Texthistoria – vad är det?

Summary, in English

The notion ‘textual history’ (Sw. texthistoria) has often been used in a narrow philological sense denoting the history of version of a single work. Today it is however, at least in the Nordic languages, used in other connections as well, not least within discourse analysis. The article shows that textual history theoretically could be understood as (1) the history of text(s) as language in use, whether concerning the text linguistic resources as such or a specific category of texts or – as often within philology – just one work in its different versions, (2) the external history of the production and use of text(s) as language in use (i. a. literacy), (3) the history of texts as part of the outer course of events (e. g. historical discourse analysis), and (4) the external history of text production and reception within this outer course of events (i. a. traditional history of literature). The notion is thus most diversified and not readily understandable if used in one more specific meaning. It is however suggested that perhaps the most expediant usage is that of type (3): ‘history of texts as external events’, though then in obvious contrast to that widespread philological one within type (1). Textual history would then also be something different than (a part of) language history, a research field of its own.

• Author: Bo Wendt
• Department/s: Swedish
• Publishing year: 2012
• Language: Swedish
• Pages: 53-66
• Publication/Series: Språk och stil
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 1 (tema Text)
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Institutionen för nordiska språk, Uppsala universitet
• Topic: Languages and Literature
• Keywords: text; textual history; text linguistics; language use; philology; literacy; discourse analysis
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1101-1165