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COHESION :
Cohesion is the complex of meaning relations that exist within the text , and that define it as a text. It is: o Structural o Grammatical o Semantic o Lexical ➔ It is not the same as Coherence , but it works together with it to provide unity and continuity to the text. ➔ It involves connections within a sentence ( intra sential= between words or parts within the same sentence) and between sentences ( inter sential= between different sentences in the text) It is WHAT MAKES A TEXT A TEXT (a text is a text because it has cohesion) PASSAGE Once upon a time (fairytale) There is a chain you can hold to the protagonist (she was…, she went.., she saw…, she took.., she got…) Saw, Took, Got→ it might be the beginning of a fairytale. LITTLE GIRL → TEDDY BEAR they are connected because children have teddy bears, and children love teddy bears. HOME → repetitions, which are lexical repetitions AND → repetitions, which are grammatical repetitions SHE → they refer to the same thing This text has cohesion. This is a text, or at least the beginning of a text. PASSAGE 2 We have repetitions here too, at least the pronouns: IT, I …but they don’t refer to the same thing. But even if we suppose it is the same person speaking, there is no cohesion; there are missing connections, and they are just sentences. This passage is missing from the point of view of cohesion. PARADIGM AND SYNTAGM PARADIGM It comes from the Greek “paràdeigma”→ example Verb paradigms→ EX: be-was-been; eat-ate-eaten; see-saw-seen; This notion of paradigm applies to morphology. ◼ MORPHOLOGY is word grammar→that part of the grammar of a language that contains the rules for word- formation SYNTAGM It comes from the Greek “syntagma” → arrangement EX: noun/verb syntagm (aka noun/verb group). The syntax has the same root, and it is not a synonym of grammar. ◼ SYNTAX is the branch of grammar that studies “the principles and processes by which sentences are constructed in particular languages.” Paradigmatic and syntagmatic are typically represented as horizontal and vertical axes; SYNTAGMATIC= horizontally—PARADIGMATIC= vertically This arrangement is due to the fact that modern European languages are written in horizontal lines—and the paradigmatic on the vertical. In a text, we see the syntagmatic (the words actually used and their order), while paradigms are all the possible alternatives that could have been chosen instead.
- Word choice is paradigmatic.
- Word combination is syntagmatic.
- EX: I was in a meeting the other day. The fact that the text of the story “Portable Home” by Zuzanna Fiminska begins with “I” (and not with “Zuzanna”) is a paradigmatic choice. The fact that the narrator is in a “in a meeting” (not e.g. “at work”) is also a paradigmatic choice.
- The fact that “I” goes with the form of the verb to be “was” is a syntagmatic combination. The fact that “in a meeting” can be read as just one group (prepositional phrase) is also a syntagmatic combination. 1) Paradigmatic = what we choose to say 2) Syntagmatic = how elements must combine according to linguistic rules. THE NOUN GROUP In English, the clause may be divided into several types of groups:
- Noun / nominal group;
- Verb group;
- Prepositional group;
- Adverbial group; The terms GROUP and PHRASE may be used almost interchangeably, so a noun (aka “nominal”) group may also be described as a “ noun phrase ”, and the prepositional group is most often defined as a “ prepositional phrase. ” THE NOUN GROUP The noun group is a group that has a noun or pronoun as its centre (aka “ head ” or “ thing ”). In English, most modifiers of a noun occur before that noun→EX: A new colleague The most interesting premodifiers are adjectives (or nouns) that premodify a noun. These are divided into EVALUATIVE (Epithets) and NON-EVALUATIVE (Classifiers).
PREMODIFIERS IN ENGLISH (they come before the head/thing)
1 - DEICTIC = articles (the/a), demonstratives (these/this/those/that), possessives (my, your, his, her…), indefinite pronouns (some, any), distributive pronouns (everyone, anyone, someone…) 2 - NUMERATIVES = numbers (one, two, three…are adjectives ) and unspecified quantifiers (many, few, little, a little, a few…) 3 - EPITHET = can only be an adjective 4 - CLASSIFIERS = adjectives or nouns—they describe the type/class of noun 5 - HEAD/THING ➢ DEICTIC : tells us which thing/things are being referred to, and whether it is a specific thing or a non-specific thing; ➢ NUMERATIVES : how many things ➢ EPITHET : gives us descriptive qualities of the thing or things ➢ CLASSIFIER : tells us what type or class of thing ➢ THING/HEAD : the thing EPITHETS vs CLASSIFIERS
- Epithets are evaluative : they can only be ADJECTIVES
- Classifiers are not evaluative : they can be either ADJECTIVES or NOUNS Sometimes the distinction may not be immediate to make—EX: “I was born and raised in a strictly uniform environment” -
there is both an evaluation and a classification of the kind of environment.
