Lez. 11/09
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What is a “text”?
According to the definition of Beaugrande and Dressler, a text [is] defined as a
communicative occurrence which meets seven standards of textuality. If any of these
standards is not considered to have been satisfied, the text will not be communicative.
Hence, non-communicative texts are treated as non-texts.
A text has to be communicative, so it has to convey a message: it’s a unit above the
sentence, so a unitary message.
For example, a road sign like “STOP” can be considered a text because it is a
communicative unit, that is, because it conveys a unitary message suggesting that you
must stop your car.
Principles o textuality (de Beau rande and Dressler 1981)
A text has to satisfy seven standards of textuality called constitutive principles (Searle
1969)
1. Cohesion
2. Coherence
3. Intentionality
4. Acceptability
5. Informativity
6. Situationality
7. Intertextuality
There are also three regulative principles (Searle 1969) that control textual communication
rather than define it:
1. Efficiency
2. Effectiveness
3. Appropriateness
1. Cohesion: rammatical
Cohesion concerns the ways in which the components of the surface text, so the actual
words we hear or see, are mutually connected within a sequence (see also Halliday and
Hasan 1976).
The surface components depend upon each other according to grammatical forms and
conventions, such that cohesion rests upon grammatical dependencies.
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn’t know
what to do. → grammatical dependencies: old woman > who > she > she → (relative /
grammatical pronouns make this text cohesive)
1. Cohesion: phonolo ical
Phonological cohesion is the repetition of the same sounds by means of alliteration,
assonance, consonance and rhyme.
Forever. Faster. → phonological cohesion (alliteration): forever > faster
Fishy fishy in the brook
Daddy caught him on a hook
Mommy fried him in a pan
And Baby ate him like a man → phonological cohesion (rhyme): brook > hook; pan > man
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1. Cohesion: morphological
Morphological cohesion is the repetition of the same bound morphs (ex. affixes) or free
morphs (ex. free-standing words).
Fishy fishy in the brook
Daddy caught him on a hook
Mommy fried him in a pan
And Baby ate him like a man → bound and free morphs: fishy > daddy > mommy > baby;
him > him > him
1. Cohesion: lexical
Lexical cohesion is the repetition of the same elements (total or partial).
Run like you’ve never run before → recurrence (repetition of the same element): run > run
1. Cohesion: syntactic
Syntactic cohesion is the repetition of the same patterns.
Look better, feel better, live better → parallelism (repetition of the same structure): V + better
> look better > feel better > live better
Exercise: Which type of cohesion can you find in the following texts?
● Morphological cohesion (repetition of the same
affixes):
- un-...> un-...> un-...
- -able… > -able… > -able…
● Morphological cohesion (repetition of the same
affix):
- More …> -er… > -er…
● Syntactic cohesion (repetition of the same
pattern):
- relax… > sleep … > dream..
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●
Phonological cohesion (rhyme):
- rye > pie;
- sing > king;
- money > honey;
- clothes > nose
●
Lexical cohesion (repetition of the same word):
- pie > pie;
- king < king;
- counting > counting;
- birds > black bird(s)
●
Syntactic cohesion (parallelism):
- The king was in … + V-ing
- The queen was in … + V-ing
- The maid was … + V-ing
2. Coherence
Coherence concerns the way in which the components of the textual world, so the
configuration of concepts and relations which underlie the surface text, are mutually
accessible and relevant.
-
A concept is a figuration of knowledge which can be recovered or activated in the
mind.
Relations are the links between concepts which appear together in a textual world.
Jack fell down… and broke his leg → the event of falling down is the cause of the event
breaking the leg.
Cohesion VS coherence
Coherence (continuity of sense) is more important than cohesion (continuity of
occurrences9 to determine textuality: a text has to be coherent, it has to be meaningful; and
that's more important than to be cohesion because it’s not essential.
● Grammatical cohesion: hid, cooked,
rose, liked, wanted, snow boarded, swam,
flew
● Morphological
glad-ly, mad-ly
cohesion:
sad-ly,
It’s not a test because there isn’t any
coherence so it isn’t a communicative unit.
