37.3461, Reviews: Text Talks: Sarah Brommer (ed.) (2025)

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Subject: 37.3461, Reviews: Text Talks: Sarah Brommer (ed.) (2025)

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Date: 21-Oct-2026
From: Dominique Dias [Dominique.Dias at univ-grenoble-alpes.fr]
Subject: Applied Linguistics, Text/Corpus Linguistics: Sarah Brommer (ed.) (2025)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/36-3844

Title: Text Talks
Subtitle: Gespräche über Text(e) und Textlinguistik
Series Title: Europäische Studien zur Textlinguistik
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG
           http://www.narr.de/
Book URL: https://www.narr.de/text-talks-1436-1/

Editor(s): Sarah Brommer

Reviewer: Dominique Dias

SUMMARY
Published as part of the European Studies in Text linguistics series,
“Text Talks” emerges from an academic initiative at the University of
Bremen in Germany. During the summer semester of 2022, the Department
of Language and Literary Studies, under the coordination of Sarah
Brommer, devoted an entire semester to the concept of Text. This
interdisciplinary program brought together a range of courses and
public events exploring textuality from linguistic, literary, and
communicative perspectives. One of the highlights were four public
“Text Talks”, each featuring a dialogue between two specialists
moderated by an expert. The present volume brings together the written
versions of three of these conversations, along with a revised written
adaptation of the first talk prepared by its participants. As such,
the book intends to offer an insight into contemporary debates on text
theory and practice within German linguistics.
The opening chapter, written by editor Sarah Brommer, serves as a
preface to the volume. Brommer retraces the origins of the project,
explaining that the dialogic texts collected here stem from the text
talks series held at the University of Bremen in 2022. By choosing the
format of public scholarly conversations, she sought to create a space
for genuine exchange within the academic community and to make these
discussions accessible beyond it. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s (1984)
notion of scientific discourse as a social arena in which voices
compete for recognition and visibility, Brommer frames the text talks
as an experiment in openness and reflexivity. Over four evenings,
specialists from different subfields of text linguistics engaged in
dialogue on key issues: the linguistic treatment of texts and their
relation to discourse, the interpretive and didactic potential of
textual ambiguity, the multimodality and readability of texts, and the
possible expansion of text linguistics toward a broader science of
text. This introductory chapter thus establishes the conceptual and
methodological foundations of the book, emphasizing dialogue as both a
research practice and a mode of knowledge dissemination.
Chapter 2, authored jointly by Nina Janich and Ingo H. Warnke, opens
the series of dialogues with a theoretical exploration of the object
of text linguistics. Unlike the subsequent chapters, this contribution
was newly written for the volume and conceived from the outset as a
written text rather than a transcript. The discussion revolves around
the relationship between text and discourse, and the methodological
implications of defining their boundaries. Warnke proposes two
complementary definitions: texts as finite utterance products,
socially and materially conventionalized, whose meaning and function
are infinitely recontextualized through reception; and discourses as
potentially infinite conditions of utterance, likewise socially and
materially conventionalized, whose meaning and function become finite
through textual realization. Janich challenges the idea that this
interdependence implies a theoretical primacy of discourse linguistics
over text linguistics. Instead, she advocates viewing both subfields
as mutually dependent and complementary. Warnke agrees that no
hierarchy exists in terms of heuristic or application, yet maintains
that discourse constitutes the theoretical condition of texts, a
conceptual precedence that does not necessarily translate into
empirical dominance. Janich, for her part, argues for a radically
pragmatic notion of text, foregrounding intentionality and
acceptability as primary criteria of textuality. The exchange thus
sets the tone for the volume’s broader inquiry into how text and
discourse interact as dynamic, co-constitutive dimensions of
linguistic meaning.
In the third chapter, Andrea Daase and Michael Dobstadt, moderated by
Anna Mattfeldt, explore the pedagogical potential of ambiguity in
texts within the context of teaching German as a second or foreign
language. Daase approaches language from a social and interactional
perspective, viewing it as a social practice, a co-constructed and
inherently complex phenomenon. For her, ambiguity does not merely mean
the coexistence of several meanings in a text but rather the emergence
of an expanded meaning, a surplus of sense generated through
interaction. Both Daase and Dobstadt argue that learners should be
exposed to this complexity instead of being confined to artificially
simplified forms of language. As they put it, excessive simplification
at lower proficiency levels risks creating a safe zone of reduced
complexity that hinders authentic linguistic engagement. Mattfeldt
raises a critical question: does maintaining ambiguity compromise
communicative cooperation? Daase responds by distinguishing between
