DISCOURSE 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 down
B: 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 formal surface
- Concerned with sequencing of the structures (syntax and lexis) to
configuration of the concepts and
interacts with underlying semantic
relation of the textual world which
relations or underlying functional
underline and are realized by the
coherence to create textual unity (Bell)
surface text
 Classification of cohesive devices
Cohesion (C)

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

1.1. Reiteration 2.1. Reference 3.1. and 3.7 Result

1.2. Synonyms
2.2 . Substitution 3.2. Enumeration 3.8. Inference

1.3. Antonyms 2.3. Ellipsis 3.3. addition 3.9. Reformulation

Or Replacement

1.4. Association 3.4. Transition 3.10. Concession

3.5 Summation 3.11. Comparison

3.6. Apposition
 Coherence vs. Cohesion
Đỗ Hữu Châu (1996: 18)

Cohesion

Form Content

(Cohesive devices-
Trần Ngọc Thêm) Topical Logical

(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:
wheat

field grown crop 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:

Jen

Couple

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 cohesion
1. 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 cohesion
3. 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 cohesion
4. Transition: transitional markers in
English are: with reference to, with respect
to, with regard to….
 Logical cohesion
5. 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 cohesion
6. 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 cohesion
7. 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 cohesion
8. 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 cohesion
9. 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 cohesion
10. 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 cohesion
11. 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 cohesion
12. Comparison: Comparison markers are
mostly found in adjectives and adverbs,
including: more, as, less, least….