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Cohesion and Coherence VS Intentionality and Acceptability
●
●
Cohesion and coherence are text-centred notions, designating operations
directed at the text materials.
Intentionality and acceptability are user-centred notion, involving text users
(producers and receivers)
3. Intentionality
Intentionality concerns the text producer’s attitude that the product should constitute a
coherent text fulfilling his/her communicative intentions (ex. to distribute knowledge or to
attain a goal).
A: Smith doesn’t seem to have a girlfriend these days
B: He has been paying a lot of visits to New York lately
→ The intentions of speaker B can be defined via an interferential process: he wants to infer
that Smith probably has a girlfriend in NY.
4. Acceptability
Acceptability is the text receiver’s attitude that the producer’s utterance should constitute a
coherent and relevant text.
A: I’m out of petrol
B: There’s a gas station round the corner
→ Starting from the assumption that the speaker B is trying to be cooperative (see Grice’s
1975 “Cooperative Principle”), his answer is acceptable because made relevant via an
inferential process: he wants to suggest that in the gas station round the corner speaker A
can find petrol.
5. Informativity
Informativity concerns the extent to which the occurrences of the text are new to the
receiver.
1: Woman are enchanting beings → it’s an informative text
2: Women are women → is a tautology and thus not informative. Yet, is activates
interferences such as a women are strong , bossy, talkative…
1: The sea is water → is clearly cohesive and coherent, and also acceptable, but a marginal
text because it is uninformative.
2: The sea is water only in the sense that water is the dominant substance present. Actually,
it is a solution of gasses and salts in addition to vast numbers of living organisms. → here
the informativity is upgraded
6. Situationality
Situationality concerns the factors which male a text relevant to a situation of
occurrence.
Even if there is ambiguity:
- intelligent children are playing
- reduce speed because children are playing
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- the text would
remove
every
possible doubt about
sense,
use
and
group of receivers.
- However it would
not be appropriate to
a situation whereas
receivers have only
limited
time
and
attention to devote to
road sign
7. Intertextuality
Intertextuality is reliance on other texts (ex. text types with typical patterns of
characteristics of prior versions with which the receivers will need some familiarity).
Intertextuality is familiarity with other texts of the same genre: you immediately recognise
the structure.
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Text type: recipe → instructional text type
Text type: Ads (we see the product and the slogan which attracts the costumer’s
attention) → Argumentative text type (this type of text tries to convince receivers to
buy the product)
1. E
ciency
The efficiency of a text depends on its use in communicating
with a minimum expenditure of effort by the participants.
This kind of text is brief and immediate.
2. E ectiveness
The effectiveness of a text depends on its leaving
a strong impression and creating favorable
conditions for attending a goal. This kind of text is
characterized by paradox, oxymoron and
contradiction.
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3. Appropriateness
The appropriateness of a text is the way a text is situated to the communicative
situation. It’s the agreement between its setting and the ways in which the standards of
textuality are upheld.
Which text is the most appropriate and best suits the situation?
Cohesion and Coherence
Lez.13/09
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Exercise: is the following sequence of sentences a text? Why?
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank. Banks are very
useful institutions. His institute is not far from here. He is the ideal candidate.
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank. Banks are very
useful institutions. His institute is not far from here. He is the ideal candidate.
→ The following sequence of sentences is only apparently cohesive, so it isn’t a text but only
a series of unbound sentences. In these sentences there is the lack of coherence because
these words refer to different concepts.
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In the macrostructure we first introduced the ingredients, so in the direction we refer to the
apples already mentioned.
Cohesion and coherence (8)
●
Coherence is signaled by what?
●
Coherence: (extra linguistic) experience with recipes → intertextuality
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Cohesion and translation (1)
Cohesion concerns the ways in which the components of the surface text (the actual words
we hear or see, the level of expression or signans) are mutually connected and
interdependent within a sequence to form a meaningful communicative unit.
