Lenguaii Modulo7 Coherence

Lengua Inglesa II Unit 7: Coherence and Cohesion 2008-2009

Mick O’Donnell VI-bis 302 [email protected] Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

1. Course Information

My Name: Mick O’Donnell Office: Modulo VI-bis 302 (near secretary) Email: [email protected] Webpage for course: http://www.wagsoft.com/L2/index.html

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0. In context of the “plan” 8-12 Dec 15-19 Dec 8-9 Jan 12-16 Jan 11-13 Feb 16-20 Feb

Grammar: Topic 6 Practical exercises Grammar: Topic 7 Practical exercises Grammar: topic 8 Practical exercises

COORDINATION and SUBORD topic 6 COHESION AND COHERENCE topic 7

23-27 Feb 2-6 March 9-13 March 16-20 March 23-27 March 30-3 April 14-17 April 20-24 April 27-30 April 4-8 May 11-15 May 18-22 May

Grammar in text Seminar on Grammar Project Grammar in text Grammar in text Seminar on Grammar Project Grammar in text Grammar in text Grammar in text Grammar in text Exam practice reading 9 Exam practice reading 10 Oral presentations. Exam

topic 8 +Introduction to grammar project

1. Cohesion 1. 1 Introduction "the use of explicit linguistic devices to signal relations between parts of texts."

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Grammatical devices: 1. Reference: I met a boy named John. He was nice.

2. Ellipsis: We saw a movie and [] had a meal.

3. Substitution: Do you like icecream. Yes, I do

4. Conjunction: He cheated on me. Consequently, I left him.

5. Lexical Cohesion I’ve met another boy. This boy is sincere.

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1. Cohesion 1. 1 Introduction

Showing how cohesion works 1. Reference: I met a boy. John was nice. (he)

2. Ellipsis: We saw a movie and we had a meal. (ellipsed)

3. Substitution: Do you like icecream. Yes, I like icecream (do)

4. Conjunction: He cheated on me. I left him. (Consequently)

5. Lexical Cohesion I’ve met another boy. This student is sincere. (boy)

1. Cohesion 1. 2 Referential Cohesion • A nominal reference can refer to either: •

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An entity referred to elsewhere in the text (endophoric reference): I like John. He is nice. An entity external to the text (exophoric reference): I like John.

• Cohesion includes only the first of these cases. • The chain of references to an entity tie the meanings together. • Thus the name ‘cohesion’.

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1. Cohesion 1. 2 Reference Two main types of referential cohesion: • Anaphoric reference: the writer refers back to something previously mentioned in the text. I met a boy named John. He was nice.

• Cataphoric reference: The writer introduces us to a participant as if known, then later introduces that participant: Here he comes, our award-winning host... it's John Doe!"

1. Cohesion 1. 2 Reference Three main forms of referential devices: •

Personal Pronouns: • • •

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Demonstratives: • • • •

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1st and 2nd person always exophoric 3rd person forms can be endo- or exophoric As Head: He As Determiner: His arm this/that, these/those, here/there, now/then As Head: I loved her. But that was not enough. As Determiner: I met a man. This man was kind. As Adjunct:I thought France was cheap. There I was wrong

Comparatives: another, similar, bigger, as big as, equally, etc. • •

Differ from personals and demonstratives in that they do not refer to the same entity, but to a constrasting one or set. E.g., Have another biscuit. (makes reference to the first biscuit)

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1. Cohesion 1. 3 Ellipsis

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Ellipsis: where part of the sentence is left out, in such a way that the reader knows what is left out, and thus makes a connection to the prior text (thus ‘cohesion’). Cases: 1.

Ellipsis of Noun: :

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Ellipsis of clause part: yes-no questions: Rather than answering a yes-no question with a whole clause, one provides just the Subject and finite, ellipsing the rest.

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Ellipsis of clause part: wh- questions: The answer can provide only the parts which are relavnt to the question.

Q: Give me some money! A: I dont have any -.

Q: Can you row? A: yes, I can.

Q: Who is coming? Q: Who is coming? Q: When is he coming

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[money]

[row]

A: John is [coming] A: John [is coming] A: [He is coming] Tomorrow.

Ellipsis of clauses: Rather than answering a yes-no question with a clause, one provides just ‘yes’ or ‘no: Q: Can you row?

A: Yes. [I can row]

1. Cohesion 1. 3 Ellipsis Other Examples A: I think you ought to tell me who you are, first. B: Why? [ought I to tell you who I am] A: They're at it again. B: Who are? [at it again] A: Does it hurt? B: [] Not any more.

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1. Cohesion 1. 4 Substitution

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Substitution: in many cases where words are ellipsed, a single word can be given to mark the missing words Cases: 1.

Substitution of Noun or noun phrase: Q: Give me your wallet! A: I don’t have one.

2.

Substitution of clause part: yes-no questions:.

3.

Substitution for whole clause

Q: Do you study English? A: yes, I do.

[study English]

A: You need to lose weight. B: I know, but I don’t like to be told so. [that I need...] A: Does your watch tell you what year it is? B: Of course not. [Of course my watch does not tell me what year it is]

1. Cohesion 1. 4 Lexical Cohesion Lexical Cohesion: the writer uses choices of lexical (open class) items to make the reader aware that she is referring again to an entity • Cases: 1. Repetition: I met a bear. The bear chased me.

2. Synonyms: I saw a raven. The bird was beautiful. They all cheered, and he loved the applause.

3. Part-whole: I got the bottle and took out the cork.

4. Antonyms: I fell asleep but was woken by a loud bang.

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2. Coherence •

Cohesion concerns how the parts of a text connect together.

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Coherence concerns whether a text makes sense as a set of ideas. A text is cohesive in regards to the language it is written in, and it is coherent to the individual reader or hearer. Coherent / incohesive:

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Mary's exam was about to start. The palms were sweaty.

Incoherent / cohesive: •

Mary's exam was about to start. Her friends had remembered her birthday.

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