Analysing texts of any kind is a very useful method for the aim of describing language functions. When we speak of a text, we speak of "Any passage, spoken or written, of whatever length, that forms a unified whole."
The question that is put first is what is a text and what is not, what are the features that distinguish text from a collection of unrelated sentences. Halliday points out that every text has a texture. "A text derives this texture from the fact that it functions as a unity with respect to its environment." There are certain linguistic features that contribute to textual unity. Apart from other concepts this fact is described by the concept of cohesion. "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. Cohesion occurs where the interpretation of some element in the discourse is dependent on that of another."
Formulated in other words, cohesion implies semantic resources for linking a sentence with was has gone before. The aim of this paper is to give a survey of the textual phenomenon cohesion by describing it with the help of an article of a newspaper. By analysing this article the paper pays attention to the linguistic resources of cohesion which are reference, ellipsis and conjunction, to point out how the resources help to create text, to organize text and experience the interpersonal and the experiential coherence of the text.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Functional perspective of cohesion
2.1 Reference
2.2 Ellipsis
2.3 Conjunction
3. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the linguistic phenomenon of cohesion within the framework of functional grammar. It explores how specific cohesive devices, such as reference, ellipsis, and conjunction, contribute to the creation of meaningful, unified, and coherent texts by analyzing a contemporary newspaper article.
- Functional grammar approach to text analysis
- Cohesive relations and semantic unity
- Categorization of reference (exophoric vs. endophoric)
- Application of ellipsis and conjunction in discourse
Excerpt from the Book
2. Functional perspective of cohesion
As I mentioned above cohesion is described as a textual phenomenon whereas coherence is a mental one. In most cases cohesion and coherence are linked and linguistic resources of cohesion are used to express coherent meanings.4 The important difference between coherence and cohesion is the fact that coherence also works without cohesion but not the other way around. Therefore a speech or a text with a large amount of cohesive features must not necessarily be coherent. This fact can be explicitely shown in the following example:
Father was home. Home is here. Here is there. There was mother.
The last word of one sentence is the beginning of the next sentence. We are confronted with repetition, reference to the sentence before and thus a cohesive device. However these sentences together make no sense. It is just a series of sentences without meaning or aim. That is why „Cohesion does not concern what a text means, it concerns how the text is constructed as a semantic edifice.“ 5 Cohesion helps to create text and thus it is the text forming component of the linguistic system.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the linguistic interest in grammar and pragmatics, defining cohesion as a crucial semantic resource for creating unified texts.
2. Functional perspective of cohesion: Discusses the theoretical distinction between cohesion and coherence, while detailing the linguistic mechanisms used to build text structure.
2.1 Reference: Analyzes how items like proper names, pronouns, and definite articles create semantic links within a text, distinguishing between endophoric and exophoric reference.
2.2 Ellipsis: Explores the omission of linguistic elements and the use of substitution as a means to maintain continuity in discourse.
2.3 Conjunction: Examines how conjunctions function as semantic linkages that relate clauses and sentences through additive, adversative, causal, or temporal relations.
3. Conclusion: Synthesizes the analysis by emphasizing that cohesion is a text-centered notion that relies on the interaction between textual elements and the reader's world knowledge.
Keywords
Cohesion, Coherence, Functional Grammar, Reference, Ellipsis, Conjunction, Anaphoric, Cataphoric, Exophoric, Endophoric, Textuality, Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, Semantic Edifice, Textual Unity
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this linguistic study?
The study focuses on the concept of cohesion as a fundamental component of textuality, specifically analyzing how linguistic resources enable sentences to form a unified, meaningful whole.
What are the central themes discussed in the paper?
The central themes are the functional analysis of language, the distinction between cohesion and coherence, and the categorization of cohesive devices including reference, ellipsis, and conjunction.
What is the core research goal?
The goal is to provide a survey of cohesive phenomena by applying functional grammatical theory to a practical sample, specifically a newspaper article about a football player.
Which scientific method does the author employ?
The author employs a descriptive, analytical approach, utilizing functional grammar frameworks (drawing notably on Halliday, Hasan, and Thompson) to dissect a specific text extract.
What topics are covered in the main body of the work?
The main body investigates the types of reference (personal, demonstrative, comparative), the mechanics of ellipsis and substitution in dialogue and written text, and the functional role of various conjunction types.
Which keywords best describe this research?
Key terms include Cohesion, Coherence, Functional Grammar, Reference, Ellipsis, Conjunction, and Textual Unity.
How does the author define the difference between reference and ellipsis?
The author notes that while reference can operate over long stretches of text, ellipsis typically functions between adjacent clauses, requiring the reader to fill in gaps based on preceding information.
Why does the author analyze a news article as a primary case study?
The news article serves as a practical, communicative occurrence that illustrates how textual standards like cohesion are met to convey information to a reader who relies on world knowledge.
- Quote paper
- Mag. Medienwissenschaft Holger Koch (Author), 2001, A functional perspective of cohesion in English, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/17086