Latin ≠ English → we reproduce cohesion but in a different way because the
language is different
❖ Latin: Veni Vidi Vici
● Phonological level
- alliteration (V… V…V…) and assonance (i)
- disyllabic words: same length > rhythm
● Morphological level
- three verbs (free morphemes) in the past tense (-i bound morpheme)
● Syntactic level
- parallel structure (parallelism)
- same tense
● Semantic level
- three verbs of action in tier chronological order (ordo naturalis)
❖ English: I came I saw I conquered
● Phonological level
- repetition of the pronoun I
- mono - vs di- syllabic words
● Morphological level
- three verbs in the past tense, but only the last one has an -ed suffix
● Syntactic level
- I + past verb parallel structure, but rhythm is interrupted by the last verb
● Semantic level
- three verbs of action in their chronological order (ordo naturalis)
1. Reference
Reference is the relation between a linguistic expression and what it is related to. It is
divided into:
● Exophoric reference: situational
● Endophoric reference: textual. Which is divide into:
- Anaphoric: referring to preceding text
- Cataphoric: referring to following text
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Using reference is the way to make a text more efficient (efficiency → when a text is
immediate and not redundant).
Endophoric reference: anaphora
Endophoric reference can be anaphoric (backwards) or cataphoric (forward) to link up with
the co-text in different ways.
Anaphora entails a pro-form after co-referring expression:
ex:
- Mary died. She was very old
- Joe Biden frowned. POTUS (president of the United States) was really worried by
this issue
Anaphora is the most common directionality co-refernce, since the identity of the reference
is made plain in advance:
ex:
- The judge said the firing of Mr. Powis was unlawful. Yesterday he said he was
pleased with the ruling. → he relates backwards to Mr. Powis, the proper name that
is called the antecedent of the anaphoric pronoun he
Endophoric reference: Cataphora
Cataphora is the use of the pro-form before the co-referring expression:
ex:
- Although he loves fishing, Paul went shopping with his girlfriend.
Cataphora can be used to generate uncertainty and therefore to intensify receivers’ interest:
ex:
- After he heard the Judge’s ruling, Mr. Powis said he was pleased → the first he refers
forward to Mr. Powis. We put our understanding on stand-by until we encounter an
appropriate noun phrase. But what about the second he: Mr. Powis or the Judge? Mr.
Powis.
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Examples of anaphoric reference: Personal reference
Personal reference: is reference by means of function in the speech situation throught the
category of person. The category of personal includes three classes:
● personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they)
- A: Has the gardener come? B: Yes, he came yesterday.
● possessive adjectives (my, your ..)
- Lizzy loves her dog to the moon and back
● possessive pronouns (mine, yours ..)
- I forgot my suncream. Can I borrow yours?
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Demonstrative reference
Demonstrative reference is reference by means of location on a scale of proximity, space or
time. Demonstrative can be:
● Exophoric
- Look at those flowers!
- The bus is coming
- What’s going on now?
- Come here
● Endophoric/anaphoric
- There were ten different cheeses on the cheeseboard. This huge selection made it
very difficult for me Louise to choose what she wanted.
● Endophoric/cataphoric
- This is what I want you to do: go to the shop, buy a turkey, come home and cook it.
Anaphoric or cataphoric reference?
1. This is how to get the best results. You let the berries dry in the sun, until all moisture
has gone out of them.
- This: cataphoric reference to the description that follows
- Them: anaphoric reference to the antecedent berries.
2. Jane, do you know what? Mike rang the lawyer up yesterday. He told him to send
the contact.
- What: cataphoric reference to the sentence that follows
- He: anaphoric reference to the antecedent Mike
- Him: anaphoric reference to the antecedent lawyer
Indefinite and definite articles are also forms of reference → indicate whether something
has been referred to before or is assumed to be known.
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A man in a dark suit walked up to the bar. Mary watched him apprehensively. After a
few seconds, the man said “Hello darling”. → a introduces a new referent (first
mention), while the mentions a referent already introduced (second mention).
