Text Types, Text Forms, and Text Form Variants
Text types:
“A text type is an idealized norm of distinctive text structuring which serves as a deep structural matrix of rules and elements for the encoder when responding linguistically to specific aspects of his experience.” (Werlich 1983: 39)
According to Werlich (1983: 39), texts can be sorted into 5 text types:
Description: dealing with factual phenomena in space (e.g. ‘The festival took place in London.’)
Narration: dealing with factual and conceptual phenomena in time (e.g. ‘ Once upon a time, there was a little girl that always wore a red cape.’)
Exposition: linking to or identifying a phenomenon (e.g. ‘Text linguistics is a branch of linguistic studies.’)
Argumentation: proposing relations between concepts of phenomena (e.g. ‘ You won't find 3D touch on the new iPhone XR, however, as Apple is opting for sth. called "haptic touch" instead.’)
Instruction: planning the future-behaviour of oneself or others (e.g. First, peel the potatoes and cut them into slices.)
Text forms & text form variants:
Text forms/genres are conventional manifestations of the above-mentioned text types and text form variants are more specific variants of text forms (cf. Werlich 1983: 46).
E.g.:
argumentation -> text type
comment -> text form of argumentation
review -> text form variant of comment
Source:
Werlich, E. (1983). A text grammar of English. Heidelberg: Quelle & Meyer.
