Jean-Michel Adam’s Les Textes: Types et Prototypes (1992) proposes that texts are structured by smaller, relatively autonomous "sequences" (narrative, descriptive, argumentative, explanatory, and dialogic) rather than being purely defined by genre. The work establishes idealized "prototypes" for these sequences to help analyze the heterogeneous composition of real-world texts. Learn more about the text types at Cairn.info Types et prototypes textuels - Moodle@Units
This article explores Adam’s central thesis: that text is a "macro-act" of language, governed by a dominant pragmatic intention, yet composed of heterogeneous sequences. Jean Michel Adam Les Textes Types Et Prototypes.pdf
Les textes: types et prototypes (1992) by Jean-Michel Adam is a foundational text linguistics work that proposes a shift from rigid, all-encompassing text typologies to a flexible model based on five prototypical sequences: narrative, descriptive, argumentative, explanatory, and dialogic. Adam argues that texts are inherently heterogeneous, consisting of combinations of these sequences, rather than a single, pure type. For an overview of the text types and prototypes, see this summary on Cairn.info Jean-Michel Adam’s Les Textes: Types et Prototypes (1992)
Les Textes: Types et Prototypes (1992), Jean-Michel Adam proposes analyzing complex texts through five fundamental "prototypical sequences"—narrative, descriptive, argumentative, explanatory, and dialogic—rather than rigid categorization. This framework, often applied in French linguistics, emphasizes text heterogeneity, where texts approximate these prototypes rather than conforming to them perfectly. For an overview of this textual classification, see the summary on Moodle@Units Les textes: types et prototypes (1992) by Jean-Michel