[1] This theory figuratively describes a piece of language (such as a text, a speech or conversation) as a "world" that the reader, hearer or interlocutor must "build" in their mind.
[2] Text world theory was first developed by Paul Werth in the 1980s,[1] and has subsequently been used as in education as a method for pupils to engage with literature.
[4][5] Werth claimed to have created an approach that accounted for all aspects of human communication, but his monograph Text Worlds: Representing Conceptual Space in Discourse was not completed by the time of his death in 1995.
While Werth's study was largely limited to short extracts, text world theory has been expanded and tested against many different discourse types, including personal ads, poetry, recipes and radio programmes.
An individual's discourse world influences how they interpret language due to their background knowledge, thoughts and feelings.
[2][8][1] Rather than being an "objective set of physical surroundings",[8] the context of a discourse world is a mental process carried out as part of a negotiation between discourse-world participants.
For instance, "Gavin stared at the crowd of revellers at the staff party..." plants the reader in one text world.
[1][8] This is to provide a visual way of understanding the different text worlds at play, as well as highlight the key elements of the schema the reader is being asked to call upon.
End of fortieth day without a catch Location: Gulf Stream On a boat Enactors: Old man (Santiago) → refusing to let boy join again The boy → helps Santiago with lines, other equipment Objects: skiff = empty scars = running down Santiago's face sea → reflecting the sun sail = furled, like a flag of defeat lines = coiled The diagram demonstrates how the first few paragraphs could trigger schemas around poverty, manual labour, conflict with nature, and loneliness.
It also models the "creative nature" inherent in the reading process as pupils construct their unique text worlds.
[2] In a classroom setting, discourse-worlds are complicated by the fact that there are multiple participants engaging with the discourse world, namely the other pupils and the educational staff.
[8] One of the solutions that Giovanelli gives to this issue is the importance of pictorial representations of texts as related to the work in education through semiotics by Charles Suhor.