DISCOURSE ANALYSISDISCOURSE ANALYSIS

COHESION IN ENGLISH

Supervisor: Dr. Nguyen Hoa

Group 10: Nguyen Thi Nguyet Anh – 17A

Hoang Thi Huyen – 17B Nguyen Thi Dan Que 17C Mai Thi Thu Trang – 17D

COHESION IN ENGLISH

CONTENT

I. What is cohesion?

II.Cohesion vs. coherence

III.Lexical cohesion

IV.Grammatical cohesion

V.Logical cohesion

I.What is cohesion?

• “Basically, cohesion refers to the formal relationship that causes texts to cohere or stick together. It is indicated by grammatical, logical and lexical relationships found among or between the sentences of a text” (Nguyễn Hoà, 2000)

I.What is cohesion?

• Halliday and Hasan (1976):

• “A text has texture and this is what distinguishes it from something that is not a text … the texture is provided by cohesive relation”. (quoted in Nguyen Hoa, 2000)

II.COHERENCE VS. COHESION

What is coherence?

• Nunan (1993): coherence is the extent to which discourse is perceived to hang together.

- Palmer (1983): “Coherence refers to the rhetorical devices, to ways of writing and speaking that bring about order and unity and emphasis”

Coherence vs. Cohesion

Example1: A: My car’s broken downB: There’s a garage down the road

Example 2: Yesterday I got up early. I had breakfast, brushed my teeth and washed my face. Then I went to the university and did morning exercises.

Coherence vs. Cohesion

- These two aspects of discourse are interrelated.

- Cohesion is seen as one of the ways of indicating coherence.

- Both ‘cohesion’ and ‘coherence’ have the function of binding the discourse/text together by creating sequences of meanings

Coherence vs. Cohesion

Coherence (Mạch lạc) Cohesion (Liên kết)

- Concerned with sequencing of the configuration of the concepts and relation of the textual world which underline and are realized by the surface text

- Concerned with formal surface structures (syntax and lexis) to interacts with underlying semantic relations or underlying functional coherence to create textual unity (Bell)

Classification of cohesive devicesCohesion (C)

1. Lexical C 2. Grammatical C 3. Logical C

1.1. Reiteration

1.2. Synonyms

1.3. Antonyms

1.4. Association

2.1. Reference

2.2. Substitution

2.3. Ellipsis

3.1. and 3.7 Result

3.2. Enumeration 3.8. Inference

3.3. addition 3.9. ReformulationOr Replacement

3.4. Transition 3.10. Concession

3.5 Summation 3.11. Comparison

3.6. Apposition

Coherence vs. CohesionĐỗ Hữu Châu (1996: 18)

Cohesion

Form Content

Topical Logical(Cohesive devices- Trần Ngọc Thêm)

(same referent) ( sequence of meaning suitable for common knowledge and subjective reality)

Them’s system (1985) Topical cohesion includes:

1. Topic maintaining devices– Reiteration– Synonyms/synonymic expressions– Substitution– Ellipsis

2. Topic developing devices.– Association– Antithesis

III.LEXICAL COHESION

LEXICAL COHESION

+ Definition “ Lexical cohesion refers to relationships in meaning between

lexical items in a text and, in particular, content words and the relationship between them”

(Brian Paltridge in “Discourse analysis: an introduction”)

“ Lexical cohesion is a cohesive device which creates unity in a text through the selection of vocabulary. Lexical items are connected to one another to create cohesive “ties” which hold the sentences together and make them appear as being about “the same thing”

( Dafna Yitzhaki in “Artificial lexical cohesion”)

 

LEXICAL COHESION

+ Kinds of lexical cohesion:- Repetition:

Refers to words that are repeated in a text. This includes words which are inflected for tense or number and words which are derived from particular items.

Example:

Algy met a bear. The bear was bulgy

* The lexical item which contributes to cohesion here is of course the word 'bear' (not Algy and bulgy!).

- Synonymy

Synonymy refers to words which are similar in meaning such as “blokes” and

“men” in the following example:

Example:

I’m just not one of those blokes that find approaching women easy. The book assumes all men are confident, or that if they really like a girl, they’ll overcome their shyness. The opposite is true.

( Cooper 2005 : S38)

* Both “blokes” and “men” are referring to the same concept but in different way

- Antonomy Antonomy describes opposite or contrasive meaning such as “women” and

“men” in the following example:

Example:

Ande Stern, 28, a builder says he’s worried the book will drive women towards dodgy men.

( Cooper 2005 : S38)

- Hyponomy

Hyponymy refers to classes of lexical items where the relationship between

them is one of them is one of “general-specific” or “in a class to member” type relationship.

Example:

field grown crop

wheat

corn

sorghum

- Meronymy Meronymy is where lexiical items are in a “whole to part” relationship with

each other such as the relationship between “Jen” and “Stuart” in relation to the item “couple” as the following example:

Couple

Jen

Stuart

- Collocation Collocation describes associations between vocabulary items which have

tendency to co-occur, such as combination of abjectives and nouns; verb and nouns such as “real” and “estate agent”; “love” and “book”; “waste” and “time” in the following example:

IV.GRAMMARTICAL COHESION

Grammatical Cohesion

• In linguistics, grammar refers to the logical and structural rules that govern the composition of sentences, phrases, and words in any given natural language

• Grammatical cohesion refers to the structural content• In Cohesion in English, M.A.K. Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan identify

five general categories of cohesive devices that create coherence in texts: reference, ellipsis, substitution, lexical cohesion, and conjunction.

