Fundamentals of Text Types, Discourse Modes, and Linguistic Errors

Classification and Function of Text Types

• Informational texts: Pursue the transmission of new information. The receiver learns new concepts and establishes new relationships between concepts already possessed.
• Persuasive texts: Are intended to change the receiver's ideas, opinions, or values.
• Regulatory texts: Seek to regulate the behavior of receivers.
• Literary texts: Pursue an aesthetic effect.
• Playful texts: Are intended for entertainment.

Transmission Media for Texts

Natural Transmission

The natural transmission of human language has a vocal-auditory character. Oral language is received through the ear.

Artificial Channels

Human beings have improved their communication skills through the creation of these channels. Communication advantages include being deferred in time, distance, and mass distribution. Writing is the most important means of transmission created by man.

Textual Sequences and Structure

Textual Sequences: Different ideas within a text are organized into larger units, which are given this name.

Most Common Sequences:

• Narrative: Features a series of actions that follow a logical and chronological order.
• Descriptive: Lists properties or characteristics.
• Explanatory: Provides a solution to a problem that arises explicitly or, more often, implicitly.
• Argumentative: Offers a justification for a thesis.

Text Genres and Discourse Realms

Texts belonging to the same genre share features related to the following aspects:

• Social function: Entertainment, news, etc.
• Relation to contextual factors: Monologues, dialogue, sentences, etc.
• Formal arrangement: The subject, style, and register.

Discourse Mode Classes

• Declarative: Statements characteristic of providing information.
• Interrogative: Occurs when the speaker calls upon the listener to obtain information.
• Imperative: Related to the direct function (or directive role) of language.

Modality and Subjectivity

Modality reflects the speaker's attitude toward the content of the statement:

• Subjective or Wishful: The speaker presents the content as something neither true nor false, but as something desired.
• Doubtful: The content of the statement is presented as uncertain or doubtful.
• Of Duty (Obligation): Content is presented as something necessary that must be fulfilled.
• Of Possibility or Probability: Affects the certainty with which the statement is presented.

Linguistic Incorrections (Item 4)

Various improprieties originate from ignorance of linguistic rules:

• Slang/Vulgarisms: General improprieties resulting from lack of knowledge of the language rules.
• Pronunciation Errors: Includes loss of consonants and vowels, suppression, substitution, change of order, addition of vowels, contractions, and shifts of emphasis.
• Morphology and Syntax Errors: Examples include laísmo and leísmo.
• Vocabulary Errors: Confusing the meanings of words.
• Hypercorrection (Hyperliterate): The most abundant inaccuracies committed by speakers who do not know the rule and try to imitate the way of expressing those they consider cultured.