Text World Theory [TWT]
Text World Theory is a theory in cognitive linguistics that explains and analyses how we create images in our minds when we read, listen to or watch texts.
Array Stylistics
Implied Reader
The implied reader is the person (or group of people) that we infer a text was made for. We base this inference on the text producer’s decisions about language, narration, characters, plot, structure, form, layout, mode, context, genre, etc.
External Deviation
External deviation is a kind of foregrounding where the text producer breaks conventions or “rules” that people accept for the type of text they’re writing. They do this to draw attention to specific parts of their writing.
Free Direct Speech [FDS]
Free direct speech is a type of speech presentation that indicates you are repeating the actual words of another person. You do this by surrounding the speech in punctuation (usually speech marks or inverted commas), but you do not use a reporting clause.
Narrator Interference
When a narrator quotes someone else’s words, they have some influence over how we interpret and react to the quoted words. We call this “narrator interference”.
Direct Speech [DS]
Direct speech is a type of speech presentation that indicates that you are repeating the actual words of another person. You do this by surrounding the speech in punctuation (usually quotation marks or inverted commas) and using a reporting clause (such as “she said”).
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is one of the six microlinguistic levels you study in English language. It is about how language is used in context.
Foregrounding
In English, foregrounding theory is when writers draw attention to parts of their text using language. It is a stylistic term connecting literature and linguistics.
Text
In literary theory, a text is anything that we can use to communicate information, messages, stories, ideas and feelings. It can be consumed, analysed, interpreted and understood by us and other people.
Text Receiver
The text receiver is the person (or people) who reads, watches or listens to the text. They rely on the cues and devices in the text to help them interpret it.