Conjunction

• Conjunction sets up a relationship between two clauses. Ex: then, however, in fact, and consequently.

• Conjunctions can also be implicit and can be deduced by the interpretation of the text. The aim of conjunction is to create a logically articulated discourse.

• The most cohesive conjunctions are therefore and so, while the least cohesive one is and.

Types of Conjunction

• Coordinating conjunctions

• Correlative conjunctions

• Subordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions

• Here is a quick precis of some of the co-ordinating conjunctions in English:

• and: used to connect words, phrases, or clauses• but: indicates a contrast or exception• or: presents opinions, alternates, or substitutes

for ideas of equal importance• nor: presents an alternate negative idea

Correlative conjunctions

• Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together to coordinate two items. English examples include both…and, [n]either…[n]or, and not [only]…but [also], either... or, whether... or.

Subordinating conjunctions

• Subordinating conjunctions, also called subordinators, are conjunctions that introduce a dependent clause.

• The most common subordinating conjunctions in the English language include the following: after, although, as much as, as long as, as soon as, because, before, if, in order that, lest, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, wherever, whether, and while.

Referencing

• There are three referential devices that can create cohesion:• Anaphoric reference occurs when the writer refers back to someone or

something that has been previously identified, to avoid repetition.• Ex: "the taxi driver" with the pronoun "he" or "two girls" with "they". Another

example: formulas such as "as stated previously" or "the aforementioned".• Cataphoric reference is the opposite of anaphora: a reference forward as

opposed to backward in the discourse. Something is introduced in the abstract before it is identified. Ex: "Here he comes, our award-winning host... it's John Doe!"

• Exophoric reference is used to describe generics or abstracts without ever identifying them. e.g."everything". The prefix "exo" means "outside", and the persons or events referred to in this manner will never be identified by the writer.

Substitutions• A word is not omitted, as in ellipsis, but is substituted for another,

more general word. • For example, "Which ice-cream would you like?" - "I would like the

pink one" where "one" is used instead of repeating "ice-cream.“• Pronouns replace the noun. For example, 'Ice-cream' is a noun, and

its pronoun could be 'It'. 'I dropped the ice-cream because it was dirty'.

• Replacing the noun for a pronoun. "I dropped the green ice-cream. It was the only one I had'.( One should not mix up the two because they both serve different purposes: one to link back and one to replace)

Ellipsis

• Ellipsis is another cohesive device. It happens when, after a more specific mention, words are omitted when the phrase needs to be repeated.

• Ellipsis is the narrative device of omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the reader to fill in the narrative gaps.

• An ellipsis in narrative leaves out a portion of the story. This can be used to condense time, or as a stylistic method to allow the reader to fill in the missing portions of the narrative with their imagination.

Ellipsis

• Ellipsis is another cohesive device. It happens when, after a more specific mention, words are omitted when the phrase needs to be repeated.

• Ex: 1) A: Where are you going? B: To town. 2) The younger child was very outgoing, the

older much more reserved

Ellipsis

• Ellipsis is the narrative device of omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the reader to fill in the narrative gaps.

• A famous example of ellipsis in narrative is offered by Virginia Woolf's novel, To the Lighthouse. Between the first and second parts of the novel, many years pass and World War I is fought and won. The reader is left to infer the events that have taken place during the elapsed time by the changes evident in the characters in the novel.

V.LOGICAL COHESION

Logical cohesion Logical cohesion refers to the logical

relationships holding between the sentences, creating cohesion. Logical cohesion is clearly seen through logical cohesive devices functioning as sentence connectors. There are twelve types of logical cohesion.

Logical cohesion1. And: connects two sentences by way of

‘and’

e.g: It was a convention where there were few blacks and few beards. And that remains the Republican problem.

Logical cohesion• 2. Enumeration: Enumerators indicate a

listing of what is being said, such as: first, second….next, finally, to begin with, to start with, for one thing…for another; one final point…

Logical cohesion3. Addition: the addition relationship is often

expressed by two classes if additive conjunts: reinforcing conjuncts – also, too, furthermore, moreover, then, in addition, above all…and equative conjuncts- equally, likewise, similarly, in the same way…

Logical cohesion4. Transition: transitional markers in

English are: with reference to, with respect to, with regard to….

Logical cohesion5. Summation: is used as a cohesive

device to generalize and sum up what has been discussed or said earlier. Summative conjuncts such as: to sum up, all in all, in conclusion, in a nutshell...

Logical cohesion6. Apposition: apposition markers can be

used to refer back to the pevious sentences, such as: namely, in other words, for example, that is, that is to say…

Logical cohesion7. Result: result markers indicate the results

or consequences of what was mentioned or said in the preceding sentences. These indicators include: consequently, hence, so, thus, therefore, as a result….

Logical cohesion8. Inference: is from what is implicit in the

preceding sentence or sentences which can be indicated by such markers as: else, otherwise, then, in other words, in that case…

Logical cohesion9. Reformulation or replacement: these

markers introduce another way of saying the same thing by meaning of such conjuncts as: better, rather, in other words, or again…

Logical cohesion10. Contrast: can be introduced by the

conjunction but, or other antithetic conjuncts like: instead, then, on the contrary, in contrast, on the other hand….

Logical cohesion11. Concession: Concession markers

introduce the unexpected, surprising nature of what is being said in view of what was said before, such as: anyhow, anyway, besides, else, however, nevertheless, at any rate…..

Logical cohesion12. Comparison: Comparison markers are

mostly found in adjectives and adverbs, including: more, as, less, least….