This is the most studied. Adam breaks narrative down into a series of actions oriented by a plot. He famously reworks Labov’s model into a more flexible structure:
Adam argued against the idea of "types" as isolated categories. He proposed that the definition of a text cannot rest on a single criterion (such as "telling a story" or "arguing a point"). Instead, texts are the result of a complex layering of operations—pragmatic, semantic, and linguistic.
Before Adam, text classification was often a messy affair. Scholars tried to categorize texts based on their form (is it a poem? a novel? a letter?) or their intent . But these categories were often too rigid. A novel can contain historical arguments; a scientific report can tell the story of an experiment.
Feel free to comment or DM me if you’d like a chapter summary or discussion questions for a seminar. Happy reading! Jean Michel Adam Les Textes Types Et Prototypes.pdf
Adam's research on text types and prototypes is grounded in a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on linguistics, pragmatics, and cognitive science. He integrates insights from various theoretical frameworks, including:
Here’s a draft post for a blog, academic forum, or social media (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or a class discussion board) sharing the PDF of Jean-Michel Adam’s “Les Textes : types et prototypes” :
Adam, J. M. (2001). Linguistics and the analysis of texts. Journal of Linguistic Analysis, 27(1), 1-24. This is the most studied
Given the popularity of the search for a free , it is important to guide users ethically. The book is published by Armand Colin (part of the Cursus series). You can typically find it:
Setting the scene and establishing equilibrium.
| Theorist | Basis | Adam’s difference | |----------|-------|-------------------| | | 5 text types (description, narration, exposition, argumentation, instruction) | Adam adds dialogal and sequence hierarchy | | Longacre (1976) | 4 types (narrative, procedural, behavioral, expository) | Adam more fine-grained on descriptive/explanatory | | Bhatia (1993) | Genre analysis (professional settings) | Adam is more linguistic, less sociorhetorical | | Bronckart (1997) | Action theory (language as work) | Adam more structuralist, Bronckart more sociodiscursive | He proposed that the definition of a text
Jean-Michel Adam, professeur émérite à l'Université de Lausanne, constate dans son ouvrage que la notion de "type de texte" est souvent floue. Les classifications traditionnelles sont parfois trop rigides ou trop superficielles. L'objectif de l'ouvrage est de :
Future research on text types and prototypes can build on Adam's work by: