Glossary 116

Bibliography 128

Part I

Unit 1. The notion of a text

Key words:texture, discourse, highest lingual unit, microtext, superphrase unit, well-formed, coherent unit, full stop, reach over, sequences of independent sentences, syntactic unity, unity of the theme, monothematic, polythematic, coincide, graphical arrangement, comprehension, descriptive writing, narrative text, expository text, action-demanding, sequence.

The word ‘Text’ means a texture or communication. Texts can be written, printed or transferred in the oral form. The word ‘Text’comes from Latin. It is a set of connected sentences. The main characteristics of a text is its informative character which can be achieved by different means. The connection (coherence) of the sentences in the text is provided with semantic and grammatical means. Any text has a definite theme which shows the intention of the author of the text. A text is not limited in its size, it can be as big as it is needed for the sense disclosing. Any correct text has a beginning, an end, a body and it can be easily titled. A similar term is a discourse.

A text grammar is the study of lexical units above the level of the sentence. It shows how these lexical units are put together so as to convey ideas, facts, messages, and fiction. It is quite clear nowadays that a sentence is not the highest lingual unit as it was approached by traditional grammar. A man expresses his thoughts not by one sentence but a group of them which are interconnected and organize a microtext which is often called a “superphrase unit” or “discourse”. A mictotext may be composed of one or more well-formed grammatical sentences.The main characteristic feature of a microtext is that it communicates and is recognized by its receivers as a coherent unit.

It should be noted that the kinds of rules which operate within sentences operate between them as well. The grammar does not stop with a full stop but reaches over it. So, if we begin a sentence with the article “the” there are rules which limit what word can follow it. We cannot use ‘The an…”.In the same way there are also rules which limit what kind of sentence can follow another. Ex.The boy came into the room. He had an apple in his hands. It’s quite clearly seen that these two sentences logically follow each other. The pronouns “he” and “his” show it.

But it should be quite clear that not all sequences of independent sentences form a syntactic unity. Generally speaking, sentences in a stretch of uninterrupted talk may or may not build up a coherent sequence or a text. Ex.The boy came into the room. The airplane is landing. We can see that there is no connection between these sentences because they express different themes.

There is difference between a superphrase unit or microtext and a text. Firstly, a text is a whole product or macrotext. Sometimes the boundaries of the macrotext and microtext coincide. Such speech products as a small newspaper article, short story, weather forecast, etc…. can embrace one microtext. The main difference between a text and a microtext (superphrase unit) is as follows:

A microtext (superphrase unit) belongs to syntax. It is a special syntactical unit, which is on the higher level than a sentence. It is analyzed by means of the same rules as a sentence.

A text has a social character. It’s the highest communicative unit. It consists of different microtexts. It is characterized by its coherence.

When we speak about a microtext we speak about the unity of its theme. It may be expressed by one, two or more sentences. The microtext is monothematic but text is polythematic. Transition from one theme to another is the boundary between microtexts. The theme expresses the starting point of the communication, i.e. it denotes an object or a phenomenon about which something is reported.

In the same way the microtext unit doesn’t coincide with the paragraph. A paragraph is a graphical arrangement of a text for its easier comprehension by the reader. Sometimes one paragraph can include some microtexts and vice versa sometimes one microtext can include some paragraphs which are united by one theme.

Text types:

1. Description. In descriptive writing, the author does not tell the reader what was seen, felt, tested, smelled, or heard.Rather, he describes something that he experienced and, through his choice of words, makes it seem real. In other words, descriptive writing is vivid, colorful, and detailed. Descriptive writing creates an impression in the reader’s mind of an event, a place, a person, or thing. Descriptive writing will bring words to life and makes the text interesting.

2. Narration.A narrative text is a story that is created in a constructive format that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.

3. Exposition.Expository text is a text that informs, explains, describes, or defines the author’s subject to the reader.

4. Argumentation. Compares alternative points of view

5. Instruction. In which the communicator tells readers what to do. It uses “action-demanding sentences in sequence”.

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

PRACTICE

Exercise1.Think over the following statements and say whether they are right or wrong:

• The word ‘Text’ means a texture or communication.

• A text has no definite theme which shows the intention of the author of the text.

• Not all kinds of rules which operate within sentences operate between them as well.

• The grammar does not stop with a full stop but reaches over it.

• All sequences of independent sentences form a syntactic unity.

• Microtext and macrotext are different linguistic units.

• Sometimes the boundaries of the macrotext and microtext coincide.

• The microtext is polythematic and macrotext is monothematic.

• Microtext always coincides with paragraph.

• There exists only one type of texts.