pedagogical clarity and linguistic richness, suggesting that ambiguity
can coexist with cooperation when learners are guided to interpret it.
The discussion also touches on the concept of “Leichte Sprache” (Easy
Language), a simplified German variety designed for accessibility.
While Daase acknowledges its usefulness for specific audiences, she
warns against its uncritical adoption in multilingual or
language-learning contexts, where it may inadvertently limit
linguistic development. This chapter highlights the tension between
clarity and complexity, advocating for a didactic approach that
embraces the interpretive richness of real language use.
The fourth chapter, featuring Martin Nonhoff, Jürgen Spitzmüller, and
Ingo H. Warnke as moderator, takes up by deliberate allusion the title
of an article by Warnke (2002) that examined the relationship between
text linguistics and discourse linguistics. Here, the question is
extended to whether text linguistics might evolve into a broader
“Textwissenschaft” (science of text). The discussion probes the
disciplinary identity and future of text-oriented research. From his
interactional-sociolinguistic perspective, Spitzmüller emphasizes the
social role texts play in processes of contextualization and knowledge
formation. Texts, he argues, are not merely vehicles or media but
dynamic generators of knowledge within society. Nonhoff, approaching
the issue from political theory, privileges the concept of discourse
over text, viewing discourse as an open, continuous flow of meaning
production. He acknowledges, however, that social scientists have much
to learn from linguistics, particularly in matters of textual and
discursive analysis, while encouraging linguists to engage more deeply
with conceptual debates across the social sciences. Warnke steers the
conversation toward possible synergies: can text work encompass both
the structural and the social dimensions of meaning? Spitzmüller
responds by questioning the traditional micro-macro divide and by
invoking the notion of social scales (Carr & Lempert 2016) to describe
a continuum between large-scale formations and micro-level practices.
A question from the audience invites the speakers to clarify what
“Textwissenschaft” might offer beyond “Textlinguistik”. Nonhoff
remains skeptical, seeing little added value in rebranding a largely
German tradition under a new label, while Spitzmüller perceives
potential in the term’s interdisciplinary openness, without implying
the obsolescence of text linguistics. He concludes, saying that
innovation need not entail farewell: one can expand the field without
abandoning its foundations.
In the fifth chapter (and final dialogue), Heiko Hausendorf, Janina
Wildfeuer, moderated by John A. Bateman, turn their attention to the
future of text studies, asking what defines a text today and how this
definition might evolve. Wildfeuer begins by proposing a structural
view: a text is a logical sequence of statements organized within a
coherent structure that conveys one or more propositions and can be
followed by readers within that structure. Bateman immediately raises
the question of materiality, the physical or semiotic substance that
makes a text perceptible. Wildfeuer agrees that without materiality, a
text cannot be conceived at all. Hausendorf then introduces a crucial
distinction between things that are readable and things that are
merely viewable. His examples range from pandemic mask-mandate signs
to silent comics, which communicate through non-linguistic signs. For
Hausendorf, even such visual artifacts can count as texts, since their
readability depends on the spatial and situational context in which
they appear. Yet he also draws a line between texts and conversations:
spoken interaction relies on co-presence and mutual perception,
whereas textual communication operates through the alternative
condition of readability. Wildfeuer adopts a more inclusive stance,
noting that even in conversation we follow structures composed of
multiple semiotic cues (gesture, facial expression, intonation).
Hausendorf’s criterion of readability as an alternative to co-presence
thus encapsulates the group’s shared concern: how to conceptualize
texts as multimodal, spatially embedded, and socially situated
entities that bridge traditional linguistic notions and innovative
forms of communication.
The final chapter, written by Ulla Fix, differs from the preceding
dialogues in both form and purpose. At the editor’s request, Fix, one
of the most prominent figures in German text linguistics and emerita
professor at the University of Leipzig, offers a concluding commentary
that synthesizes and contextualizes the discussions presented
throughout the volume. Drawing on her long-standing expertise in the
history and theory of text linguistics, she situates the text talks
within the broader evolution of the discipline. Fix begins by noting
that the field’s range of interests and questions has steadily
expanded, making it increasingly difficult to define its core. To
understand the potential and trajectory of text linguistics, she
argues, one must first grasp what constitutes its essence. She then
provides a concise historical panorama, identifying five key
milestones that shaped the discipline’s foundations and programmatic
orientation in Germany: Peter Hartmann’s 1964 essay; the 1969
symposium on Theory and Empiricism in Linguistic research; the
founding of the journal Zeitschrift für germanistische Linguistik in
1973; the emergence of text-focused research at the Dresden College of
Education (Pädagogische Hochschule Dresden) in the late 1960s; and the