The street was dark. The curtains were drawn across the widows. Mary walked
cautiously along the pavement. → no first introduction with the indefinite article a, but
the text is still coherent.
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Lez.17/10
1. Substitution and ellipsis
Substitution entails repeating a structure and its content but substituting some of the surface
expression, often using 'dummy' words like one(s), do, it.
-
These towels are dirty; we need some clean ones. ones → towels
Have you written that essay? I haven't done it yet, but I'll do it tomorrow. done, do →
written, write.
Is the meeting still going on tomorrow? It sounds like it. it → the meeting is still going
on tomorrow.
Substitution can be:
●
●
●
nominal
verbal
clausal
Nominal substitution
One doesn't replace a legend.
One creates a new one.
The new 911 Porsche.
A: George is now an actor.
B: Given half a chance I'd have been the same.
The words in bold create cohesion because we must recover the meaning from something
in the preceding clause.
Verbal substitution
Miss Hardcastle: I understand you perfectly, sir.
Marlow (aside): Egad! And that's more than I do myself.
Mrs. Birling: I don't understand you, Inspector.
Inspector: you mean you don’t choose to do Mrs. Birling.
Clausal substitution
A: You're beautiful.
B: Really? Really? Do you think so [that I'm beautiful]? Because I always feel like I have
really elfish ears.
"Would you like to be robbed if you were me?" "Certainly not [I wouldn't like to be robbed]"
Ellipsis
Ellipsis entails repeating a structure and its content but omitting some of the surface
expression. It is substitution by zero.
- John won a clock and Mary a TV set. [won]
- The books on the table are from the library, but those are mine. [books]
- Jane went to the lecture, but Harry didn't. [go]
An element already mentioned in the sentence is omitted, but this contributes to
cohesiveness since we must refer to the rest of the clause to recover its meaning.
- The sacking was unlawful and it was Ms. Ball's conduct that was to blame. [for the
sacking]
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We can reconstruct from the surrounding co-text that Ms. Ball was to blame for the
sacking, even if this is not made explicit.
Ellipsis can be:
● nominal
● verbal
● clausal
Nominal ellipsis
Nominal ellipsis omits a noun.
- [⏀] Wish you were here! (on a postcard) → [I]
- Smith was the first man to leave. I was the second [⏀]. → [man]
- I felt a hand on my neck, and it was John's [⏀]. → [hand]
Nominal ellipsis omits a noun or a pronoun.
Tues 3 Jan, 9 a.m. Ugh. [⏀] Cannot face thought of going to work. Only thing which makes it
tolerable is thought of seeing Daniel again, but even that is inadvisable since [⏀] am fat, [⏀]
have spot on chin, and [⏀] desire only to sit on cushion eating chocolate and watching
Xmas specials.
Tues 3 Jan, 9 a.m. Ugh. [I] Cannot face [face]thought of going to work. [the]Only thing which
makes it tolerable is [the] thought of seeing Daniel again, but even that is inadvisable since
[I] am fat, [I] have [a] spot on [my] chin, and [I] desire only to sit on [my] cushion eating
chocolate and watching Xmas specials.
Verbal ellipsis
Verbal ellipsis omits a verb or VP.
Vacheron Constantin Overseas,
[⏀] Born of centuries of experience. → [was]
[⏀] Designed to weather any challenge. → [was]
[⏀] Now ready to share your horizons. → [is]
The book explained why globalization has not benefited as many people as it should [⏀]. →
[have benefits]
Clausal ellipsis
Clausal ellipsis omits a clause.
She said she would retire as soon as she could and she has [⏀]. → [retired as soon as she
could]
C Have you ever visited the Great Wall of China?
D Yes, [⏀] twice. → [I visited it]
William: Would you like a cup of tea before you go?
Anna: No [⏀], thanks. → [I wouldn’t]
William: [⏀] Coffee? → [would you like a cup of]
Anna: No [⏀]. → [I wouldn’t]
Exophoric vs endophoric ellipsis
● Exophoric ellipsis omits an external element of the text.
