Literary, Journalistic, Scientific, & Humanistic Texts: Characteristics and Genres

Posted on Oct 13, 2024 in Language

Literary Texts: Characteristics and Linguistic Features

Introduction

Literary texts are a form of communication with these characteristics:

  • The sender (author) is not interrupted.
  • The receiver (reader, listener, spectator) initiates communication.
  • The sender writes to any reader (universal recipient).

Literary Language and Its Resources

Figures of Speech

Written literary language is continually learned.

Phonic Level

  • Alliteration and repetition
  • Consonant rhyme
  • Rhythm

Lexical Level

  • Epithets
  • Tropes

Syntactic Level

  • Hyperbaton
  • Anaphora
  • Asyndeton
  • Polysyndeton

Figures of Thought

  • Hyperbole (exaggeration)
  • Personification
  • Antithesis
  • Paradox
  • Oxymoron

Literary Genres

Lyric Texts

Express the author’s feelings and inner world, often using the first person. Themes relate to human nature (love, death, loneliness). Lyrical language relies on repetition (syllables, rhyme, pauses, accents, anaphora, choruses). Forms include verse and lyrical prose.

Narrative Texts

Tell real or fictional stories in space and time. Elements include:

  • Omniscient narrator: Speaks in 3rd person, knows the story and characters.
  • Objective narrator: Speaks in 3rd person, observes but doesn’t know characters’ thoughts.
  • Witness narrator: Alternates 1st and 2nd person, a secondary character.
  • Protagonist narrator: Speaks in 1st person, tells their own story.

Other elements include characters, space, and time. Forms of utterance include narration, dialogue, direct speech, indirect speech, free indirect style, and interior monologue.

Description represents the reality of action, characters, objects, landscapes, and feelings.

Dramatic Texts

Emphasize the message and stage performance. Elements include:

  • Dramatic structure: Divided into acts and scenes.
  • Characters: Revealed through actions and dialogue.
  • Dialogue: Develops plot, characterizes, and informs.
  • Soliloquy: Character thinks aloud.
  • Monologue: Character speaks to someone offstage (phone, radio).
  • Stage directions: Indicate movement, scenery, costumes (in parentheses).

Journalistic Texts: Characteristics and Linguistic Features

Introduction

Journalistic texts address matters of general interest, disseminating news through written (newspapers, magazines) and oral (TV, radio) forms.

Journalistic Genres

  • News: Recent events, key points in bold.
  • Report: Narrative of a reporter’s observations, may include photos, interviews, graphics.
  • Interview: Dialogue between journalist and a person of public interest.
  • Chronicle: Account of events over time.
  • Editorial: Unsigned, prominent opinion piece.
  • Article: By a journalist or contributor, provides clear information.
  • Column: Regular space for a prominent journalist.
  • Criticism: Reviews of books, films, plays, concerts.

Journalistic Language

Favors a clear, correct, and personal style.

Extralinguistic Elements

Page placement (front page most important) and article position (top is most important).

Scientific and Technical Texts

Report on research and knowledge in natural sciences. Technical texts describe devices or mechanisms.

Linguistic Features

Morphosyntactic

  • Present tense verbs, imperative, present subjunctive, future.
  • Specific adjectives.
  • Impersonal and declarative sentences.
  • Short sentences.

Lexical

  • Univocal and denotative vocabulary.
  • Jargon.
  • Concrete nouns.

Structure of Scientific Discourse

  • Definition: Describes a concept.
  • Classification: Groups items by characteristics.
  • Comparison: Highlights similarities and differences, uses examples.

Humanistic Texts

Study human history, philosophy, and politics. Linguistic features vary.

Common Linguistic Features

  • First person.
  • Abstract vocabulary.
  • Specific or evaluative adjectives.
  • Long sentences.
  • Clarifying elements.
  • Diverse tense usage.

Argumentation is a common form of elocution.