, to share knowledge. But
knowledge itself is not enough if it is not rationally organised.

There are six basic rhetorical devices that we can use when preparing an
expository text, or that we can find in expository texts from all times and ages:
Definition, Classification and Division, Example, Comparison, Cause and Effect,
Process analysis.

1.-Definition

One of the purposes of an expository text is to distinguish between what a thing

is from what a thing it is not. Definition is the precise identification of an object
or concept.For example, a fish is a creature that lives in water, breathes
through gills and uses fins and tail for swimming.

2.-Classification

Classification, as a method of exposition, moves from the particular to the

general, identifying the general class to which an example belongs. For
example:

Measles is an infectious disease.

Division moves from the general to the particular, dividing a class into its
various parts. For example:
Infectious diseases include measles, flu, pox ...

Classification and division are resources that allow us to structure our

exposition in a clear and systematic way, and by means of which we can
expand, construct, define and exemplify logically.

3.-Example

An example provides the hearer/reader with a thing or concept which is

characteristic of its kind or illustrating a general rule so as to help
understanding. In order to be effective an example must be vivid and relevant, it
must give the reader/ hearer a momentary sense of participation and must be
connected to the thing or concept it wants to illustrate.

Examples that are not vivid or unsupported generalisations tend to lose their
force because of the lack of concrete example. Our mind prefers elaboration
and concreteness.

4.-Comparison

Comparison is a method that allows us to distinguish what a thing is from what it

is not. We can communicate new knowledge by building from what it is already
known or perceived. In this way we can draw attention to the similarities or
differences between different objects, terms or concepts. For example:

Both the violin and the guitar are string instruments, but the violin has 4 strings
and the guitar 6.
5.-Cause and Effect

It may be useful to think of cause and effect as backwards and forwards

movements. When we look for the cause of an event, our movement is
backwards (what caused this?) and when we try to foretell effects our
movement is forward (what will happen?).

Of course, the analysis of causes and effects can range from the simple to the
complex, from the casual to the very formal. Some of them can be proved
scientifically and some others are based on conjectures.

6.-Process Analysis

Process analysis is concerned with how things or concepts are structured and
work in a text. More than any other method of exposition, process analysis
requires a keen sense of audience: the information presented in a text should
be as simple and clear as the subject itself would allow.

_______________

Busca explicar o presentar información sobre conceptos, datos, hechos o

procesos con claridad, orden y objetividad. Exponer equivale a dar a conocer
las diferentes facetas o aspectos de un tema, dentro de un propósito
informativo, para lo cual aprovecha la descripción objetiva y la narración
verídica. Dentro de los propósitos comunicativos que impulsan a un texto
expositivo están: informar, aclarar, explicar, definir, recomendar, describir y dar
instrucciones. En la exposición se utiliza la descripción objetiva. Es enunciativa
y clara, con lenguaje denotativo, sin ambigüedades, sin opiniones, solo con
adjetivos especificativos necesarios, es decir con claridad y precisión. La
mayoría de textos expositivos presentan esta estructura: • Presentación del
tema. • Desarrollo. • Conclusión.

Existen, en una clasificación simple, dos tipos de textos expositivos:

4.1.1 De tipo divulgativo: en ellos el emisor informa de la manera más clara

posible un tema que a menudo es complejo y difícil y lo adapta a un amplio
sector del público.

4.1.2 De tipo especializado: en ellos tanto el emisor como el receptor

requieren el conocimiento de una determinada ciencia o materia y una
preparación específica, pues su lenguaje pertenece a una comunidad X de
conocimiento.
TEXTO NARRATIVO

When trying to define narrative texts, many scholars have concluded that any
narrative involves a teller and a tale. However, this may also be said of almost
any speech event, where we find a sender and a recipient, so we need to look a
bit closer into the narrative structure to see that narrations share certain
common features; these are the following:

- Narrative texts show a degree of artificial fabrication not usually apparent in

spontaneous conversation. This entails a certain degree of pre-organization
of the linguistic material as narratives have recurrent sections. Narratives
typically have a goal and we expect them to have a beginning, a middle
section and an end.

- Narratives must have a teller, who is always important, no matter the point of
view he/she acquires. We will see later on that the point of view the narrator
acquires is going to determine the type of narration.

- Narratives exploit displacement, that is, the ability that human language has
to refer to things that are removed, in space or time, from the contextual
situation of either the speaker/writer or the addressee.

Basic Structure: Universals.

Narrative texts show a number of common elements known as universals.

