Cross-textual and intertextual connections as manifestation of dialogue between texts

Abstract

The paper discusses dialogue between texts. This metaphor nominates heterogeneous phenomena which differ in nature, functional potential and properties and which can be defined by a variety of their characteristics. The dialogue between texts can be described from various perspectives: thematic, nominative, cognitive, functional, or intentional. The same applies to markers of textual dialogue. The markers can be characterized from cognitive, interactional, verbal (including structural), and grammatical points of view. The paper discusses consequences of dialogue between texts within a culture. Two examples of textual dialogues are: hypertextual organization of modern computer-mediated communication; and new textual entities that exist in mass media discourse and denote one and the same media event in one or several cultures. The author differentiates cross-textual and intertextual relations: the former are interpreted as a wider concept in comparison to the latter. The paper lists criteria according to which various groups and subgroups of textual relations are identified. The author creates a typology of intra-textual, cross-textual and intertextual relations, which takes into account both content-related and formal parameters that are further differentiated according to the environment in which a particular kind of textual relations exists. The paper describes cognitive fundamentals for the recognition of the dialogue between texts and discusses reasons for spreading dialogue between texts.