LECTURE 3

SEMANTIC STRUCTURE AND TEXTUAL

INTENTIONS
TOPICS:
SEMANTIC STRUCTURE
• Lexical priming
• Scene and frame semantics
• Coherence
• Rhetoric structure
• Macro structures and superstructures
• Thematic progression and hyperThemes
TEXTUAL INTENTIONS
• Deep structure genres
We will consider text aspects that rely not only on the wording of a text but also on
human language user and his psychological cognitive disposition.
Beaugrande (1994) – “Text lies beyond the sentence, beyond its formal constituency
and dependency, to human activities of communication and cognition. Over and
above being a set of structures, texts are realized as outcomes of problem-
solving cognitive procedures. ”
The most asked question “How I heard or read this or sth similar before? – related
to the language users expectations based on their previous reading experience.
- Lexical priming
The language users expectations, which are based on previous encounters or
language use help him to understand and formulate new text. There are 2
theoretical models in trying to approach previous encounters of language:
1. To approximate an average language user by consulting a corpus that aim
at representing language use as British National Corpus (collocations
based on recorded frequencies in corpora).
2. Priming – giving psychological explanation for why some wordings are
preferred than others (based on unrecorded frequencies of individual
use).
Both models work on complementary basis.
As a word is acquired through encounters in speech and writing and it becomes
loaded with contexts in which it is encountered and our knowledge of it includes
the fact that it co-occurs with certain other words in certain kinds of context.
Ex. a In winter Hammerfest is a thirty-hour ride by bus from Oslo, though why
anyone would want to go there in winter is a question worth
considering.

Ex.b Through winter (in winter), rides between Oslo and Hammerfest use
thirty hours up (thirty hour ride) in a bus, though why travelers (anyone)
would select to ride there then might be pondered.
The second sentence is clumsy due to the unusual collocations and the fact that they
are not interconnected (as one collocation evokes the next). Normal natural and
usual collocations give the text texture beyond the grammar categories.
Ex. “Hour” + “number and journey” Half hour ride/flight/trip/journey
“Semantic association” or “semantic prosody” describes the fact that priming does
not only concern concrete word forms, but also abstract meaning that are bound
to particular word forms. Transferring the primed meaning to new elements is
known as “local priming” . (24 hour meandering/ meandering journey).
Textual priming – the fact that some word-forms are primed for typically appearing at
the beginning of the sentence as the theme as: In consequence; Along with.
-Scenes and frame semantics
Previous encounters of language use are relevant for a proper understanding and
production of text and for communication situations and world knowledge. The
important point is recurrence as Fillmore (1977) stated “The process of using a
word in another situation involved comparing current experiences with past
experiences and judging whether they are similar enough to call for the same
linguistic encoding”
Due to the above statement two separated conceptual spheres are distinguished: 1.
the mental representation of situations and world knowledge and 2. the
linguistic encoding of such mental representations and constructions.
Fillmore (1977) – defines or names the above spheres as “sense” and “frame”.
“People in their attempt to learn a language come to associate certain scenes
“mental images” to linguistic frame. A scene is used in a maximally general
sense not only visual where frame is any system of linguistic choices that can
get associated with prototypical instances of scenes.
Scene – Commercial transaction
Ex. John paid Henry 3$ for a sandwich. /John bought a sandwich from
Henry for 3$./ The sandwich cost John 3$./ Henry sold John a sandwich for
3$.
Fillmore (1977) model of scene must be complemented by a model of the
“background knowledge” that language users must have for a proper
understanding and production of text
Schank /Abelsen (1977) defines it as “script theory”.
Script – a structure that describes appropriate sequences of events in a
particular context. It is made up of slots and requirements to fill those slots.
The structure is an interconnected whole and what is in one slot affects
what can be in another. Scripts handle stylized everyday situations.
A script is a predetermined, stereotyped sequence of actions that defines a
well-known situation. Scripts allow for a new reference to objects just as if
these objects had not been previously mentioned.
Compare:
Ex. John went into the restaurant. John ordered a Big Mac. He paid
for it and found a nice park to eat it.
I bought a bicycle yesterday. The frame is extra large. The bicycle
has a frame.
- Coherence
Beaugrande/Dressler (1981) – “Coherence concerns the ways in which the
components of textual world i.e the configuration of concepts and
relations which underlie the surface text are mutually accessible and
relevant”
Coherence – deals with cognitive modes that help the text interpreter to
understand a text if there is no overt cohesive relation between two
sentences. It was understood in different ways and thus became polysemous
syntactic coherence.
Ex. The Smiths/as you probably know/ are going to America.