Narrative universals are not always present in all narrative texts. Some of them
do, and they are called obligatory elements. Other elements are either optional
or iterative (if they are repeated in the same text):

- Abstract: this is the title or introductory topic (on some occasions an

introductory sentence can fulfil the function of the title, e.g. This is the story
of Billy Boy and his gang.). This is an optional element although it is usually
present. The title of a narrative is part of the text, the first part of it, in fact,
that we encounter and therefore should have considerable power to attract
and condition the addressee’s attention. The titles of the earliest English
novels were invariably the names of the central characters (Moll Flanders,
Tom Jones, Clarissa, etc.). At the time, fiction was modelizing itself on, and
sometimes disguising itself as biography and autobiography. Later novelists
realized that titles could indicate a theme (Sense and Sensibility), suggest
an intriguing mystery (The Woman in White) or promise a certain kind of
setting and atmosphere (Wuthering Heights).

- Orientation: this is an obligatory element in narratives where time, setting

and characters are introduced.
- Goal: this is an obligatory element in narratives that sometimes becomes
iterative (appears more than once): main characters have to face problems
and their resolution constitutes their goal(s).

- Action: it consists of problem-solving procedures. The hero attempts to

attain the goal. This is also an obligatory element in narratives. The end of
the action brings about the resolution or climax when the goal is attained,
although the hero here may be defeated in some tales. This element is
obligatory whatever the result may be.

- The moral or evaluation is another universal that may appear in narratives

as the narrator may comment along the story referring to different facts or
characters.

The Articulation of Narrative Texts.

There are different factors that are of the utmost importance in the articulation of
a narrative as their manipulation or treatment is to exercise an important
influence upon the stylistic quality of the text itself:

A) Time:

The basic tendency in narratives is to articulate the events in a chronological

order; as David Lodge puts it down in The Art of Fiction, the simplest way to tell
a story, equally favoured by tribal bards and parents at bedtime, is to begin at
the beginning, and go until you reach the end, or your audience falls asleep.

However, on many occasions, the sequence of events presented in the

narrative may differ from the chronological order. Any change in the order of
presentation of events is called and anachrony. Anachronies can be analepses
or flashbacks, when there is a movement backwards in the story, and prolepses
or flashforwards, when there is a movement forward in time.

Other possible manipulations of time in narratives are those related to duration

and frequency, that is, how the duration of events and the frequency with which
they take place are reflected upon the text. Narrative duration can be measured
by comparing the time events would have taken up in reality with the time taken
to read about them. This factor affects narrative tempo, the sense we have that
a novel is fast-moving or slow-moving.
 B) Narrator and Focalisation:

As we have mentioned before, the figure of the narrator or teller is an

indispensable part of narratives. If we analyse narrative texts from a
communicative point of view, the narrator takes the role of the addressee of the
message, in this case, the text.

There are different types of narrator that are going to determine the focalisation
or point of view from which the narrative is told.

- Types of Narrator:

The first distinction to be established when dealing with the figure of the narrator
is that between dramatized and undramatized narrator. An undramatized
narrator does not appear in the story; it is an active conscience that imposes his
vision of the world between the reader and the events. Undramatized narrators
are, invariably, omniscient or privileged narrators, that is, they possess and give
out all the information about the circumstances of the characters.

Dramatized narrators, on the other hand, are characters that appear in the
story. Dramatized narrators can change throughout the narrative. We will treat
this aspect when we deal with focalisation or point of view. Dramatized
narrators can be observers or agents. An observer is a narrator that shares the
setting and circumstances with the rest of characters but does not participate in
the events. Observers are conscious of their practice as narrators. The opposite
figure is that of the agent; this type of narrator is part of the story, playing a
more or less active role.

In any case the participation of the agent in the events can be measurable; a
good example is The Great Gatsby, where Nick Carraway tells Mr. Gatsby’s
story from within but with a low degree of participation. Narrators can also be
reliable or unreliable depending on the degree of reliability of the information
they provide. Unreliable narrators deviate from truth, either to get a goal or just
because they are mistaken. Unreliable narrators are defined in the plot by
contrast with the different voices which question their point of view. An example
of unreliable narrator is that of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. Are those
ghosts the nanny sees real? That’s the base of James’ tale and one of the
unsolved questions of Modern British literature…

- Focalisation, Point of View:

When we talk about focalisation we are dealing with point of view, angle or
perspective; the point of view from which the narrative is verbalized. In any
narrative there’s a focaliser, the subject through whom we see the action. The
focalisation is based on different elements within the narrative, the focalised
elements can be characters or things (objects, places, landscapes, etc.).

