The form of texts: possibilities and limitations of an «integral» text- typological model

The paper explores the possibilities and limitations of a general text typology within the framework of Coseriu’s «text linguistics as a linguistics of sense» (Textlinguistik als Linguistik des Sinns). The investigation draws upon three sources: (i) explicit references to text-typological concepts in Coseriu’s work and the internal organization of this field as recoverable from his illustrations and analyses; (ii) an analogy with Coseriu’s concept of language type; (iii) a consistent pursuit of the theoretical premises of sense construction and sense articulation. We propose a definition of text type as the form of discourse, i.e. as a functionally distinct layer of textual organization – that of the principles which justify in a unitary way the orientation of sense construction in the individual text, beyond the heterogeneity of the text’s constitutive units and strategies. By discussing the presuppositions and consequences of this definition, we aim to ascertain in what way and to what extent it is possible to construct an «integral typology of real texts», as opposed to a mere classification of text-constitutive units, procedures or strategies.