Abstract
This chapter has a strongly theoretical focus and is divided into three sections. The first section tackles the relationship between discourse traditions (DTs)and the general question of language historicity; the second section is dedicated tothe definition and classification of DTs; and the final section addresses the notionof“universe of discourse”and its possible relationship with DTs or discursive tradi-tionality in general. As regards the first matter, a variety of proposals have beenmade to situate DTs within a coherent theory of language. Koch (1997) and Oester-reicher (1997) suggest a duplicated“ historical level” departing from Eugenio Coser-iu’s distinction between a universal, a historical, and an individual level of lan-guage (see Coseriu 1985). Other scholars (Lebsanft 2006) have criticized thisapproach: we will argue here that as early the 1950s Coseriu (s.a.) advocated for ahistoricity of the individual level (Kabatek 2018; 2021). The second section presentsthe similarities and differences of the various proposals and offers a classificationof DTs based on both form and content. Finally, the notion ofuniverse of discourseand its relationship to DTs will be addressed: a more general and more traditionalview on universes of discourse (Urban 1939; Coseriu 1955–1956) considers these asbundles of DTs, whereas an alternative, more recent view (Coseriu 2002) limits thenotion to only four universes based on the semiotic relationship between subjectsand objects.