- Types of Focalisation:

The focalisation is external when the narrator’s point of view is placed outside
the narrative; the characters, in some way, act before his eyes and he/she tells
what is happening. It is internal when carried out by a character inside the story.
If we take into account the variability of the focalisation throughout the story we
can distinguish three types of focalisation:

- Fixed focalisation: the focaliser does not change throughout the narrative.

- Variable focalisation: the perception of the events moves between two points
of view.

- Multiple focalisation: several points of view are involved in the description of

events.

C) Characters:

The structural analysis of narratives (developed by Propp, Soriau and Greimas

among others) has tried to reduce the number of possible characters in the
genre to a set of fixed stereotypes fulfilling different functions in the narrative
process. These stereotypes or characters’ roles are called actants. Greima’s
classification accepts six actants which comprise three interrelated pairs: giver-
receiver / subject-object / helper-opponent. The helper helps the subject to
overcome the obstacles to get the object whereas the opponent tries to hinder
the subject’s path in search of it. The giver shows the object as a term of desire
and communication and the receiver enjoys it. It’s been discussed if such a
general classification is useful to analyse any kind of narrative (narrative of
invention or fiction, for instance) or if it’s just useable for stereotyped and
codified tales. In any case, what seems to be clear is that it would be necessary
to adapt this classification to individual texts.

D) Setting:

We can distinguish two types of influence of the setting upon the characters. If
the features of the setting affect how characters are and behave the influence is
causal. If the setting reinforces the tale by being similar to a character or several
characters’ personality, the influence is analogical. An example of analogical
influence is found in Wuthering Heights.
Varieties of Narrative

There are several varieties on narrative texts: one of the simplest and most
popular forms of narration is the anecdote; it is a very brief story which makes a
specific, self-evident point. The setting, the goal and the action are brushed in
with a quick stroke or two and the resolution is attained immediately, its effect
depending on the quality of the surprise. A parable is a short narrative form
which appears as a tale in the surface and adopts an allegoric transcodification
in its deep level structure. This deep level entails a moral, religious or
philosophic evaluation of the tale. Fable and parable have in common their use
as moral or thematic illustration. They can be considered expository texts,
since, although they tell brief stories, the principal interest is to illustrate.

All narrative varieties can be classified as factual or fictional depending on the

truthfulness of the events narrated. The most common varieties of fictional
narratives are the novel and the short story.
______

El texto narrativo hace descubrir un mundo construido en una sucesión de

acciones que se transforman, por lo que existe secuencialidad y causalidad en
el modo de organizar la información. Este tipo de texto relata hechos vividos
por personajes reales o imaginarios en un cierto período de tiempo; en el
proceso de transformación los personajes pasan de un estado a otro, es decir,
se transforman. En cuanto a los tipos de narración estos pueden ser de
carácter literario o no literario. Es preciso anotar que otros textos pueden
adoptar la estructura de la narración, así por ejemplo, dentro de un discurso
político, de un discurso publicitario, en series de televisión, guiones de dibujos
animados, crónicas policiales, etc., pueden aparecer fragmentos narrativos.

Para van Dijk, el texto narrativo debe tener como referente un suceso o una
acción que cumplan con el criterio de suscitar el interés del interlocutor.
Normalmente, existe parte del texto cuya función específica consiste en
expresar una complicación en una secuencia de acciones. Una reacción ante el
suceso podría ostentar el carácter de dilución de la complicación y se
corresponde con la categoría narrativa de resolución. Con la complicación y la
resolución, se dispone del núcleo de un texto narrativo, que se denomina
suceso. La situación, lugar, hora y circunstancias de un suceso constituyen el
marco y, a su vez, el marco y el suceso juntos forman un episodio. Tanto el
suceso como el episodio son categorías recursivas, esto es, pueden
desarrollarse varios sucesos y episodios dentro del mismo marco. La serie de
episodios es la trama del texto. Estas categorías superestructurales constituyen
la parte más importante de un texto narrativo, aunque existen otras categorías
que aparecen regularmente en las narraciones cotidianas, como la de
evaluación, cuando el narrador aporta su opinión o valoración acerca de la
trama. Finalmente, algunos textos poseen un anuncio y un epílogo, que son de
naturaleza más pragmática que semántica.

TEXTO ARGUMENTATIVO

DEFINITION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ARGUMENTATIVE TEXTS.

Argumentation is the operation of justifying one opinion through the reasoning

(argument), with the aim of changing the opinion of other person or just
communicating our own ideas. Thus, its content may, or may not, be theoretical.
It can take the form of a discussion, an interview, a speech, a letter, a book of
literary criticism, or a sermon, among others.

What are its characteristics? It should be borne in mind that the most general
characteristics of a text depend largely on the overall subjectivity or objectivity
of the encoder’s approach, and on the mode of presentation, and that a text
may show characteristics of very different nature, depending on the style
required at every particular point.

