ASPECTS OF APPLYING PROTOTYPOLOGY TO TEXT TYPES

The notion of text type emerged as far back as Aristotelian times but it is still surroundedby considerable conceptual confusion. Due to the existence of multiple – and conflicting –viewpoints on the notion, the related term of text type is also characterized by multipleinterpretations. Seeking to propose a means of overcoming the ambiguity surroundingtext type, the present paper argues a case for the overt application of prototype theory tothe notion and term. In accordance with basic postulates of prototypology, the suggestionsput forward here are supported by results from a study involving actual users of the notionof text type. The study includes 28 linguists working in the field of text linguistics anddiscourse analysis. The general method adopted is cognitive as it coheres with (and evencan be argued to derive historically from) prototypology