LINGUIST List 21.3270 Fri Aug 13 2010 Qs: Narrative Structure of Business Documents Editor for this issue: Danielle St. Jean <daniellelinguistlist.org> We'd like to remind readers that the responses to queries are usually best posted to the individual asking the question. That individual is then strongly encouraged to post a summary to the list. This policy was instituted to help control the huge volume of mail on LINGUIST; so we would appreciate your cooperating with it whenever it seems appropriate. In addition to posting a summary, we'd like to remind people that it is usually a good idea to personally thank those individuals who have taken the trouble to respond to the query. To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm. Directory         1.    Bruce Nevin, Narrative Structure of Business Documents Message 1: Narrative Structure of Business Documents Date: 11-Aug-2010 From: Bruce Nevin <bruce.nevingmail.com> Subject: Narrative Structure of Business Documents E-mail this message to a friend In some variety of discourse analysis has anyone analyzed the structures of business narrative documents? I'm on the technical committee for the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA), an XML architecture standard under the aegis of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). DITA was initially based in the requirements of technical and user assistance documentation. I am on a subcommittee concerned with the broader range of 'business documents' indicated below. The class of business narrative documents includes for example: - Records - Policies and procedures - Product development & maintenance documentation (such as proposals & specifications) - Technical publications - Sales and marketing materials - Memoranda and correspondence - Newsletters and social media We have done a fair amount of content analysis toward developing a metamodel for this range of document types. As the linguist on the committee I've been asked to locate any pertinent research that may have been done in our field. I'm talking about structure at a fairly high level. I don't have access to a research library. Searches I've undertaken so far have confirmed my perception that the aspects of document structure that are of interest for this sort of XML tagging are at a rather different level from those aspects of narrative structure that are considered by the different flavors of discourse analysis. I would be delighted and grateful to have that proven wrong. Linguistic Field(s): Discourse Analysis Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue Page Updated: 13-Aug-2010       About LINGUIST    |   Contact Us       While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents.