texttyp

Texttyp is a term used across linguistics, education, and information systems to denote the classification or typology of texts. In many German-speaking contexts the term is written as Texttyp, and it is related to the English expression text type. The concept refers to categories that share a common purpose, structure, and stylistic features.

In education and prose analysis, Texttyp helps describe how a text is organized and what it aims to accomplish. Common categories include narrative, expository, descriptive, procedural, and argumentative (often including a subcategory for persuasive texts). Some frameworks add nuances or hybrids such as descriptive-expository or persuasive-narrative. The typology guides instruction, assessment, and writing prompts, and it can be used to align learning goals with specific text expectations.

In computational contexts, Texttyp is used as a labeling scheme in corpora and content-management systems. Automated classifiers may predict a text typ by features such as discourse markers, tense and modality, sentence length, cohesion devices, and heading structure. Recognizing texttyp supports tasks like information retrieval, targeted summarization, and educational feedback.

There is no single universal standard for Texttyp; practices vary by language, profession, and institution. The labels and boundaries between types can differ, and hybrid texts are common. Consequently, any use of Texttyp should specify the underlying framework or criteria being applied.

Examples include a journalistic news article as expository, a tutorial as procedural, a short story as narrative, or a product review as evaluative/persuasive.