What is a text?

≠ individual words
≠ sentences, or fragment of sentences

A multidimensional unit

the list of definitions could be very long...

 Example of texts
 ...
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!

How dreary – to be – Somebody!

How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
(E. Dickinson, 260)
I ham in love with you!
[Jenny] What are we having for dinner?
[Michael] Paul just pulled in
[Jenny] I was hoping that you'd make macaroni
and cheese
[Michael] Did you replace the light bulb in the
hall?
 Text types
 Informative
 Operative
 Expressive

Hybrid...
 register
Language used for a particular purpose in a
particular social setting

doctor: clavicle
we: collarbone

“I require your attendance to be punctual”

“I want you to come on time”
TEXT:

“[A term] used in linguistics to refer to any

passage- spoken or written, of whatever length,
that does form a unified whole […] A text is a
unit of language in use. It is not a grammatical
unit, like a clause or a sentence; and it is not
defined by its size […] A text is best regarded as
a SEMANTIC unit; a unit not of form but of
meaning.”
(Halliday and Hasan, 1976: 1-2)
“Texts are used as tools and, at the same time,
they reveal the tool-user. They communicate
something and about someone.”
(Neubert, 1992)
TEXT:

“A naturally occurring manifestation of language,

i.e. as a communicative language event in a
context. The surface text is the set of
expressions actually used; these expressions
make some knowledge explicit, while other
knowledge remains implicit, though still applied
during processing.”
(Beaugrande and Dressler, 1981: 63)
“[A] language that is functional. […]
Language that is doing some job in some
context, as opposed to isolated words or
sentences”

Halliday and Hasan (1985: 10)

both “a product and a process”
In its social-semantic perspective, text is an object
of social exchange of meanings

As such, it is embedded in a context of situation

The context of situation is the semio-socio-cultural

environment in which the text unfolds

text and context = intimately related

 Context of situation
 What = field of discourse
 What is happening? What is it the participants are
engaged in?
 Who = tenor of discourse
 Who is taking part to the discourse?
 How = mode of discourse
 How is the text organized? What role has the language?
 Context of culture
 The broader background...

“What is the rock band whose members are all

presidents?”
 A sentence is grammatical or ungrammatical
 A text is acceptable or non acceptable
what makes the text a unified meaningful whole
rather than a mere string of unrelated words and
sentences?

According to Beaugrande and Dressler

7 standards of textuality
Cohesion
Coherence
Intentionality
Acceptability
Informativity
Situationality
Intertextuality
 COHESION
"[...] concerns the ways in which the components
of the surface text, i.e. the actual words we hear
or see, are mutually connected within a
sequence.”

> TEXTUAL QUALITY: ties across sentences that

join them together
 COHERENCE

"[...] concerns the ways in which the components

of the textual world, i.e. the configuration of
concepts and relations which underlie the
surface text, are mutually accessible and
relevant"

> OVERALL CONSISTENCY: logical connections

 Poor COHESION
The hotel is famous. It is one of the most well-
known hotels in the country. The latest
international dancing competition was held at
the hotel. The hotel spent a lot of money to
advertise the event. The hotel wanted to gain
international reputation. But not many people
attended the event.
 Good COHESION
The latest international dancing competition was
held at the hotel, which is one of the most well-
known hotels in this region. The hotel spent a
lot of money on advertising the event since it
wanted to enhance its international reputation;
however, it failed to attract many people.
 Poor COHERENCE
The wind began to moan in hollow murmurs, as
the sun went down, carrying glad day
elsewhere; and a train of dull clouds coming up
against it, menaced thunder and lightning.
Large drops of rain soon began to fall and
Charles closed the umbrella.
 Good COHERENCE
The wind began to moan in hollow murmurs, as
the sun went down, carrying glad day
elsewhere; and a train of dull clouds coming up
against it, menaced thunder and lightning.
Large drops of rain soon began to fall and
Charles opened the umbrella.
 poor cohesion > poor coherence

 For me, the worst thing about waiting tables is the

uniform. All the waitresses had to wear this ugly brown
striped jumper. The shirts were polyester. Sometimes
someone you know comes in. Now I have a job in an
office.
 ELEMENTS OF COHESION
 Reference items
those that depend on 1) the context or on 2) antecedent or
following elements for interpretation

1) Endophoric reference:
a) I can see a bird. It is singing. > anaphoric
reference
b) When they arrived at the house, all the guests
were very tired. > cataphoric reference
2) Exophoric reference
(something in the context of situation)

Did you see that?

Deixis : refers to words and phrases that cannot
be fully understood without additional text or
context
 This, that : discourse deictics
 here, there : place deictics
 he, she : personal deictics
 Now, later : time deictics
 ELEMENTS OF COHESION
 Ellipsis and substitution

a) How did you enjoy the paintings? – A lot were

very good but not all
= A lot of the paintings were very good but not all the paintings

b) “Tell a story” - “I don't know one”

 ELEMENTS OF COHESION
 Conjunction:
 Through its use a logical-semantic relationship is
expressed between two sentences

 Additive: and, also, too, furthermore, additionally

 Adversative: yet, though, only, but, in fact, rather
 Causal: so, then, for, because, for this reason, as a
result, in this respect
 Temporal: then, next, after that, next day, until then,
at the same time, at this point
 ELEMENTS OF COHESION
 Lexical cohesion:
 Use of synonyms and collocations
 Repetitions of words

