Text function

With text function is meant the communicative function, which however cannot be equated with the intention of the author in the production of the text ( author intention ). Based on the classification of speech acts by John Searle, the following basic functions can be distinguished:

function	Explanation	example
appeal	to get the recipient to act	Election call
obligation	serves the self-commitment	contract
Contact	to create a relationship between the communication partners	Greeting postcard
declaration	serves to announce a fact that becomes reality through the announcement. The speech act is therefore the act itself.	Certificate of Appointment
information	is used to communicate information	Weather report

Often a text fulfills more than just one of these communicative functions. It is often difficult to identify a primary function. Advertising texts for technically complex products are, for example, characterized by a high information density. The dominant function, however, is the appeal to buy.

In text linguistics , the text function is a criterion that allows a word or phrase sequence to be defined as text or not.

Web links

Wiktionary: Text function  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ^ Klaus Brinker : Linguistic text analysis. 5th revised and supplemented edition. Erich Schmidt, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-503-04995-9 . P. 102 ff.