Literary structuralism is gradually gaining broader interest in Germany. Following the reception of the works of Czech structuralists, questions regarding the history of the effects of literary texts and literary evolution have come into focus. Another research concept delves into the structure of the texts themselves. The framework for such investigations is provided by communication theory: art is understood as one of the communicative media, akin to a language with a specific organization. This approach brings art studies closer to the theory of the linguistic sign, as represented by contemporary linguistics. Thus, art studies and linguistics form subfields of a general semiotics.