Push [⏀] (on a door)
Do not spray [⏀] on a naked flame (on a spray can of air freshener)
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→ We can reconstruct from the context which 'door' should be pushed or which 'air
freshener' shouldn't be sprayed.
●
Endophoric ellipsis omits an internal (anaphoric or cataphoric) element of the
text.
Brian won't do the dishes, so I'll have to [⏀].
Since Brian won't [⏀], I'll do the dishes.
We can reconstruct from the text what I'll have to do instead of Brian or what Brian
won't do that I'll do (do the dishes).
Exercise: Distinguish between substitution and ellipsis
Mrs. Birling: I think we’ve just about come to an end of this wretched business.
Gerald: I don’t think so. Excuse me. [he goes out]
Sheila [to Inspector]: You know, you never showed him that photograph of her.
Inspector: No. It wasn’t necessary. I thought it better not to.
Mrs. Birling: You have a photograph of this girl?
Inspector: Yes. I think you’d better look at it.
Mrs. Birling: Very well. [she looks at the photograph]
Inspector: Do you recognize her?
Mrs. Birling: No. Why should I?
Inspector: Of course, she might have changed lately, but I can’t believe she could have
changed so much.
Mrs. Birling: I don’t understand you, Inspector.
Inspector: You mean you don’t choose to do, Mrs. Birling.
Mrs. Birling: I mean what I said.
Inspector: You’re not telling me the truth.
Mrs. Birling: I beg your pardon!
Mr. Birling: Look here, I’m not going to have this, Inspector. You’ll apologize at once.
Inspector: Apologize for what - doing my duty?
Mr. Birling: No, for being so offensive about it. I’m a public man.
Inspector: Public men, Mr. Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.
Mr. Birling: Possibly. But you weren’t asked to come here to talk to me about my
responsibilities.
Sheila: Let’s hope not. Though I’m beginning to wonder.
Mrs. Birling: Does that mean anything, Sheila?
Sheila: It means that we’ve no excuse now for putting on airs and that if we’ve any sense we
won’t try.
(J.B. Priestly, An inspector calls)
Solutions
Mrs. Birling: I think we’ve just about come to an end of this wretched business. Gerald: I
don’t think so [clausal substitution: that we've just about come to an end of this wretched
business]. Excuse me. [he goes out]
Sheila [to Inspector]: You know, you never showed him that photograph of her.
Inspector: No [clausal ellipsis: I never showed him that photograph of her]. It wasn’t
necessary. I thought it better not to [clausal ellipsis: show him that photograph of her].
Mrs. Birling: [verbal ellipsis: Do] You have a photograph of this girl?
Inspector: Yes [clausal ellipsis: I have a photograph of this girl]. I think you’d better look at
it.
Mrs. Birling: Very well. [she looks at the photograph]
Inspector: Do you recognize her [clausal ellipsis: recognize her]?
Mrs. Birling: No [clausal ellipsis: I don't recognize her]. Why should I?
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Inspector: Of course, she might have changed lately, but I can’t believe she could have
changed so much.
Mrs. Birling: I don’t understand you, Inspector.
Inspector: You mean you don’t choose to do [verbal substitution: understand., Mrs. Birling].
Mrs. Birling: I mean what I said.
Inspector: You’re not telling me the truth.
Mrs. Birling: I beg your pardon!
Mr. Birling: Look here, I’m not going to have this, Inspector. You’ll apologize at once.
Inspector: Apologize for what - doing my duty?
Mr. Birling: No [clausal ellipsis: not for doing your duty], for being so offensive about it. I’m a
public man.
Inspector: Public men, Mr. Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.
Mr. Birling: Possibly [clausal ellipsis: they have responsibilities as well as privileges]. But
you weren’t asked to come here to talk to me about my responsibilities.
Sheila: Let’s hope not [clausal substitution: that I wasn't asked to come here to talk to you
about your responsibilities].. Though I’m beginning to wonder. [clausal ellipsis: whether I
was asked...].
