The Place of Semantics and Pragmatics in a Linguistic Approach to Texts

Abstract

This paper follows the approach assumed by a text linguistics inherited from Coseriu (2007) and framed, from the theoretical and epistemological points of view, within the scope of the Socio- Discursive Interactionism (Bronckart 1997). Considering this, texts are understood as constrained (at the supra level) by the social activities in which they are produced; on the other hand, they are shaped by the linguistic resources they put in place. The main goal here is to discuss the applicability of linguistic descriptions based on a strict differentiation of some fields of study – in particular, semantics and pragmatics. By using an example of analysis that stands for a descending methodological approach we highlight the need of entailing a collaborative manipulation of different contributions established from the description of the linguistic system – bearing in mind that this manipulation accounts for the activity of language as a creative activity, which is itself of a complex nature.

Keywords

• descending methodological approach
• pragmatics
• semantics
• socio-discursive interactionism
• text linguistics