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1. Karl Ludwig Bhler (1934/1965) German psychologist and linguist - distinguishes three functions of the linguistic sign/language functions:
informative (Darstellung) expressive (Ausdruck) vocative (Appell)
adapted later by Peter Newmark (1981/1988) as follows:
2. Roman Jakobson (1965) - the linguist and founding member of the Prague School of Linguistics, discusses in the 1960s the functions of
language in terms of six controlling factors (socio-cultural variables) related to verbal communication, each factor determines a different language
function:
a fourth type of texts was developed by Reiss audiomedial texts, such as films, visual and spoken advertisements.
Figure 3. Reisss text type and text varieties (in Chesterman 1989: 5)
However, the rigid parameters of Reiss categorization do not diminish the importance of her work. Reiss text typology model is highly
influential within the field of Translation Studies.
4. In his Approaches to translation (1988), Newmark takes up the issue of text typology, paying close attention to Bhlers functions of language.
the expressive function A as author-centered, where the writer makes personal use of the language
the function B as the extralinguistic information content of the text
function C as reader-oriented, including all the resources impacting on the reader, especially on the emotional
The expressive function deals with the mind of the speaker / the writer, who
uses the utterance to express his inner feelings without expecting a response.
Text-types: serious imaginative literature, authoritative statements,
autobiography, essays, and personal correspondence.
5. Important work to establish a text typology in translation is carried out in the mid-1980s by Hatim and Mason - new text-oriented models of
translation, based on predominant contextual focus (Translation: An advanced resource book, 2004)
Expository texts Argumentative Instructional texts.
Texts are no longer classified based on situational criteria (e.g. legal or scientific texts), their approach also sheds light on the issue o
text hybridization the multi-functional status of texts.
A central issue in context-oriented text typologies is the concept of rhetorical purpose, where purpose encompasses a variety of text
forms (e.g. reporting, argumentation or instruction may be technical/non-technical, subjective/objective, spoken/written) and categories (e.g.
report, counter-argument, regulation), based on subject matter and formality. At the same time, Hatim and Munday agree that in all cases,
such a categorization is necessarily idealized and that, since all texts are in a sense hybrid, the predominance of a given rhetorical purpose
in a given text is an important yardstick for assessing text-type identity. (2004:74)
Hatim and Munday acknowledge the existence of Reiss model as highly influential in the field of Translation Studies. A discussion on text
purpose and function draws attention on Reiss text typology based on two important factors:
1. the intention or rhetorical purpose of the text producer
2. the function performed by the text in actual use.
the classification of text types Translation Studies put forward by Hatim and Munday