Theoretical approaches towards a classification of texts and empirical analyses of individual text types have been pursued more or less independently of each other. Without reference to a common theoretical framework, the results obtained when analysing individual texts cannot be compared – making it impossible to relate the individual text types to each other, and thus determine the scope of validity of the features which turn out to be characteristic of a group of texts. For this reason, an approach towards a pragmatic text typology is presented which can serve as a framework for the analysis of various LSP text types. In the last part of the paper some implications of this typology for translation studies and translation didactics are described.