Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

The Relationship between Coherence & Cohesion Types of Coherence Types of Cohesion

Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

The Relationship between Coherence & Cohesion

Widdowson (1978) makes a distinction between cohesion and coherence. According to him, - Cohesion refers to how sentences and parts of sentences are combined by using overt lexico-grammatical signals to ensure

that there is propositional development in the discourse.

- Coherence has to do with the relationship between illocutionary acts (the intended meaning of the utterance by the speaker)

and their function.

Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

Halliday and Hasan (1976): -Cohesion refers to the linguistic devices by which the speaker

can signal the experiential (ideational) and interpersonal

coherence of the text, and is thus a textual phenomenon. - Coherence is in the mind of the writer and reader: it is a mental phenomenon and cannot be identified or quantified in the same way as cohesion.

Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

Types of Coherence
John (1986) distinguishes between two types of Coherence: -Text-based coherence and reader-based coherence. -Text-based coherence is seen as an internal feature of text: how sentences are linked (cohesion) or how propositions in the

text are related to each other (sticking to the points).

Text-based coherence has to meet the following conditions:

1. Unity of ideas (each idea is related to the main idea).

2. Organization of points (logical sequence of points). 3. Link and reference (cohesion).
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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

Reader based coherence does not reflect the internal

structure of the text but it is related to the meaningful aspect of writer-reader interaction via the text.

Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

Read the following and discuss them in terms of cohesion and coherence:
My father once bought a Lincoln. He did it by saving every

penny he could. That car would be worth a fortune today.

However, he sold it to help pay for my college education. Sometimes, I think Id rather have the Lincoln;

My father bought a Lincoln. The car driven by the police was

red. Red doesnt suit her. She wrote three letters. However, a
letter isnt as fast as an e-mail message and, you know, my mailing box is full of spam.
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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

Can coherence be achieved in the absence of Cohesion ?

Many Linguists like Widdowson, Brown, Yule and Cook hold the view that coherence can be achieved even in the absence of cohesion, as is the case in the following example: Speaker A: Thats the telephone. Speaker B: Im in the bath. Speaker A: O.K.

(Widdowson 1978:29)

Widdowson suggests that we are able to recognize this text as coherent by creating a context and then identifying the functions that each utterance fulfils within that context. Most native speakers would create a domestic situational context in which the following

functions are assigned to each utterance:

Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

Utterance A: Thats the telephone.

Function Request

B: Im in the bath.
A: Ok.

Excuse
Acceptance of excuse

Thus in creating a meaningful context and identifying the

functions of each utterance, coherence is established.

Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

Types of Cohesion
Halliday and Hassan (1976) categorized cohesion into two

cohesive devices: Lexical cohesion and Grammatical cohesion

1. Lexical cohesion: They are divided into reiteration and collocation
a. Reiteration: the occurrence of the lexical item for a second time

in a text.
i. Repetition of the same word.
- There was a horrible explosion in Boston last month. The explosion claimed the life of many people.
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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

ii. The use of synonymy or near-synonymy.

-The man reached the top of the mountain. The peak was covered

with snow.
iii. Superordinator . I bought a new Mercedes. The car cost a lot of money.

iv. General word. - Mosquitoes and flies are hated by all people. These creatures are harmful.

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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

b. Collocation: words that tend to occur together in a text.

-At night, people usually sleep. But, during the day they stay awake. - In the morning, Huda went to the library, There she read a book and a journal.

2. Grammatical cohesion: They are divided into reference,

substitution, ellipses and conjunction

a. Reference:

i. anaphoric & cataphoric Anaphoric reference is a backward pointing in a text.

Maher is married. He has got two kids. (personal pronoun) I visited Aden. There I met my old friend, Adnan.) (adverb of place)
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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

cataphoric reference is a foreward pointing in a text.

-The story goes like this. Ali attacked the thief but the thief stabbed him . I dont believe it. Nawals jewels have been stolen.

ii. Demonstrative reference

- The demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those)

I dont like tigers. These are wild animals.

- The Definite article (the)

Saeed bought a new car. The car attracts everyone.

- The adverbs (here, there, now, then)

Asma visited Jeddah last month. She met her father there.

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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

iii. Comparative reference

- The boy had a car accident yesterday. He broke his leg. The other
problem is that he got a fracture in his arm. Such problems mean that he would stay in hospital for several weeks. A different problem is that

he damaged his car. Something else happened to him. He broke the

lenses of his pair of glasses.

- A: Would you like this seat. B: No thanks, Id prefer the other one.

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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

b. Substitution: refers to the process of replacing one element by another

in the text. (one, ones, so, not, the same, do)

i. Nominal
-My car is very old. I should buy a new one. -The man bought a raincoat. His wife bought the same.

ii. Verbal
- A: Did you visit the zoo in Al-Baha? - A: Do women like gossiping? B: Yes, I did. B: Yes, they do

iii. Clausal
- A: Has the dean finished the meeting. - A: All the students got few marks in the test. B: Yes, I think so. B: I hope not.
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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

c. Ellipsis: refers to the process of replacing one element by nothing in the text.

i. Nominal
-- A: I bought two pens. B: Could you lend me one .. A: Yes, of course. -- A:The market is full of varieties of oranges. B: Lets buy some ..

ii. Verbal
- A: Will you go to the shop and buy
some biscuit? B: Hameed will ..
-- A: Were you reading Syntax

yesterday?
B: Yes,I was ..

iii. Clausal
- A: Why are many students absent today? B: I dont know why ..
-- A: Will you help me make tea?
B: Of course ..
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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

e. Conjunction: deals with the logical and semantic relation in the text.
(then, but, similarly, as a result, next, in addition, however, therefore)

i. Additive: indicates additional information in the text.

-The child broke a glass. He also damaged a plate. -Hana studied hard last month. Similarly, Sarah spent her time reading in the library.

ii. Adversative: shows a contrast between two portions of the text.

- I went for a walk with my friend Belal yesterday. When it began raining I took a taxi home. However, Belal preferred to walk in the rain. - Arwa worked very hard for the exam. Yet, she didnt pass.
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Discourse Analysis

Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

iii. Causal: shows cause and effect relation in the text.

- Two students were fighting in the class yesterday. As a result, they were

dismissed from the college.

- Last week it rained heavily in Baljurashi. Because of this, Classes were suspended.

iii. Temporal: shows a sequential time link or chronological order in the

text.
- In order to make a cup of tea, first fill a kettle with some water. Then, put it on fire till it boils. After that , add some sugar, tea and milk.

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