DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

GRAMMATICAL COHESION
• It´s the surface marking of semantic links between clauses and
sentences in written discourse.
• There are grammatical conexions between individual clauses and
utterances. These links can be cassified under 3 broad types:
 Reference
 Ellipsis/substitution
 Conjunctions/ connectors
 REFERENCE

Reference items include:

• Pronouns: personal, objective, possessive adjectives.
• Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
• The article “The”
• And items like “SUCH A”
 TYPES OF REFERENCE
• ANAPHORIC: You look back in the text. For example: “Every year thousands of
people come from different backgrounds. They come from….” ( the pronoun
“they” refers back to thousands of people)
• CATAPHORIC: We have to read on to know what the word refers to. Example:
“They pressed round him in ragged fashion to take their money, Andy, Dave
and Phil.” ( we discover that “they” refer to names at the end of the
sentence, so we have to continue reading to know what the word “they”
refers to).
• EXOPHORIC: It refers to assumed, shared worlds outside the text.They are
not text- internal. Example: The government are to blame for unemployment.
Other phrases: THE POPE, THE QUEEN, THE ARMY, SPAIN, etc.
 ELLIPSIS
• It is the omission of an element in the sentence. There are 3 types:
• NOMINAL: it´s the omission of a noun headword, pronoun, subject. Example: “He
lives near the school and walks there everyday.” – and he walks there…..the
pronoun is not in the sentence, so it´s nominal ellipsis.
• VERBAL: it´s the omission of the verb or part of it. Example: “…. By the time
accommodation and food are bought, books are taken, trips taken home, and a
lot of social life lived……( the verb to be is ommitted in “trips are taken home, a
lot of social life is lived)
• CLAUSAL: it´s the omission of clausal elements, generally subject-pronoun
omissions, for example: hope so. Also whole stretches of clausal components.
Example: “He said he would take early retirement as soon as he could and he has.
(…he could take early retirement and he has taken early retirement )
 SUBSTITUTION
• We replace one element in the sentence with certain words.
• There are 3 types of substitution: NOMINAL, VERBAL AND CLAUSAL.
• The items commonly used for substitution in English are:
• ONE(S): I offered him a seat. He said he didn´t want one. (nominal
substitution)
• DO: Did Mary take that letter? She might have done ( verbal
substitution)
• SO/NOT: Do you need a lift? If so, wait for me; if not, I´ll see you there.
(clausal substitution)
• THE SAME: She chose the roast duck. I chose the same (nominal
substitution)
 CONJUNCTIONS
• A conjunction does not set off a search backward or forward for its
referent, but it does presuppose a textual sequence, and signals a
relationship between segments of the discourse.
CATEGORIES OF THESE WORDS ARE:
• CONTRAST: However, Nevetheless, But, Although, In spite of….etc.
• ADDITION: And, in addition, also, what´s more, etc
• CAUSAL: Because, since, etc
• CONSEQUENCE: So, as a consequence, etc