Obviously, depending directly on the type of argumentative text (a sermon, an

ordinary conversation, an advertisement…) or especially on the degree of
objectivity or subjecctivity, a set of suitable textual stylistic properties will vary,
determining thus the overall structure of any text.

CHARACTERISTICS:

First of all, it should be borne in mind that the characteristics of a text depend
on the overall subjectivity or objectivity of the encoder approach, and on the
mode of presentation, rather than the text type per se:

 Subjective type: 1st or 2nd person singular forms to convince.

 Objective: 1st person plural to include either the receiver or the encoder.

Graphology: headings, underlining, bold letters, italics, quotations marks to

clarify, emphasise or make easier to see the different points. Scientific
argumentative texts: diagrams, footnotes and bibliography.

Lexical complexity: objective texts use latin origin words, tachnical and more
precise words, instead of colloquial or emotional connotations.
TYPES OF ARGUMENTATIVE TEXTS.

A. Subjective and objective argumentative texts.

The subjective argumentative text may communicate ideas or simply arouse a

response from the addressee but always from a personal perspective. On the
other hand, objective argumentative texts may state scientific solutions or
insights on common problems, that is, from a rather neutral perspective.

B. Commentary.

Any argumentative text that provides a seet of deep critical (normally written)
notes on a particular subject, could be considered as a commentary. Thus, it
may be mainly found in literary, newspaper or magazine reviews.

C. Scientific type.

It tends to be more objective, as its argument is –or at list should be- backed up
by verifiable facts or statements. College lectures, conferences or books
focused on specialised subjects are the most typical examples. Some of
features that characterise scientific texts are the predomination of impersonal or
non-personal and 3rd person forms, as well as the passive form, being the latter
especially relevant for highlighting prominent verbs or for eliminating any trace
of the subject for being totally irrelevant in context.

D. More specific types.

Political speeches and writings, newspaper reports, letters to newspapers,

advertisements, informal discussions… are only a few examples of other
common types of argumentative texts.

STRUCTURE (COHESION AND COHERENCE).

There is always a typical argumentative structure, namely the ‘introduction-

body-conclusion structure’.

a. The introduction is a sort of presentation of a thesis;

b. The body is the proper argumentation, the words through which the
addresser intends to change or influence someone’s opinion;
c. The conclusion is the thesis reaffirmed.

Speaking of the linguistic devices which contribute to the structure of

argumentative texts is like speaking of the linguistic devices which contribute to
the structure of any text (argumentative, narrative, descriptive…), since all texts
share a number of linguistic mechanisms which contribute to creating cohesion
and coherence. Of course, when referring to one particular type of text (in this
case, to argumentative texts), a number of linguistic devices are bound to be
more prominent and frequent than others. For instance, the digressing
coherence structure or the deductive coherence structure are especially typical
of argumentative texts.

As this is a very broad topic, we will not have time to deeply analyse all the
linguistic procedures. They are studied in detail on topic 29, but we will try to
give a clear overview of them.

As Halliday pointed out, in order for a text to be a text, it needs to present both
cohesion and coherence within its structure.

The concept of cohesion is set up to account for relations in discourse. It can be

interpreted as a set of syntactic and semantic relations for linking a sentence
with what has gone before, which is particularly relevant in argumentative texts.
We can distinguish between grammatical cohesion, and lexical cohesion.

Regarding the second element that makes a text, being a text, which is
coherence, we will say that it is the semantic property that makes the text hang
together. Without coherence we could have correct linguistic sentences, but we
would not be able to understand the text as a whole unit.

What we understand by structural coherence is how the overall textual

development is conceived and appreciated. We must therefore take into
account the introduction and conclusion of the text, and consider other areas
such as thesis, antithesis, hypothesis, comment, etc. These will be considered
in more detail under the separate structures of the argumentational text.

a. Climatic structure: it is often found in the argumentative text type. in this

structure, the encoder views items sequentially and in order of importance or
strength, until the climax is reached. typical language items are:

- Connectives: furthermore, moreover, on top of that...

