This sequence aims to modify the reader's cognitive state by answering "Why?" or "How?". It typically follows a clear cognitive path: (The What ). Formulation of a problem (The Why or How ). The explanation (The Because ). The conclusion/evaluation . 4. The Argumentative Sequence (La Séquence Argumentative)
❌ – Critics (e.g., Bronckart, 1996) argue that dialogue is a genre (conversation, interview), not a text type. Adam’s later revisions merged “dialogal” into other categories.
┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ TEXTUAL SEQUENCES │ └──────────────┬───────────────┘ │ ┌───────────────┬───────┼───────┬───────────────┐ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ Narrative │ │Descriptive│ │Explanatory││Argumentate│ │ Dialogic │ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ 1. The Narrative Sequence (La Séquence Narrative) Jean Michel Adam Les Textes Types Et Prototypes.pdf
Traditional linguistics often relied on five primary textual types: narrative, descriptive, expository, argumentative, and injunctive. However, Adam identified a fatal flaw in this model: . No real-world text is purely one type.
It provided a precise vocabulary to map out the internal shifts within a single text. This sequence aims to modify the reader's cognitive
❌ – Most examples are literary or journalistic; less tested on administrative, digital, or multilingual corpora.
Jean-Michel Adam's Les Textes: Types et Prototypes (1992) introduced a foundational framework for discourse analysis, shifting focus from rigid text categorization to dynamic, heterogeneous "textual sequences". The work defines five foundational prototypes—narrative, descriptive, argumentative, explicative, and dialogal—which combine to form complex, real-world texts. For more details on the five prototypes, visit Cairn.info . The explanation (The Because )
Adam sought a based on prototypical sequences, not rigid categories. His major work, Les textes : types et prototypes (1st ed. 1992, later revised), became a reference in French-speaking universities for text analysis.
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
Adam, J. M. (2001). Linguistics and the analysis of texts. Journal of Linguistic Analysis, 27(1), 1-24.
Jean-Michel Adam’s Les Textes : types et prototypes is far more than a linguistics textbook; it is a powerful lens for viewing the fundamental structures of human communication. By moving from the uncertain classification of entire "text types" to the flexible and powerful analysis of "sequence prototypes," Adam provided an enduring toolkit that is both theoretically rigorous and practically applicable. For anyone seeking to understand how a collection of sentences becomes a meaningful story, a compelling argument, or a vivid description, Jean-Michel Adam's framework remains an essential starting point. Whether consulted as a physical book or as a digital file in a classroom, its insights continue to shape our understanding of the texts that surround us every day.