 He saw an old nurse. The woman looked at him for a

while then...
 For 15 years, Putin has been a faithful ally to the United
States. Today, no one in Washington still thinks of Mr.
Putin as a partner.
 "Every American, to the last man, lays claim to a 'sense of
humor’ yet he rejects humor as a contaminating element
wherever found. America is a nation of comics and
comedians; nevertheless humor has no stature and is
accepted only after the death of the perpetrator."
 For me, the worst thing about waiting tables was the
uniform. At the last place I worked, all the waitresses
had to wear an ugly brown striped jumper. Underneath
it we had to wear an even uglier polyester shirt.
Sometimes someone I knew would come in and I'd
feel embarrassed by my outfit. Now I have a job in an
office, where I can wear my own clothes.
 COHERENCE

"[...] concerns the ways in which the components

of the textual world, i.e. the configuration of
concepts and relations which underlie the
surface text, are mutually accessible and
relevant"

> OVERALL CONSISTENCY: logical connections

 COHESION
"[...] concerns the ways in which the components
of the surface text, i.e. the actual words we hear
or see, are mutually connected within a
sequence.”

> TEXTUAL QUALITY: ties across sentences that

join them together
 Elements of cohesion:
- Reference: deixis (< Ancient Greek: deiktikos,
‘pointing’)
personal: I want the dog you found in the alley
spatial: I want the dog over there
temporal: I want the dog now
discourse: do you understand this?
Endophoric reference
Anaphoric reference: My dog’s name is Cate.
She’s very sweet.

Cataphoric reference: This is how to get the best

results. You let the berries dry in the sun, till all
the moisture has gone out of them, then…

Exophoric reference: Did the gardener water

those plants?
 Elements of cohesion:
- Ellipsis :
Would you like to go to school? Yes, I would.
Who saw the tooth fairy? Bob

- Substitution :
What kind of cupcake would you like? A
chocolate one, please.
I didn’t like the film, but everyone else did (=liked the film)
 Elements of cohesion:
- Conjunctions : logical connectors
Smith probably committed the crime. He had a guilty look
on his face. Moreover, the police found a gun under
his bed.
Smith probably committed the crime. He had a guilty look
on his face. Yet, the police could not find the gun.
People think tomatoes are vegetables, but, in fact, they
are fruits.
 IN FACT ≠ infatti
Lo studente fu espulso. Questo è particolarmente
interessante, infatti il MIT non ha un codice d’onore.
The student was expelled. And this is particularly interesting,
because MIT doesn't have an honor code.
Ecco perché ho sollevato la questione, infatti il tema non
compariva in agenda. Questo lo trovavo ingiusto.
That is why I raised the question, as the matter has not
appeared on the agenda. I thought this was unfair.
Sì, la vacanza è stata favolosa. In effetti è stata la migliore
che abbiamo mai fatto.
Yes, the holiday was terrific. In fact, it was the best we’ve
ever had.
 AS – SINCE : causal
When the reason is well-known or of less
importance than the rest of the sentence

He died because of cancer.

Since his cancer had left him immunocompromised,
he died
I’m leaving because I’m fed up!
As women were not supposed to be novelists, she
took the name George Eliot.
 Elements of cohesion
- Lexical cohesion
 Repetitions of words
 Use of synonyms and collocations

There are few activities better than swimming. Swimmers

exercise every part of the body.

One of the most admired qualities in a person is honesty.

But being truthful in all situations can lead to unexpected
problems.
The concept of cohesion is a semantic one; it
refers to relations of meaning that exist within
the text, and that define it as a text.

«it takes two to tango!»

We always need a pair of items to talk about
cohesion. The relation between the two items is
called a tie.
A text is any passage, spoken or written, of
whatever length, that does a unified whole.
Not the sum of sentences, but a unit of language
in use.
Or: a semantic unit, a unit not of form but of
meaning.
Cohesion is the set of possibilities that exist for
making the text hang together
Cohesion is a semantic relation

Cohesion occurs when some element in the

discourse presupposes another or prospects
another (in the immediate environment)

Cohesion is expressed partly through the

grammar and partly through the vocabulary
The first years of Henry’s reign were given over to
sports and gaiety, though there was little of the
licentiousness which characterized the French
Court. The athletic contests were very popular.
Masques, jousts and spectacles followed one
another endlessly. He brought to Greenwich a
tremendously vital court life.
The first years of Henry’s reign were given over to sports
and gaiety, thought there was little of the licentiousness
which characterized the French Court. The athletic
contests were very popular. Masques, jousts and
spectacles followed one another endlessly.
With their huge retinues of staff and servants, medieval
monarchs demanded a series of houses to take care of
their needs. Their requirements were very large. They
were responsible for a large numbers of followers and
visitors had to be entertained with style. The clerk, the
priest and other middlemen with regular business at court
were also considered courtiers. He brought to Greenwich
a tremendously vital life.
 Encapsulation - Prospection
- Each new sentence encapsulates the previous
one with an act of reference (one of the
elements of cohesion)

- A sentence can make a prospection about the

next sentence, establishing a need for the next
sentence to fulfil the prospection
 Encapsulation - Prospection
They explain how texts can be organized and how
their dynamism may be created and fuelled

Encapsulation is a process by which an element in

the text refers back to another element in the text
(not only a noun, for ex., but a whole idea)

Prospection occurs where the phrasing of a

sentence leaves the reader to expect something
specific in the next sentence; the act of
prospection means that the interactive force of a
sentence extends to the next.