- Lexical strengthening wind-gale-hurricane.
- Comparative and superlative structures: more-greater-the most

b. General to particular structure: it consists of starting from a general

perspective and moving gradually to a more detailed perspective. Typical
language items are: what I mean, looking more closely...

c. Cause to effect structure: it consists of explaining something from the

cause to the conclusion. So we may start from an outline of the cause until
we deepen the cause, and we finally reach the conclusion. For example, the
text about treatment for brain disorders will examine the causes of these, the
various treatments available, and their possible consequences. The
 conclusion may be to convince the audience that there is a definite
relationship between a cause and an effect.

d. Digressing structure: it consists of digressing in order to draw an

addressee’s attention to a series of clarifying, exemplifying..., words which
are to be discussed at once. Typical language items:

- Exemplification: such as, for example, for instance, namely, to show what
this means.
- Specification: mainly, notably, chiefly.
- Reformulation: or, in other words, rather, in simpler terms.
- Transition: as for, with reference to, as regards, incidentally, by the way,
to turn to.

e. Deductive structure: (from an accepted cause to the effects arousing

fromit) it consists of starting from a proposition, so that we work out one or
several consequences arising from this proposition; it is thus a structure of
deduction. So it is virtually the same as the afore mentioned cause-to-effect
structure, though with a slight different perspective.Typical language items
are: but, therefore, however, as we can see, from it follows that...

f. Inductive structure: (from accepted effects to the cause which support

them) it consists of doing just the other way round, that is, strarting from an
accepted set of consequences that had been laid down until we get to the
proposition supporting it, that is, until we come to infer the cause. It uses the
same typical language item than the deductive one.

g. Constractive structure: in this type there is a contrast of opposite

propositions, and by this a conclusion is reached. Thus, the structure will be:
thesis, antithesis and finally synthesis. Typical language items are:

- Antithetical: but, instead, in comparison, on the contrary...

- Concessive: however, anyhow, besides, in spite of that, despite, yet,
nevertheless.

h. Listing structure: in this case, there is some kind of enumerative sequence.

This may be numerical, alphabetical, or some sort of language device.
Typical language items: to begin with, besides, lastly, on the one hand on
the other hand, for one thing, for another thing...
_________

Busca persuadir o convencer al lector sobre una visión particular de un tema,

suceso o proceso mediante el planteamiento y sustentación de una hipótesis o
tesis. La argumentación es uno de los tipos de discurso que están siempre
presentes en la vida de una comunidad. El carácter de interacción que el
lenguaje tiene exige la argumentación. La dimensión social del lenguaje hace
que tengamos que estar intercambiando opiniones con los demás y que los
tengamos que convencer de las nuestras o ser convencidos por las suyas. El
comportamiento argumentativo es por tanto consustancial con la persona, que
argumenta para condenar o justificar, para deliberar, aceptar o rechazar, e
incluso intercambios tan frecuentes como el comprar y vender se asientan
sobre un comportamiento argumentativo. Por otra parte, la convivencia en una
sociedad obliga a las personas a estar continuamente evaluando propuestas.
Sin embargo, argumentar no es una habilidad que nos acompañe a todos.
Contar con preparación y educación especiales son condiciones que se deben
cumplir para ser un buen argumentador. Incluso la riqueza lexical incide en este
proceso.

La presencia de opiniones y de juicios de valor subjetivo predomina en la vida

en comunidad, pero si no son sostenidos o soportados se convierten en
especulación. La argumentación trasciende la simple información o exposición
de un conocimiento: su objetivo es formular razones para sustentar una verdad,
planteamiento u opinión a fin de convencer a otros para que acepten nuestro
punto de vista y se adhieran a él, para que adopten una determinada actitud,
tomen una decisión o ejecuten una acción. Los textos de estructura
argumentativa están articulados en cuatro categorías:

1. Planteamiento del problema: Algo se desea conocer y aun no se sabe.

2. Formulación de la hipótesis: Suposición que se hace sobre un hecho.

Respuesta tentativa a un problema.

3. Demostración de la hipótesis por medio de argumentos.

4. Hipótesis comprobada o refutada.

FUNCIONES DEL LENGUAJE

En cualquier acto de comunicación intervienen los siguientes factores:

1. Emisor del mensaje

2. Receptor o destinatario del mensaje.
3. Canal o contacto psicofísico entre emisor y receptor.
4. Mensaje o información transmitida.
5. Referente o contexto al que se refiere el mensaje.
6. Código en que está cifrado el mensaje y que es compartido por emisor y
receptor.

Siempre que utilizamos el lenguaje, lo hacemos con una intención o función

determinada: informar, persuadir, ordenar, conmover... Según cuál sea nuestra
intención en el momento de comunicarnos, destacará alguno o varios
elementos de la comunicación.

Jakobson's functions of language

Roman Jakobson defined six functions of language (or communication

functions), according to which an effective act of verbal communication can be
described. Each of the functions has an associated factor. For this work,
Jakobson was influenced by Karl Bühler's organon model, to which he added
the poetic, phatic and metalingual functions.