Exercise 2.Define the types of the following texts:

Text 1

It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a granite sky and a mizzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o’clock in the afternoon the pallor of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, cloaking them in mist.

Text 2

The idiosyncrasy of this town is smoke. It rolls sullenly in slow folds from the great chimneys of the iron-foundries, and settles down in black, slimy pools on the muddy streets. Smoke on the wharves, smoke on the dingy boats, on the yellow river – clinging in a coating of greasy soot to the house-front, the two faded poplars, the faces of the passers-by.

Text 3

Once upon a time there was a girl called Cinderella. She lived with her step sisters and step mother. They treated her badly. She had to do all the house work.One day an invitation to the ball came to the family. But, her step sisters would not let her go. Cinderella was very sad. The step sisters went to the ball without her.Fortunately, the fairy godmother came and helped her to get to the ball. At the ball, Cinderella danced with the prince. The prince fell in love with her and then married her. They lived happily ever after.

Text 4

This family was a victim of a problem they could have avoided-a problem that, according to Florida park rangers, hundreds of visitors suffer each year. “Several times a month,” ranger Rod Torres of O’Leno State Park said, “people get scared and leave the park in the middle of the night.” Those people picked the wrong kind of park to visit. Not that there was anything wrong with the park: The hikers camped next to them loved the wild isolation of it. But it just wasn’t the kind of place the couple from New Jersey had in mind when they decided to camp out on this trip through Florida. If they had known about the different kinds of parks in Florida, they might have stayed in a place they loved.

Text 5

The reason of this level of popularity is very simple – if the company stars producing something in China it automatically gets high demand on its products. The rate of the return of their investments is very high and everybody seems to be in gain. But… The main point is that China gets way more. Chinese companies get western technologies and this becomes the leading power of their economics for the moment.

Text 6

The easiest way to use a nose drop is to lie on the bed with the neck hanging down. Tilt the head to the right hand side. Administer the prescribed number of drops into the right nostril. Wait a few seconds in order for the medication to reach the sinus cavity. Repeat on the opposite side.

Exercise 3.Look at the following sets of sentences and say whether they are texts or non-texts:

A.

Delays, cramped accommodation, lousy air quality, poor service, smoking bans... It’s not surprising that passengers turn to drink – which is when the real problems begin. Airlines and their long-suffering customers are reporting a steep climb in air rage incidents, most of them drink-related. Not surprisingly, a large proportion of the high-altitude high jinks take place on flights within and from the USA with its huge aviation industry. But British flights too are increasingly affected. Last year saw several high-profile incidents, including a transatlantic flight diverted when a party of London-based Irish travellers became drunk and disorderly. Then there was the case of a British Airways manager who was suspended when she struck a cabin attendant who refused her drink. The then transport minister John Reid spoke of introducing a new air-rage criminal offence, after another stewardess was attacked and badly wounded.

B.

Cabin and flight crews, who are in the front line of the battle against disruptive and dangerous in-flight behaviour, have called for stiffer penalties against offenders.

Since most people are right-handed, swordsmen preferred to travel on the left in order to have their right arm nearer to a potential opponent and their sword and scabbard further from them. These days, women of every economic stripe can be seen carrying pricey leather handbags. One of the project’s most enthusiastic supporters is Fatima Elatik, district mayor of eastern Amsterdam. North Americans associate green fashion with a woman in her 20’s, simple but sexy, who wears organic shoes and clothing.

Modern aircraft are equipped with sophisticated air conditioning devices - but running them at optimum capacity burns up valuable aviation fuel. Mass unrest is less common than individual misbehavior

Russia recently imposed an embargo on imports of Moldovan wine, and it has also made thinly-veiled threats to cut off the gas supplies on which Moldova depends.

Researchers found that North Americans perceive green fashion more favorably, in part because eco-clothing brands have been launched by celebrities. On the other hand, European respondents perceive organic fashion consumers as unglamorous.

Exercise 4.Analyze the following text and say what the idea of it is, title it, count the number of paragraphs and mictrotexts (thematic units).

In 1985 Simon Bell began his computer business at the University of Southampton. In 1987 his company introduced the Z5000 machine which the magazine PC Journal said “may become the next industry benchmark”. The following year he opened an office in the United States and soon had offices in 28 countries.

In 1989 Bell went public. By now the firm employs750 people and sales amount to over $159 million. Then two years later employees decided to celebrate 1 April by hanging a giant inflatable banana outside company headquarters, the first of many publicity stunts.

In 1992 Bell offered free installations software as a standard option and in 1993 launched the low-priced Explorer PCs, one of the most highly praised systems in the industry. In 1996 Bellset up an Internet computer store, through its website www.bell.com. Last year sales totaled more than $10million a day.