Phrase, séquence, période
Sentence and other text units

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the problem of text units and gives a complete analysis of a French oral text on purely syntactic grounds, as an example. It claims that, contrary to a common opinion, the level of sentence ('phrase') is to be maintained, on 2 conditions : 1) a distinction must be made between core ('noyau') and periphery ('affixes : prefixes, infixes, suffixes'); 2) the sentence is to be viewed not as a static but as a dynamic unit. In the communication process, both the utterer and the listener strive to build up sentences, successfully or not, and to reorganize them immediately into larger units ('périodes') whose nature is greatly similar. As a result, the transcription of a spontaneous oral text cannot be entirely liable to a static analysis. The given analysis of the sample text tries to make room for the required dynamic dimension.

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