Text-a stretch of verbal language of some considerable extent complete in itself, which forms a meaningful whole and serves to transmit information.
A text is a specific form of message serving not only to transmit information, but also to store it.
In semiotics the notion of the text is much wider: any message and any work of art are considered texts (a novel, a symphony without any words, a building Hampton Court Palace).
In linguistics the notion of the text is restricted to coherent verbal messages in any language. A whole text is the primary unit of speech and the primary unit of stylistic description. It may be regarded as one sign, one unit. It is neither a string of sentences nor a set of stylistic devices. The analysis of the meaning and structure of lower ranking units should be considered in relation to the whole text and to its other components (syntagmatically), and not only discussed as it is usually done, in relation to similar elements in other texts as a matter of choice (paradigmatically).
A text is treated as a system of relationships linguistically manifested, as a whole where every thing is determined by juxtapositions, equivalence, similarities and contrasts.
