The development of clause packaging in spoken and written texts

Abstract

Abstract The present paper considers the form and function of clause packages (CPs) in expository texts from a top-down, global point of view. A clause package is defined as a text unit that typically consists of several clauses linked by syntactic, thematic and/or discursive criteria, where each criterion supersedes and incorporates the next. One hundred and sixty expository texts (half of them spoken and half of them written) were analyzed. The texts were produced by schoolchildren aged 9–10, 12–13, and 16–17 years and by adult university graduates. Two qualitative characters of the clause packages were analyzed: (1) the existence of one or more global clause package(s), serving as the text topic and (2) signaling of the clause package function by discourse markers located at the opening of the clause package. Examination of the clause packages across the expository text sample from a top-down, global discourse point of view yielded important insights into developmental and cross-modality differences.