The six functions of language

1. The referential function: corresponds to the factor of Context and

describes a situation, object or mental state. The descriptive statements of
the referential function can consist of both definite descriptions
and deictic words, e.g. "The autumn leaves have all fallen now." Similarly,
the referential function is associated with an element whose true value is
under questioning especially when the truth value is identical in both the real
and assumptive universe.
2. The poetic function: focuses on "the message for its own sake" (the code
itself, and how it is used) and is the operative function in poetry as well as
slogans.
3. The emotive function: relates to the Addresser (sender) and is best
exemplified by interjections and other sound changes that do not alter
the denotative meaning of an utterance but do add information about the
Addresser's (speaker's) internal state, e.g. "Wow, what a view!"
4. The conative function: engages the Addressee (receiver) directly and is
best illustrated by vocatives and imperatives, e.g. "Tom! Come inside and
eat!"
5. The phatic function: is language for the sake of interaction and is therefore
associated with the Contact/Channel factor. The Phatic Function can be
observed in greetings and casual discussions of the weather, particularly
with strangers. It also provides the keys to open, maintain, verify or close
the communication channel: "Hello?", "Ok?", "Hummm", "Bye"...
6. The metalingual function: is the use of language (what Jakobson calls
"Code") to discuss or describe itself.
JAKOBSON'S COMMUNICATION MODEL

context
referential

message
poetic

addresser addressee
emotive connative

contact
phatic

code
metalinguistic

Functions (italicized phrases)

The Locutionary, Illocutionary and Perlocutionary Acts
The locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts are, in fact, three basic
components with the help of which a speech act is formed. Leech (Leech, 1983:
199) briefly defines them like this:

 locutionary act: performing an act of saying something

 illocutionary act: performing an act in saying something
 perlocutionary act: performing an act by saying something

The locutionary act can be viewed as a mere uttering of some words in certain
language, while the illocutionary and perlocutionary acts convey a more
complicated message for the hearer. An illocutionary act communicates the
speaker’s intentions behind the locution and a perlocutionary act reveals the
effect the speaker wants to exercise over the hearer.

This can be demonstrated on a simple example: Would you close the door,
please?

The surface form, and also the locutionary act, of this utterance is a question
with a clear content (Close the door.) The illocutionary act conveys a request
from the part of the speaker and the perlocutionary act expresses the speaker’s
desire that the hearer should go and close the door.
PRINCIPALES RECURSOS ESTILÍSTICOS

1. - RECURSOS FÓNICOS: Se trata de recursos estilísticos basados en el

sonido de las palabras. Utilizando el sonido se logra un efecto estético.

1.1. - Aliteración y onomatopeya: La aliteración consiste en la repetición de

ciertos sonidos a lo largo de un verso, estrofa o frase:

Con el ala aleve del leve, abanico Rubén Darío

1.2. - Paronomasia: Consiste en poner cerca palabras de pronunciación

parecida (parónimos), pero de significado diferente:

Todo chilla abierto y hay que empezar como tontos, como tantos, como todos.
Gabriel Celaya

1.3. - Calambur: Se produce cuando, al agrupar de otro modo las sílabas de

una palabra o secuencia se produce un cambio de sentido:

Oro parece, plata no es…

1.4. - Retruécano: Repetición en orden inverso de las palabras que produce el

sentido contrario:

¿O cuál es más de culpar aunque cualquiera mal haga, la que peca por la paga
el que paga por pecar? Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

MINIMAL PAIRS

A pair of words as ‘pin’ and ‘bin’ or ‘bed’ and ‘bet’ differing only by one sound in
the same position of each word.

Examples:

SILENT LETTERS

Silent letters are letters that you can’t hear when you say the word, but that are
there when you write the word.
2. - RECURSOS GRAMATICALES: La lengua literaria ordena el lenguaje en
su totalidad para lograr su función principal de crear belleza.

2.1.- Paralelismo: Repetición de la misma estructura sintáctica:

Amigo, el que yo más quería, venid al alba del día. Amigo, el que yo más
amaba, venid a la luz del alba.

2.2.- Anáfora: Repetición de una o varias palabras al principio de dos o más

versos u oraciones.

¿Por qué fue desterrada la azucena, por qué la alondra se quedó sin vuelo, por
qué el aire de mayo se hizo pena bajo la dura soledad del cielo? Rafael
Morales

* The use of a word or phrase that refers back to an earlier word or phrase

My mother said she was leaving (‘she’ is used as an anaphor for ‘my mother’)

CATAPHORA: the use of a word or phrase that refers to or stands for a later
word or phrase

He may be approaching 37, but Jeff has no plans to retire from the sport yet
(‘he’ is used as a cataphora for Jeff)

2.3.- Pleonasmo: Es la utilización de palabras que resultan innecesarias para

la comprensión del texto. Se emplea con frecuencia en el habla coloquial: Lo vi
con mis propios ojos.

