Universität Bayreuth
PS Written and Spoken English
Sommersemester 2006

Overview of Cohesive Relations in Modern English

by: Christine Mayers

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. Cohesion and cohesive relations  3

2.1. Overview of cohesive relations 4

2.1.1. Reference  4
2.1.2 Substitution 6
2.1.3. Ellipsis  7
2.1.4. Conjunction 8
2.1.5. Lexical cohesion  9

3. Conclusion 10

Works cited 10

1. Introduction

Normally, speakers of English who are to read an English text passage that is more than on sentence long, are normally able to identify without difficulties whether the passage forms a unified entity or whether it reflects just a mere collection of unrelated sentences. Thus, there must be certain features which are characteristic of texts which can be identified contributors to the unity of the text and which are not found otherwise. A text- and this is what distinguishes it from something that is not a text – is a semantic unit of written or spoken language which consists of a number of sentences showing coherence and cohesion. Coherence is an extra-linguistic factor which refers to the property of a text as a meaningful entity, for both, the writer and the reader and the consistency of subject matter. Cohesion is a linguistic factor which includes grammatical and semantic devices by which sentences are connected to form texts. Thus, coherence and cohesion can be considered the resources that English has for creating texture.
For creating cohesion, there are a number so called cohesive devices: reference, substitution, conjunction, ellipsis. “Some forms of cohesion are realized through the grammar and others through the vocabulary.” (Halliday 1976: 6). Lexical cohesion is the term referring to realization through vocabulary. This essay will give an overview of the cohesive relations Modern English has in order to form texture. It will provide more detailed information on cohesion and introduce as well as elaborate on the cohesive devices known in English. The final conclusion will summarize the major points.

2. Cohesion and cohesive relations

Cohesion is a concept of semantic relation and realized through a lexicogrammatical system, i. e. partly through grammar and partly through vocabulary. According to Halliday “cohesion occurs where the interpretation of some elements in the discourse is dependent on that of another. The one presupposes the other, in the sense that it cannot be effectively decoded except by recourse to it”. He also states that, when this is so, cohesive relations are set up and the presupposing as well as the presupposed element are thereby “at least potentially integrated into a text”. The following sentence exemplifies a cohesive relation: Chop and cut four pears into small pieces. Put them into a fireproof jar.
Cohesive relations can be categorized in endophora and exophora. Before analyzing the example above, these terms will be explained. Endophoric devices create texture, thus, they refer to textual context and include the anaphoric function which points to something that has already been mentioned and the cataphoric function which points forward to something that has not been mentioned. Exophora, or exophoric devices refer to the immediate context of a discourse situation, to something which is not presented in the text but only in the situation the text describes. Examples would be statements such as come here or look at that. Looking at our example, it can easily be figured that them in the second sentence refers back to what has already been mentioned before - the four pears. The anaphoric function of them creates cohesion for the two sentences that can therefore be interpreted as a whole constituting a text. There is cohesive relation between them and four pears, however, cohesion is not only achieved by the presence of the referring item, but also by the presence of the item that it refers to. A term for one occurrence of a pair of cohesively related items, as it is the case in the example, is called a tie. We can assume that the relation between ‘them’ and ‘four pears’ constitutes a tie. Since there is just one tie in the example, it is termed ‘reference’. The sentences Chop and cut four pears. Put the pears into a fireproof jar contain not only one, but two ties. One of them is again reference with anaphoric relation of the and four pears. The other tie is referred to as ‘repetition’ of the word pears.
‘Reference’ and ‘repetition’ are only two of five cohesive ties or cohesive devices. In the following overview, all of them will be introduced in detail.

2.1. Overview of cohesive relations

2.1.1. Reference

[...]