Humanistic Texts: Features, Morphosyntax, and Lexicosemantics
Humanistic Texts: Features
Features:
- Tendency to abstraction, dealing with the realm of ideas and works that these generate.
- Speculative nature, universal laws are not experimentally verifiable. It is mainly based on pure theoretical thinking and logical reasoning.
- Opening the debate continued.
- Presence of subjective ideological and pragmatic aspects.
Functions of Language:
- Referential and metalinguistic functions are very relevant, as is the conative function (as categorical truths are not sought, the speaker looks for our commitment to truth), and non-fiction texts, expressive and poetic functions.
- Discourse: Predominant modalities of argumentation and exposition. Conform to the basic structural model: introduction – development – conclusion. In each case, however, choose different thematic progression modes: inductive (from particulars to the general), deductive (from general to particular), problem-solution, cause-consequence.
- We distinguish two basic subgenres: the study and the essay. Their differential features:
- Theme: Unit (the study is limited to a perfectly bounded theme) / variety of subjects (the essay is pure reflection, as such is free to digress and treat issues and ideas that are unexpected).
- Attitude: Objective (the study is a thorough investigation that aims to reach conclusions) / subjective attitude (the essay is a genre open to controversy that gives a personal view and, above all, original and creative of a subject, without attempting to impose it as true).
- Completeness: (The study approaches the subject from all possible analytical perspectives in order to reach definitive conclusions) / purpose of the essay is to suggest to the reader new perspectives about the issue and provoke reflection.
- Accuracy: of terminology and methodological conventions monitoring / free and open structure, literary style will.
- The study is aimed at a specialized public / essay for all types of public, seeks, therefore, expositional simplicity and readability, rather than rigor.
Morphosyntactic Aspects
- Prevalence of the modalities set / variety of modalities, are common exclamation and rhetorical question.
- The study as the essay is characterized by an abundance of abstract nouns. These nouns are sometimes neologisms created by the following procedures:
- Derivation of adjectives with suffixes like -ness, -ity, -ent, -ance: falsifiability, assertiveness, etc.
- Prevalence of adjectival specified in the study / importance of the explanatory and evaluative adjectives in the essay.
- Because of the content they work with, there are many verbs of opinion and thought both in the study and in the essay. However, the verb in each genre has its peculiarities:
- Prevalence of indicative / greater variety of verbal modes in the essay because of its subjective nature. We present the imperative and, above all, the subjunctive form of exhortations and calls to the reader.
- Using the plural of modesty / frequent use of first person singular.
- Sociat plural constant use in the essay (analyze, see).
- It is characteristic of the study, the use of syntactic procedures (as defined in the scientific text) masking the speaking subject.
- Search for clarity through appropriate syntax (subordinate adverbial improper, explanatory constructs, a short period, interlocking logic by discourse markers, etc.) / Essay has full freedom, depending on the intention and will style the author, the text submit one or the other features of stylistic resources sintácticas.
- Presence morphosyntactic plane in the case of essay.
Lexicosemantic Aspects
- Presence of technicalities, especially in the study, but also in the essay.
- Abundant quotations from other texts authors.
- Presence in the essay, rhetorical argumentative.
- Use of stylistic devices in the essay text.