Text Linguistics
Samples of Exam Questions
I. Give a complete definition for each of the following terms as used by
Beaugrande & Dressler:
-Text:
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-Coherence:
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II. Read the following statements and circle either (T)rue or (F)alse.
Statement
Text linguistics as a sub-branch of linguistics did not
T / F
really develop until the early 1970s.
T / F Texts can not be consisted of only one word or sentence.
T / F
Textuality is a characteristic property of all texts whereas
texture is a property of individual texts.
The use of some narrative and argumentative parts in
T / F newspaper articles is an example of texualisation
strategies.
T / F
The components of the surface text are the configuration
of concepts and relations which underlie the surface text.
III. There are two approaches to study texts in text linguistics. What
are these two approaches? What does each one of them focus on?
__1.____________________________________________________________
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___2.___________________________________________________________
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IV. What are the two standards of textuality which are considered as usercentered notions? Define ONE of them.
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__2.____________________________________________________________
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V. Different linguists have defined the term "discourse" in different ways.
What is the most comprehensive interpretation of discourse?
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VI. What kind of coherence relation is "Temporal proximity"? What does
it describe?
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VII. What is the difference between TEXTUALITY and TEXTURE?
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VIII. "A text does not make sense by itself but rather by the interaction of
two kinds of knowledge." What are they?
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__2.____________________________________________________________
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IX. Intertextuality is one standard of textuality. How did Beaugrande &
Dressler define this standard. Give an example to illustrate.
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X. Read the two texts below, then answer the following questions.
a). No parking.
b). Drivers of vehicles should not park their vehicles in this place, so they
should continue driving in order to find another place to park their cars.
1. Which one of these two texts is clearer? ( a / b )
2. Which one of them is more appropriate? ( a / b )
3. How does situationality affect the means of cohesion in this text?
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XI. What are the components of the surface text? Which standard of
textuality is concerned with how these components are interconnected?
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XII. Analyze the two texts below according to Halliday & Hasan's system
of cohesive ties by filling out the following tables with the required
information.
All western countries face a crisis in coping with the demands made on
welfare provision by their growing elderly populations. The problem of
resource scarcity is a real one. But perhaps not all countries have adopted so
rigorously (as Britain) the view that care should be based on the family model.
Scandinavia, for example, provides residential facilities for elderly people
not wishing to remain at home or to live with their families, and those facilities
are often available for use by local pensioners on a daily basis.
1. Find one example of substitution?
Substitute
Kind of substitution
What does it replace?
2. Find three examples of reference words which have their referent nouns
or noun phrases in the text?
Reference
Kind of reference
word
word
Anaphoric
OR
Cataphoric
What does it refer to?