A macrostructure is a large structure that contains other smaller structures.
A large structure that encompasses or contains other smaller structures is called a macrostructure . The term has various uses depending on the context.
For example: “In the macrostructure of the State we can find numerous offices and areas that lack relevance for society and, however, have a large budget” , “The government devised a new macrostructure to face the effects of the pandemic” , “The international organization that regulates this activity is a macrostructure that encompasses multiple associations from more than a hundred countries.”
Textual macrostructure
The notion of textual macrostructure , on the other hand, refers to the semantic content that constitutes the meaning of a text. This is the global theme , formed by the fundamental core of information that turns speech into a communicative unit.
The Dutch linguist Teun Adrianus van Dijk , known as TA van Dijk , is noted as being responsible for coining this use of the term. For this specialist, a text presents a macrostructure (which is the semantic structure of the text as a whole) and a superstructure (the way information is organized). The macrostructure of a novel, for example, may be a romantic link, while the superstructure is made up of the introduction, middle and end of the story .
This textual macrostructure, in short, is given by the hierarchical and coherent structuring of the ideas that allow us to communicate or tell something precisely. The macrostructure can be associated with the essential harmony that must exist between the multiple elements that make up the text.
The linguist TA van Dijk postulated the concept of textual macrostructure.
Some considerations
When studying the textual macrostructure we can notice a certain ambiguity in its definition, since it can be about the global level of a written work, the way in which it should lead to the understanding of all its parts , but also to the events that take place in it. its subparts.
As mentioned above, the macrostructure is subordinated to a larger one, the superstructure, which gives us the possibility of ordering its content schematically. In addition, it allows us to improve the way in which we express the text thanks to a look from a certain distance to analyze the logical relationship and the degree of cohesion that exists between the various macrostructures.
Macrostructure and superstructure
One of the points that macrostructure and superstructure have in common is that they respond to the general ideas of the small facts of the statements , instead of being subordinated to them directly. This means that the whole is more complex than the mere sum of each part. According to Teun van Dijk's theory, the reason for this is that most people pay more attention to the consequences of events than to their data. A clear example occurs in the field of sports: most people focus on the results of the matches rather than the performance of the players.
Depending on the point of view, it is possible to say that macrostructure is relatively microstructural, however contradictory it may seem. For example, this occurs when a paragraph that is part of an argument is related to a larger structure but, at the same time, is subordinate to a superstructure. That is, if you extreme it, it can become a macrostructure, although in its context it is a microstructure .
Another feature of the macrostructure is that it helps prioritize ideas according to their importance, depending on the message they intend to express. In other words, it is necessary for the clear perception of global ideas since it allows us to effectively organize the content so that the topics are presented in a coherent and orderly manner.