On defining the role of inference in the system of text categories

The requirement of the internal structure of the text is to reveal its meaning by correct interpretation. Identifying categories that contribute to text understanding is considered to be one of the relevant objectives of modern linguistics. In this regard inference is treated as an essential component of text coherence as it allows the retrieval of relevant information that is not represented in the surface structure of the text but can be inferred by its recipient through the elements of the semantic structure by means of specific mechanisms. Thus, inference is part of the text as an implicit aspect of its meaning. Text as a complex unity overlaps with the inter- and extra-textual links that provide for the influence of inference according to its properties to connect text elements with the context, specific situation and relevant background knowledge and also helps to bridge the gap between what is given in the text and what is meant. On this basis inference is subdivided into two broad classes: text-connecting and gap-filling. Integrating text properties into a whole, inference as a process and as a result involves the interaction of textual categories.