Inliterary theory, atext is any object that can be "read", whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block, or styles of clothing.[citation needed] It is a set ofsigns that is available to be reconstructed by a reader (or observer) if sufficientinterpretants are available.[citation needed] This set of signs is considered in terms of the informative message'scontent, rather than in terms of its physical form or the medium in which it is represented.[citation needed]
Within the field ofliterary criticism, "text" also refers to the original information content of a particular piece of writing; that is, the "text" of a work is that primal symbolic arrangement of letters as originally composed, apart from later alterations, deterioration, commentary, translations,paratext, etc. Therefore, when literary criticism is concerned with the determination of a "text", it is concerned with the distinguishing of the original information content from whatever has been added to or subtracted from that content as it appears in a given textual document (that is, a physical representation of text).
Since thehistory of writing predates the concept of the "text", most texts were not written with this concept in mind. Most written works fall within a narrow range of the types described bytext theory. The concept of "text" becomes relevant if and when a "coherent written message is completed and needs to be referred to independently of the circumstances in which it was created."[citation needed]
The wordtext has its origins inQuintilian'sInstitutio Oratoria, with the statement that "after you have chosen your words, they must be weaved together into a fine and delicate fabric", with the Latin for fabric beingtextum.
Relying on literary theory, the notion of text has been used to analyse contemporary work practices. For example, Christensen (2016)[1] rely on the concept of text for the analysis of work practice at a hospital.
^Christensen, L.R. (2016). On Intertext in Chemotherapy: an Ethnography of Text in Medical Practice. Computer Supported Cooperative Work: The Journal of Collaborative Computing and Work Practices. Volume 25, Issue 1, pp 1-38
Barry, Peter.Beginning Theory: an Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, 4th edn. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2017.ISBN0-7190-6268-3.
Groden, Michael, Martin Kreiswirth, & Imre Szeman, eds.The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism, 2nd edn. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.ISBN0-8018-4560-2.
Lodge, David and Nigel Wood, eds.Modern Criticism and Theory: a Reader, 3rd edn. Harlow: Pearson Longman, 2008.
Pearce, Roger (1977). Coulthard, Malcolm (ed.). "Literary Texts: The Application of Linguistic Theory to Literary Discourse".Discourse analysis monographs, University of Birmingham English Language Research (3). University of Birmingham.ISSN0307-1006.OL21613576M.
Patai, Daphne and Wilfrido H. Corral, eds.Theory's Empire: an Anthology of Dissent. NY: Columbia University Press, 2005.ISBN0-231-13417-7.
Rabaté, Jean-Michel.The Future of Theory. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.ISBN0-631-23013-0.
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