POSTMODIFIERS IN ENGLISH (they come after the head/thing)
English has only one type of postmodifier→ QUALIFIER. The qualifier comes after the noun and adds specific information to it—they qualify the noun. It can be:
- A prepositional group : “a citizen of the world ”
- A restrictive relative clause : “the people I love /a country that didn’t do anything for her ”
THE STUDY OF THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE “ Conversation analysis (CA) studies everyday talk by closely observing real interactions. It sees language not just as words or sentences, but as social actions performed in interaction (such as requesting, agreeing, or refusing). What is most important is not only what is said, but the social meaning and function it has in context .” REGISTER Register is a variety of language used in a specific social situation. It explains why we speak or write differently in different contexts , for example, in academic writing, everyday conversation, or professional communication. Register depends on how language is used , not on the speaker as a person.
- Formality and informality are consequences of the register ( which itself depends on patterns of sociolinguistic variation), not what defines it. CLOSED REGISTER This is an extreme case, only understandable within highly specialized professional communities (ex: ATC, air traffic control) GENRE Genre is a group of texts or interactions that share the same communicative purpose. Because they have the same purpose, genres usually follow similar structures that people recognize easily. Examples of genres are letters , academic articles , interviews , or conversations. Genres help speakers and writers know how to organize a text. Following Bakhtin , genres are not fixed categories but flexible and historically shaped ways in which experience is modelled through language. STYLE Style refers to the way language is used to express personal or aesthetic choices. It is often linked to individual authors , historical periods , or ideas of “good writing”. Style is less about context and more about preference and creativity in language use. FORMALITY/INFORMALITY Formality and informality describe how distant or relaxed language sounds. They are effects of register, because different situations naturally lead to more formal or more informal language. SOCIOLINGUISTIC VARIATION: 4 - SYNCHRONIC →looking at language now , or at any specific and well-defined moment in time. 5 - DIACHRONIC →looking at language change over a certain period. Within synchronic:
- Diatopic = geographical
- Diastratic = social
- Diamesic = differences between spoken and written language.
- Diaphasic = differences depending on context or formality. TEXTURE Texture is a term that, in linguistics, defines: - The property of being a text —what distinguishes it from something that is not a text—the fact that it functions as a unity - The combination of semantic configurations of 2 different kinds: register and cohesion UNITY Unity is a fundamental feature of what makes a text a text —structural unity is not enough for a text to be a text, but there has to be unity of meaning too. **COHERENCE
- Coherence** is how a text makes sense as a whole. You can’t point to specific words or sentences that make it coherent—it comes from the overall meaning and how a reader or listener interprets it. - Coherence also depends on both the writer/speaker and the reader/listener understanding each other, sharing knowledge, and sometimes adjusting their perspective. In short: Coherence = the text making sense, created together by the text and the reader, and it can be stronger or weaker Cohesion and coherence are the same sides of the same coin.
1 - Cohesion → is always text-based ; you can identify it directly in the text. Is objective.
2 - Coherence → is not necessarily text-based , but it is a result of an interpretation. Is subjective
TYPES OF COHESIVE TIES:
1. Reference ( phoric reference is realized mostly through pronouns )
- Substitution
- Ellipsis
- Conjunction
- Lexical cohesion REFERENCE: Reference is the way language points to people or things. It can be situational ( EXOPHORIC ) or textual ( ENDOPHORIC ).
- Situational reference depends on the context outside the text — speaker , place or time (EX: would you like to join me for tea this afternoon?)
- Textual reference depends on information inside the text : - Personal reference— people (EX: Doris likes him very much) - Demonstrative reference— closeness or distance (EX: this is what I can’t understand) - Comparative reference— similarity or difference (EX: I detest such manners) Reference helps readers or listeners understand who or what is being talked about. PHORIC The term “ phoric ” comes from the Greek “férein”, which means “ to carry ” or “ to bear ”.
- EXOPHORIC —to carry outside the text (when the meaning of a word cannot be found in the text itself. To understand it, you must look outside the text)
- ENDOPHORIC —to carry inside the text (To understand the meaning, you must look somewhere else in the same text .) Within endophoric: - ANAPHORIC —to carry back (looking backward ) - CATAPHORIC —to carry forward (looking forward ) What is being carried is the object of the reference→the referent called “ antecedent ” in anaphora and “ postdecedent ” in cataphora. ANAPHORA Anaphora happens when a word refers back to something that was already mentioned —you read something, and later a word points back to it. EX: Doris likes John because he is kind. CATAPHORA Cataphora happens when a word refers to something that comes later in the text —you see a word first, but you don’t know what it refers to yet. You must keep reading forward to understand it. EX: When he arrived, John sat down. ➢ Anaphora → A = Already mentioned → look back ➢ Cataphora → C = Coming later → look forward
Within exophoric: **- DEIXIS
- HOMOPHORIC DEIXIS (situation-based)** Deixis comes from the Greek “deiknuti”, meaning “ to point ” or “ to show ”.
The APA manual of style recommends using the singular “they” when the gender of the antecedent isn’t known—EX: A person should enjoy their vacation. NEOLOGISTIC PRONOUNS A set of new pronouns was introduced deliberately by linguists and/or civic movements to bypass the problem of gender binarism.