2.4.- Elipsis: Omisión de elementos lingüísticos que forman parte de la oración

porque se puede entender su significado por el contexto:

Por una mirada, un mundo; por una sonrisa, un cielo; por un beso… ¡yo no sé
qué te diera por un beso! Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

2.5.- Polisíndeton: Consiste en repetir más conjunciones de las necesarias.

Aporta lentitud y solemnidad:

Alguien barre y canta y barre —Zuecos en la madrugada—. Rafael Alberti

2.6.- Asíndeton: Es la omisión de conjunciones para dotar a la frase de mayor

movimiento y rapidez:

Desmayarse, atreverse, estar furioso, áspero, tierno, liberal, esquivo, alentado,

mortal, difunto, vivo, leal, traidor, cobarde y animoso; Lope de Vega

2.7.- Anadiplosis: Cuando el final de un grupo sintáctico o verso se repite en

el siguiente: Hablan las lenguas y lloran. Lloran las almas y cantan. Juan
Ramón Jiménez
 2.8.- Concatenación: varios versos comienzan con la misma palabra con la
que terminó el anterior, estableciéndose una continuidad: El poeta murió, el
poeta fue enterrado, el poeta se transformó en estiércol, el estiércol abonó la
avena, la avena se comió el buey, el buey fue sacrificado, con su piel labraron
el cuero, del cuero salieron los zapatos… León Felipe.

2.9.- Juego de palabras: Inclusión en el texto de dos o más palabras que se

escriben igual pero cuyos significados son distintos:

¡No! Pues bueno; sea usted bueno y cállese. Manuel Machado

2.10.- Hipérbaton: Alteración del orden sintáctico lógico para destacar

determinados elementos:

Del monte en la ladera por mi mano plantada tengo un huerto, Fray Luis de
León

2.11.- Apóstrofe: figura literaria que consiste en dirigir la palabra con

vehemencia a algo o alguien, en segunda persona. Los destinatarios pueden
estar presentes o ausentes, vivos o muertos, pueden ser seres abstractos o
cosas inanimadas. Incluso, hay apóstrofes dirigidos a uno mismo.

Olas gigantes que os rompéis bramando en las playas desiertas y remotas

envuelto entre sábanas de espuma, ¡llevadme con vosotras! Gustavo
Adolfo Bécquer

2.11.- CONVERSION: It is a morphosintactic process by which a root or stem of

a specific class (noun/adj.) acquire the properties of another class without any
kind of affix.

The officer wheels me around (it is the conversion of noun to verb meaning ‘to
cause to turn quickly)

2.12 EXOPHORA: It is the use of a pronoun or other word or phrase to refer to

someone or something outside the text. They are used to make reference to
something in the context of the utterance or speaker.

That chair over there is John’s

REFERENCE can be ENDOPHORIC (ANAPHORA/CATAPHORA) and

EXOPHORIC (one element outside the discourse ‘this/that/I/you/we/they)
3. - RECURSOS SEMÁNTICOS: Estos se basan en la relación que existe entre
el significado y el significante de las palabras.

3.1. - Símil o comparación:

El símil es la comparación entre dos realidades por medio de la conjunción

“como” u otra expresión equivalente. Es muy frecuente en la lengua coloquial:
Tienes una cabeza como una calabaza. La comparación, utilizada como
recurso literario, debe ser original y expresiva:

Tu boca como lirio que derrama licor al alba Lope de Vega

She is like a rose

* It is a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared. A

simile uses the words ‘AS/LIKE’ to compare things; metaphors state a
comparison directly.

Life is like a box of chocolate / love is a battlefield.

3.2. - Metáfora: Es la identificación de dos elementos (uno real y uno

imaginario) entre los que existe alguna relación. Es decir, consiste en referirse
a un objeto con el nombre de otro con el cual guarda una relación de
semejanza:

“El viento se llevó los algodones del cielo” (= nubes) Federico García Lorca

*it is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t
literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison.

She has a heart of stone

3.3. - Metonimia: Sustitución de un término por otro, que se produce cuando

ambos designan realidades entre las que existe una relación de contigüidad.
Por ejemplo:

• Designa la totalidad de una cosa con el nombre de una de sus partes: Cien
cabezas de ganado = cien animales.

• El continente por el contenido: Tomó varias copas = Tomó el licor que

contuvieran las copas. • La causa por el efecto: Vive de su baile = Vive del
dinero que le dan por bailar.