Stylistic coherence – the speaker or discourse makes use of the same style
register, lexical choice, sentence complexity and length.
Semantic and pragmatic coherence – deals with the non-overt conceptual
relations that exist between sentences (if a sentence is or is not formally or
overtly linked to a proceeding sentence)

Ex. a Wash and core six apples. Use them to cut out the material for
your new suit. They tend to add a lot to the color and texture of clothing.
Actually you should use five of them, in stead of six, since they are quite
large. (cohesive syntactic structure lacks semantic coherence)
Ex.b John can open Bill’s safe. He knows the combination. / what if he
has given away the safe number.
Coherence = relation or as Halliday/Hasan puts it conjunction. There exist two planes
of conjunctive relations.
External – refers to the world organization - “the relations that are inherent in the
phenomena that language is used to talk about”
Internal – refers to text organization – “relations that are inherent in the
communication process and can be regarded as a comment to the benefit of the
decoder.”
Ex. Next, he inserted the key into the key lock. (Next – refers to the time
sequence in the content of what is stated in the outside world)
Next, he was incapable of inserting the key into the key lock. (Next – refers to
the time sequence in the speakers organization of his discourse)
Different kinds of relations:
Ex. Peter always comes later. He want be in time. ( general-particular)
She could see her husband. She could see his shoulder. (whole-part)
There was a large glass on the table. In it was a pinkish juice.
(including-including)
He came to an isolated inn. The lights were already on. (outside-inside)
Peter was shabbily dressed. His jeans had large holes. (possessed-
possessor)
Rhetoric Structure
Rhetoric structure theory of Thomson/Mann (1987) – seeks to describe the
semantic relations between text components. Its descriptive elements are semantic
and not directly related to linguistic form.
It can be conceived as a structure that can serve as a plan of how to formulate
(generate) a text, but also as a tool to describe the meaning and intentions of a
given text. It can be used deductively for text production and inductively for text
comprehension.
Inductive approach – firstly describes the method of how the researchers arrived
at their model (analyzed more than 400 texts from a wide variety of genres.
Secondly, it is a useful tool to describe the meanings and intentions of a given text.
It exists independently of syntactic structure and its rhetoric relations or called
“rhetoric units”. The rhetoric structure analysis aims at describing the hierarchical
organization of the rhetoric units in terms of two kinds of relations.
Nucleus – satellite relations rest on the general assumption that most of the
rhetorical relations are asymmetric i.e two text segments one is more essential than
the other. Nucleus more essential –satellite has a supportive function.
List relations – kind of coordination of equally ranking elements.
Below two nucleus-satellite relation of “enablement” and “elaboration” and
the list relation:
Ex. 1. The University of Warwick has announced the establishment of
the Warwick Language Conference Award to be given annually for
the best manuscript dealing with some aspects of foreign language
and literature.
2. The Award, 500$ and acceptance of the manuscript for
publication is offered in conjunction with the Warwick Foreign
Language Conference.
3. The deadline for submission of manuscripts for the 2021 Award
is December 10, 2021
4. For further information write: (address)
Second paragraph is in elaborate satellite relation with the first one (the
nucleus). The third and forth paragraph are in enablement satellite relations
with the first and second paragraph. The third and forth paragraph are in
the list relations.
A somewhat broader approach to Rhetoric Structure Theory is suggested by
Nash (1980) and later take up by Quik (1985) who have described four
discourse strategies:
a. Step- realized a step by step procedure. It corresponds to the list relations
and must enter into a larger structure such as background or elaboration.
Ex. The 100-metre race was run immediately after lunch. This was followed
by the 400-metre relay. After a brief interlude with an acrobatic display,
spectators spread around the track to watch the first cycling event.
b. Chain – is defined in terms of explicit surface elements. Nash (1980) “it
presents a series of items each of which is related to its predecessor by means
of explicit verbal links”
Ex. 1)She combined the vice of greed with the virtue of patience
2) and would sit for hours with her nose pointing unswerving at the
larder door.
3) Behind the door as well she knew, there stood a large paper bag full
of biscuits allegedly shaped like bones and called Bonios
4) Bonios were to her what chocolates are to partly matrons.
c. Stack – is characterized as a passage in which a topic sentence is followed by a
stock of amplifying comments which possibly be rounded off by some kind of
summary formulation.
Ex. There is something wrong with the morality of a saying like “Honesty is
the best policy”
The wrongness lies in equating virtue with profit.
Any tolerable observant person must see that the equation is false.
There are countless occurrences in life when doing what we believed to be
right does not bring us material reward
Indeed we may sometime suffer for it
d. Balance – discourse organization which anticipates objections on the part of the
