Genrers rörlighet : Genredefinitionens dilemma sett i ett semantiskt perspektiv

The logic of the two principal ways of defining a genre - the classificatory and the historical is described. The problems concerning the classificatory definitions are analyzed. The distinction natural language and meta-language is evoked,and the fact that natural languages is defying this distinction,always mixing the levels,the classificatory genres do not. The historical genres belong to the natural language, and this actualizes what kind of theory of semantic to be used when defining genres. The realistic (res - verba etc) and the pragmatic semantic are described,and the logic of pragmatic semantic offers a solution for the problem of defining the historical genres, which are moving entities, not classes in a logical sense. The rules governing the uses of a term in a defined space and a defined time is the goal of a definition. This can result in a certain vagueness of definition, but the gain is the acquiescence of great hermeneutical value, since the historical genre, exists both inside and outside the text, thus not only incorporating textual meaning, but also cultural, social or ideological meaning.