Text types' Focus on Description

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Text types. Focus on Description

• Paola Catenaccio

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• Texts distinctively correlate with the contextual
  factors in a communication situation. They
  conventionally focus the addressees attention
  only on specific factors and circumstances from
  the whole set of factors. Accordingly, texts can
  be grouped together and generally classified on
  the basis of their dominant contextual focus

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• Focus on factual phenomena in the spatial
  context descriptive texts
• Focus on factual/conceptual phenomena in the
  temporal context narrative texts
• Focus on de-composition (analysis) into
  constituent elements, or the composition
  (synthesis) from constituent elements of
  concepts expository texts
• Focus on the relations between concept
  argumentative texts
• Focus on observable future behaviour instructive
  texts
• (Werlich 1983, pp.19 e 20)

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Description 1

• Sea Boundless beaches of the finest sand,
  dream-like bays, sheer cliffs plunging into the
  sea, rocks carved by the wind to form sculptures
  with surprising forms, townships proud to show
  themselves in all their beauty to those arriving
  from the sea. The sea is the sound track to a
  journey through Italy, accompanying all
  travellers with its intense landscapes, its
  strong scent, its unexpected views, and the
  brilliant colours of its waters. Over seven
  thousand kilometres of coastline frame this
  country that extends smoothly into the
  Mediterranean. The itinerary offers enormous
  variety, from the steep slopes of the Ligurian
  Sea, to the pleasant beaches of Versilia, the
  villages clinging to the rocky Amalfi Coast, the
  rugged countryside of Calabria, and the boundless
  sands of the Adriatic coastline. Seven thousand
  kilometres dotted by a succession of welcoming
  ports, charming cities steeped in history,
  unspoilt beaches and solitary inlets. Not to
  mention the dozens of islands, from imposing
  Sicily and Sardinia to tiny Gorgona, which emerge
  from the waters to add a touch of magic to
  Italy's seas. Renowned islands such as Capri,
  favoured by the international jet set, charming
  spots such as the Aeolian islands, a Unesco world
  heritage site, or popular spots such as Elba,
  chosen by Napoleon as his place of exile. Then
  there are solitary islands such as Ustica, lying
  right in the heart of the Tyrrhenian Sea, or
  Pantelleria, Italy's southernmost outpost in the
  Mediterranean. Under the surface of the sea we
  found the gateway to another enchanted world.
  Thanks to the crystal clear water, you can admire
  the luxuriant sea bed with its multicoloured
  undersea forests and marvellous inhabitants
  gigantic groupers, fascinating jellyfish, and shy
  moray eels. And all surrounded by vast shoals of
  colourful fish, which satisfy their curiosity by
  patrolling the countless wrecks resting on the
  bottom.
• www.enit.it

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Description 2

• Rotational machine with accessories
• Description The machine consists of a
  rectangular cherry-wood base a painted iron
  flywheel with a wooden handle and a vertical
  brass rotation shaft are fitted onto the base.
  The shaft has a join with a pressure screw for
  the steady mounting of the accessories to the
  rotation shaft. A robust leather belt allows for
  the transmission of the manual rotation of the
  flywheel to the rotation shaft.  
• ACCESSORIES  
• A - Watt's double centrifugal governor Number of
  catalogue 355 385 X 90 X 30 mm This is a
  demonstrating model of Watt's famous safety
  device that regulates the inlet of steam into the
  boilers of the steam engine. It was projected and
  put into practice for the first time by the
  Scottish mechanician James Watt (1736-1819).
  Description It consists of an iron frame that
  is formed by a double articulated parallelogram
  with brass joints, the main arms of which end
  with two identical brass spheres, and are
  supported by the two other arms, which are, in
  turn, bound to an anular slide running through
  the vertical rotation shaft. Function When the
  frame rotates, the centrifugal force lifts the
  spheres as well as the slide. The slide was
  originally connected, by means of a small rod, to
  a valve that automatically controlled the
  movement of the steam engine through the
  regulation of the inlet of steam into the
  boiler's cylinder.

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Descriptive text type features
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Point of view (1impressionistic 2 technical)
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Thematic text base

• A thematic text base is a text-initial linguistic
  unit which both structurally and semantically
  permits expansion into a text by sequences of
  coherent and completed linguistic units.
• Founded in 1988 as a small software start-up,
  Ovid was one of the first businesses to recognize
  the rapidly expanding capabilities of information
  technology. (narrative)
• Channel Islands travel guide
• Friendly communities, a rugged coastline and
  gentle, unspoiled scenery make the islands ideal
  for anyone who wants to get out there and
  explore on foot or by bike. (descriptive)

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Introduction

• Introductions are those semantic fillings of text
  units (i.e. sentences, paragraphs, sections,
  chapters, parts, books as opposed to syntactic
  units) which are conventionally or preferably
  chosen by encoders to initiate texts as thematic
  text base units.
• (W 149)

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Composition
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styles
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Further examples

• DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive theme park is a
  one-of-a-kind gaming experience in the Downtown
  Disney area. Discover 5 floors of cutting-edge
  technology, virtual reality and 3D encounters
  fueled by Disney innovation and imagination.
  (Disneyworld website)
• The bells are 10 in number, and hang at a
  distance of 290 feet above the street. The ascent
  of the tower is fraught with interest,
  particularly at night when the city lies quiet,
  like a sleeping animal, with only its twinkling
  lights and occasional rumble of a passing car to
  give evidence that the creature lives and is only
  sleeping. At night the monster court house is
  deserted except for a few officials and
  occasional visitors, and though the great arc
  lights in the marble corridors illume the long
  passages, there is seldom a footfall on the
  tesselated sic floor. (http//www.towerbellfound
  ation.org/bells1896.html)

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Tasks (in groups or pairs)

• Impressionistic description
• Write a description of
• the University building
• A Milan landmark
• Technical description
• Write a description of
• The multimedia machine in this room
• One of the vending machines in the hallway.