Genre colony
A grouping of closely related genres "serving broadly similar communicative purposes, but not necessarily all the communicative purposes in cases where they serve more than one" (Bhatia, 2004, p. 59).
Reference:
Bhatia, V. K. (2004). Worlds of Written Discourse. London: Continuum.
Example:
In book publishing, "promotional discourse" is enacted through its genre colony: a "constellation of several closely related genres with an overlapping communicative purpose of promoting a product or service to a potential customer" (e.g., "advertisements, promotional letters, and book blurbs," Bhatia, 2004, p.60).
Contributed by:
Dylan Dryer