3.4. - Antítesis o contraste: Contraposición de dos o más palabras o

expresiones de significado opuesto:

Me va faltando el sentío. Cuando estoy alegre, lloro, cuando estoy triste, me

río. Manuel Machado.
3.5.- Oxímoron: Unión de dos palabras (generalmente un sustantivo y un
adjetivo) con significados contradictorios.

La música callada, la soledad sonora… San Juan de la Cruz

3.6. - Paradoja: Expresión aparentemente absurda, pero llena de sentido:

El ojo que ves no es ojo porque tú lo veas; es ojo porque te ve. Antonio
Machado

3.7. - Hipérbole: Figura que consiste en la exageración para expresar con más
intensidad lo que quieren comunicar:

Por tu amor me duele el aire, el corazón y el sombrero. Federico García Lorca.

3.8.- Interrogación retórica: Preguntas que no esperan respuestas,

constituyen afirmaciones o desahogos emocionales. Se enuncia una pregunta,
no para recibir respuesta, sino para dar más fuerza al pensamiento.

Y si caigo, ¿qué es la vida? Espronceda

3.9. - Personificación: Atribuir cualidades humanas a seres animados o

inanimados:

Al expirar la pulga dijo: “¡Ay triste, por tan pequeño mal, dolor tan fuerte!” Lope
de Vega

*It consists in attributing human characteristics to things or animals:

The ice machine rumbles angrily and then sighs (the ice machine produces a
deep, heavy sound to vent its anger and then sighs from weariness to produce
the last ice cube. This is somehow symbolic of the narrator’s personal
circumstances.

3.10. - Ironía: El texto da a entender, por el contexto o la situación, todo lo

contrario de lo que aparentemente dice:

Comieron una comida eterna, sin principio ni fin… (O sea, no comieron nada)
F. de Quevedo, Buscón

3.11. - Símbolos: Consiste en aludir a un concepto abstracto mediante la

referencia a un objeto concreto que lo representa. La identificación entre ambos
términos puede deberse a una relación que el entendimiento percibe entre
ambos o bien puede deberse a una costumbre cultural. El siguiente ejemplo de
Unamuno se corresponde con la primera idea (relación en el entendimiento). El
poeta expresa mediante el símbolo del buitre la angustia que corroe su alma:

Este buitre de feroz ceño torvo que me devora las entrañas fiero y el mi único y
constante compañero, labras mis penas con su pico corvo.
3.12. - Sinestesia: Se produce sinestesia cuando se mezclan o intercambian
las sensaciones, atribuyendo a un sentido las sensaciones propias de otro: un
color chillón.

3.13. - Alegoría: Es una figura que consiste en una cadena de asociaciones

entre dos planos, uno en sentido recto y otro en sentido figurado, que se
corresponden miembro a miembro. Los miembros sucesivos de cada uno de
los planos suelen pertenecer al mismo campo semántico:

Pobre barquilla mía (vida) entre peñascos rota (dificultades) sin velas
desvelada (indefensa) y entre las olas sola (peligros) Lope de Vega

3.14. EUPHEMISM: An indirect word or phrase that people often use to refer to
something embarrassing or unpleasant, sometimes to make it seem more
acceptable than it really is:

Sleep with < have sexual intercourse with

User fees < taxes

3.15 SYLLOGISM: A way or arguing in which two statements are used to prove
that a third statement is true.

All humans must die; I am a human; therefore I must die

3.16 DEIXIS: It is the reference by means of an expression whose interpretation

is relative to the extra linguistic context of utterance, such as who is speaking,
the time or place of speaking, the gestures of the speaker or the current location
in the discourse. It is expressed with personal pronouns, demonstratives and
tenses.

3.17 MERONYMY: It is the semantic relationship of being a constituent part or

member of something

Marvelling that I know the words of a song... (‘words’ refers to lyrics, as lyrics
are made of words)

3.18 HOLONYMY: It refers to the semantic relation that exists between a term
denoting a whole (holonym) and a term denoting a part that belongs to the
whole (the meronym)

I haven’t read the song in maybe 15 years ... (‘years’ is the long time since he
met his first high school sweetheart)

THEME & RHEME: It is the fundamental structural pattern in English. They are
components of TEXTURE, which is one key feature to show a COHESIVE
DISCOURSE.
Theme & Rheme are concerned with the organization of information within
individual clauses. The clause as message is organized into a Theme + Rheme
structure.

The Theme, also called topic, of a sentence is what is being talked about and
the Rheme is the comment, what is being said about the topic.

The Theme is usually found in initial position, but it does not mean it
corresponds with the grammatical subject of the sentence.