reader/hearer by shifting between pros and cons. It is typically an argumentative
text.
Ex For a spring break, Cumbria is hard to beat. There is of course a
great risk of bad weather during the early months of the year. The early
tourist is rewarded by empty roads and the feeling that he has the country side
to himself. Not all the hotels are open, it is true and you may be obliged to
drive on to the next village. But this is well offset by the welcome that awaits
you in a guest house where you may turn out to be the only resident
Macrostructures and superstructures
One important contribution of Van Dijk are “macrorules” with the help of
which sequences of proposition (i.e clauses) can be re-written or transformed
into more generalizing propositions comprising “deletion”, “generalization”
and “constructions”. Macrorules are seen as part of the language users
cognitive competence.
A superstructure is a kind of abstract scheme which determined the global
organization of the text and which consists of a number of categories whose
possible combinations are based on conventional rules.
Superstructure categories for the conventional type text are “narrative,
complication and resolution”. Events take place in settings which together
form “episodes”, plots and evaluation constitute a “story” which may have a
moral. Moral and story are immediate constituents of a narrative
Complication
Story Plot Episodes Setting events
Narrative Resolution
Moral Evaluation
Thematic progression and hyperthemes
Mathesius (1975) – “a closer examination of sentences from the view point of
assertiveness shows an overwhelming majority of sentences to contain two basic
content elements: a statement and an element about which the statement is made. The
element about which sth is stated may be said to be the basis of an utterance or the
theme and what is stated about is the basis or the nucleus of an utterance or the rheme.
Theme-rheme organization implies two types of linear thematic progression that
operate at the level of overt word-forms: “simply linear progression” which according
to Mathesius (1975) “progression with a continuous theme’/
Ex. The first of the antibiotics was discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928.
He was busy at the time investigating a certain species of germs which is
responsible for boils and other troubles.
T1 R1
T2 R2
T3 R3
Progression with derived theme – we are not dealing with overt-word-forms but
rather with a hyperTheme (of a paragraph or other text sections)
Ex. New Jersey is flat along the coast and southern portion, the northwestern
region is mountainous. The costal climate is mild
T
T-R1 T2-R2 T3-R3
TEXTUAL INTENTIONS
Focuses mostly on the concern of the text producer, namely what he intends by producing a
text, dealing mostly with the question: Why is the text producer producing a text?
The study of textual intentions is one of the main trends in text linguistics having as its main
proponent Van Dijk who views linguistic actions as a special kind of action performed by
humans who are guided by intentions.
There are various ways to classify the intentions of text producers in terms of “global text
functions” – called genres or text types.
Previously genre – designates external and sometimes semantic classifications of texts as for
example the components of corpora.
Text types – designates “groupings of texts that are similar with respect to their linguistic
form.”
Recently and more influential accounts of global text functions are those of
Longacre(1976)/Smith (1985 Werlich (1976
Expository Description
Narrative Narration
Hortatory/ behavior Exposition
Procedural Argumentation
Instruction
Longacre/Smith global text functions are called “deep structure genres” – capturing the
essential global text functions with the help features or temporal succession.
Werlich global text functions are related to general cognitive processes.
Global text function Cognitive processes
Description Perception in Space
Narration Perception in time
Exposition Comprehension
Argumentation Judging
Instruction Planning
Deep structure genres.
There are distinguished 4 kinds of deep structure genres:
Narrative – events are recounted
Procedural – somebody is told how to do something.
Behavioral – attempts to influence somebody’s conduct
Expository – the subject matter is explained.
Langacre (1976) – “We aim at universal characteristics of language rather
than at characteristics of any particular language.” – pointing out that
genres are universal and not language specific.
 Prototypical instantiations of four deep structure genres.
Narrative: fairy tales, myth, short story, novel (historical, gothic), detective
mystery stories, first person accounts, newspaper reporting, which make
pretention to factuality.
Procedural discourse – food recipes, how to d books, instructions to a
particular worker for his activities.
Expository – familiar essays, scientific articles.
Hortatory Discourse – ranges for sermons, pep talks, addresses of generals to
the troops on eve of an important battle.
Longacre (1975) also recognizes “surface structure genres” that allow
culture specific orientation in actual linguistic coding.
Surface structure – variation in actual linguistic coding instatations of
second person hortatory discourse. It may emerge as second person or of a
somewhat softened down form of first person inclusive of second person.
Ex. You have goofed up on his point. We have goofed up on this point.
or third person Ex. A red American does so and so.