role of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR, where the pragmatic turn
in linguistics brought the phenomenon of text to the center of
inquiry. Through this historical lens, Fix underscores how text
linguistics has continually redefined itself in response to shifting
theoretical paradigms and institutional contexts. Her commentary
provides both a retrospective synthesis and a forward-looking
reflection on the enduring relevance of textual analysis within
contemporary linguistics.
EVALUATION
Text Talks is an unusual and intellectually daring contribution to the
European Studies in Text linguistics series. Its originality lies not
only in its content but in its very form: a collection of scholarly
dialogues rather than conventional essays. This conversational
structure may initially unsettle readers accustomed to linear
argumentation, yet it proves remarkably effective in capturing the
dynamic, plural nature of linguistic inquiry. The alternation of
voices, perspectives, and disciplinary backgrounds mirrors the
heterogeneity of the field itself, turning the book into a living
laboratory of ideas. In the epigraph to the first dialogue, the
engraving by Paul Klee (1903), “Zwei Männer, einander in höherer
Stellung vermutend, begegnen sich” (“Two men meet, each believing the
other to be of higher rank”), sets the tone with subtle irony. It
evokes the self-reflexive tension of academic exchange, between
hierarchy and equality, assertion and doubt. The image can be read as
a humorous metaphor for scholarly dialogue itself: two interlocutors
approaching one another with mutual respect and curiosity, aware that
understanding is always provisional and negotiated. By placing this
artwork at the threshold of the book, the editor seems to invite
readers to view the ensuing conversations not as confrontations of
authority but as encounters of minds seeking common ground.
The questions guiding the text talks (What is a text? What is text
linguistics?) are far from new. They have accompanied the discipline
since its inception and still form the opening lines of any
introductory course in text linguistics. At first glance, this
recurrence might suggest that the field is circling around the same
unresolved issues. Indeed, the debates echo those already initiated in
Fix et al. (2002), which interrogated the very need for a renewed
concept of text. Yet the persistence of these questions may be less a
symptom of stagnation than a sign of vitality. The text talks
demonstrate that text linguistics remains a living discipline, one
that continually revisits its foundations in light of new theoretical,
social and multimodal developments. As Ulla Fix concludes in her
closing commentary, participation in the four talks proved fruitful
precisely because it allowed for a re-examination of the field’s deep
roots, a panoramic view of its current state, and an outlook toward
future questions. Her synthesis reminds us that the core issues are
not exhausted but perpetually open to reinterpretation.
What at first appears as an unconventional object, a book composed of
dialogues rather than essays, ultimately reconnects with a venerable
scholarly tradition: that of the dialogue as a form of knowledge,
inherited from antiquity and revised in the learned journals of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe. One might wonder why
the editor chose to give this project a written form instead of opting
for a podcast, a medium seemingly more suited to oral exchange. The
result is a volume with a distinctly conversational tone, diverging
from the stylistic norms of academic writing. Yet the choice is
probably deliberate: it is an attempt to “make text” in order to talk
about text linguistics. The form itself becomes a statement, reminding
us that science, and linguistics in particular, is not dogmatic but
thrives on plurality, dialogue, and interaction. While Text Talks
reflects the strong German tradition of text linguistics research, one
might have wished for incursions into other scientific traditions, a
contrastive perspective, or engagement with issues of digital
textuality. These could well serve as inspiration for a second edition
of the Text Talks at the University of Bremen, an opportunity to
extend the conversation across languages, media, and scholarly
cultures.
REFERENCES
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1984. Homo academicus. Paris: Les Éditions de
minuit.
Carr, E. Summerson & Michael Lempert (eds.). 2016. Scale: Discourses
and dimensions of social life. Oakland: University of California
Press.
Fix, Ulla, Kirsten Adamzik, Gerd Antos & Michael Klemm (eds.). 2002.
Brauchen wir einen neuen Textbegriff? Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Hartmann, Peter. 1964. Text, Texte, Klassen von Texten. Bogawus, 2.
15-25.
Warnke, Ingo H. 2002. Adieu Text - bienvenue Diskurs? Über Sinn und
Zweck einer poststrukturalistischen Entgrenzung des Textbegriffs. In
Ulla Fix, Kirsten Adamzik, Gerd Antos & Michael Klemm (eds.), Brauchen
wir einen neuen Textbegriff? Antworten auf eine Preisfrage. 215-222.
Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Dominique Dias teaches Germanic Linguistics at Sorbonne University,
France. He is a member of the research group CELISO, which brings
together researchers specializing in the Germanic, English,
Scandinavian, and Slavic languages. His research interests lie in text
linguistics, text genres, metadiscourses and German media.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6799-5087


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