LEXICAL COHESION The cohesive effect achieved by the selection of vocabulary —by “vocabulary” we mean LEXICAL words: nouns , verbs, adjectives, adverbs … GRAMMATICAL COHESION vs LEXICAL COHESION
- Grammatical words→ belonging to closed systems : EX pronouns —in GRAMMATICAL COHESION
- Lexical words→ belonging to open sets : EX nouns —in LEXICAL COHESION GRAMMATICAL COHESION - Reference - Substitution - Conjunction [EX: and, but, or, because…] - Ellipsis [→ omission of words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues ] LEXICAL COHESION - Collocation - Repetition - Synonymy and antonymy - Hyponymy and meronymy - Lexical scatter LEXICAL SCATTER Lexical scatter is the repetition of the same lexical root but belonging to different classes due to morphological differences→ EX: use (N), using (V), useless (ADJ) REITERATION AND COLLOCATION :
- REITERATION = is used to try to avoid repetition of words—by using semantic relationships like: - Synonymy and antonymy - Hyperonymy and meronymy
- COLLOCATION = is a natural combination of words that frequently appear together, creating expressions that sound good for native speakers—THEY APPEAR IN THE SAME SEMANTIC FIELD (ex: conversation, speak,
communicate …)→EX: traffic lights , to run a business , to give up …
SYNONYMY, ANTONYMY, HYPERONYMY and MERONYMY
- Synonymy = words with similar meaning→EX: “faith”, “belief”, “trust”
- Antonymy = words with opposite meaning→ EX: “she is weak ” – “she is strong ”
- Hyponymy = a word that is more specific than another word (the general term is called a hypernym )→EX: “ Apple ” is a hyponym of “ fruit ” (because an apple is a type of fruit)
- Meronymy = a word that refers to a part of something , instead of the whole→EX: “ Fingers ” is a meronym of “ hand ” (because fingers are part of the hand) GENERAL NOUNS These are nouns that can be used to refer generically to broad categories of entities , places or individuals →EX:
- Person, people, child, animal, creature - Thing, stuff, business, matter - Question, idea, argument - Place, building (any structure), city (any urban area), furniture General nouns are, by definition, hypernyms.
WORD FORMATION and MORPHOLOGY o Word formation processes are dealt with within morphology. o MORPHOLOGY = refers to the study of the internal structure of words , and the systematic relationship between word forms and their meanings.
o Morphology can be looked at from a paradigmatic and syntagmatic perspective. o Word formation is important for Cohesion —especially cases of reiteration (repetition) of the same root in a text CONVERSION Conversion is characterized by a change of grammatical class (which causes a change of in meaning). ➔ Verbs are converted into nouns — nouns are converted into verbs …without any formal change in the words themselves→ EX: Google (N) > google (V) , as in “let’s google it” COMPOUNDING Compounding forms units of two or more parts. These “ parts ” are other words in their base form : when joined together , they form a new unit of meaning → EX: hand+wash> handwash —machine-wash+safe> machine-wash safe The meaning of most compounds is NON-COMPOSITIONAL : we cannot predict the meaning of a compound by assuming a particular relationship between its parts→EX: while “ handwash ” means “ wash done by a person ”—“ handball ” does not mean “ ball carried by a person .” DERIVATION New words are formed/derived from pre-existing words through processes that change the appearance of the source word. Sometimes the process produces a change of the grammatical change. ➢ The most common derivational process is AFFIXATION →EX: follow (V)>follow er (N)—like (V)> un like (V) DERIVATION THROUGH AFFIXATION:
- Lexical scatter plays a key role in the derivational process - In affixation, an AFFIX is attached to the root to form another word (which may belong to the same grammatical class or not) - Affixes are usually morphemes that cannot stand alone TYPES OF AFFIXES Considering their position , in English, we can identify the following affixes: 1) PREFIXES : that precede the root→EX: un happy 2) SUFFIXES : that follow the root→ EX: happin ess Other languages also make use of other affixes—such as: infixes (inserted in the middle of a pre-existing form)
NOMINALIZATION Nominalization means turning an action (verbs) into a noun. Instead of saying what people do , we name the action as a thing. This often hides who is doing the action and replaces a whole clause. EX: Instead of “ If governments are transparent and cooperate , they can stop the virus “ say “ Transparency and cooperation are crucial.” THE ECO (encapsulation, condensation and objectification) SIDE OF NOMINALIZATION Nominalization can be used in 3 main ways: encapsulation, condensation, and objectification : 1 - ENCAPSULATION = means that a whole sentence or idea is later summarized with a noun. This noun refers back to what was already said and helps connect sentences. →EX: “I forgot my keys and missed the bus. This mistake made me late.” ( “This mistake” encapsulates the whole previous situation) 2 - CONDENSATION = means that a long clause is shortened into a noun phrase , making the message quicker and more economical. Often, the people doing the action are not mentioned → EX: “ Poor communication caused problems.” (instead of “People did not communicate well, so there were problems.”) 3 - OBJECTIFICATION = means that actions or qualities are treated like concrete objects. They seem like things you can use, move, or add→EX: “infuse transparency” (makes being transparent sound like a substance you can pour into something.)
COLLOCATION (added information) → EXCLUSIVITY and FREQUENCY