Mrs. Birling: Does that mean anything, Sheila?
Sheila: It means that we’ve no excuse now for putting on airs and that if we’ve any sense we
won’t try. [verbal ellipsis: to put on airs].
(J.B. Priestly, An inspector calls)
Exercise
Which of the following demonstrates ellipsis?
- Besides wearing a meat dress, Lady Gaga has also worn a hair one, which was
designed by Chris March.
Substitution: one→ dress
- If Lady Gaga was intending to shock people, she succeeded in doing so.
Substitution: doing so→ shocking people
- There is much to support the view that it is clothes that wear us, and not we, them.
Ellipsis: not we [who wear] them
3. Junctions
Junctions are words/phrases used to relate parts of a text to each other in various ways.
Junctions are words (e.g., conjunctions, adverbials, connectives) that relate parts of a text
to each other in various ways. They can also carry meanings outside the text.
Junctive expressions include:
● Conjunction
I came and saw.
● Disjunction
I don't know whether to stay or to go.
● Contrajunction
You can go, but you can't come back.
● Subordination
She'd lose her head if it wasn't attached to her neck.
Conjunction
Conjunction links things which have the same status, e.g., both true in the textual world.
It is most often signaled by and, and less often by moreover, also, in addition, besides,
furthermore:
There's never been a better time for you to visit America. Your dollars go so far you can see
more for less. And there's no better place to begin than in San Francisco. → the conjunction'
and does not seem to carry extra meaning.
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Disjunction
Disjunction links things which have alternative status, e.g., two things of which only one
can be true in the textual world. It is nearly always signaled by or (sometimes expanded to
either/or):
It is in the fit of a custom suit. Or the tick of an antique timepiece. It is that exquisite
experience reserved solely for the wearer, the listener, or in the case of Martell Extra, the
taster. Cognac. “L'Art de Martell”
Contrajunction
Contrajunction links things having the same status but appearing incongruous or
incompatible in the textual world. It is signaled most often by but, and less often by
however, yet, nevertheless, still, etc.
Mr. Powis, a father of two, suffered a nervous breakdown but found work as a £2.50-an-hour
security guard and a door-to-door salesman to make ends meet. → the conjunction but
implies a relation of unexpectedness or contradiction. In our mental model, we don't expect
that someone who had a nervous breakdown is fit to work, so but here carries extra-linguistic
meaning (we are more sympathetic to Mr. Powis).
Subordination
Subordination links things when the status of one depends on that of the other, e.g.,
things true under certain conditions or for certain motives (e.g., cause/effect). It is
represented by a large repertory of junctive expressions: because, so, since, as, thus, while,
therefore, etc.
The journey was quite quick because the road was clear.
We were unable to get funding. Therefore, we had to abandon the project.
The repertory of junctive expressions is large for the relation of Temporal Proximity: then,
next, before, after, while, etc.
The President emotionally declared that he was "glad to be home". Then he told the
gathering what it had come to hear.
Exercise
Identify junction as conjunction, disjunction, contrajunction or subordination.
She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue. Her head was leaned
against the window curtains, and in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne. She was
tired.
Few people passed. The man out of the last house passed on his way home; she heard his
footsteps clacking along the concrete pavement and afterwards crunching on the cinder path
before the red new houses. One time there used to be a field there in which they used to
play every evening with other people’s children. Then a man from Belfast bought the field
and built houses in it – not like their little brown houses, but bright brick houses with shining
roofs. The children of the avenue used to play together in that field – the Devines, the
Waters, the Dunns, little Keogh the cripple, she and her brothers and sisters. Ernest,
however, never played: he was too grown up. Her father used often to hunt them in out of
the filed with his blackthorn stick; but usually little Keogh used to keep nix and call out when
he saw her father coming. Still they seemed to have been rather happy then. Her father was
not so bad then; and besides, her mother was alive. That was a long time ago; she and her
brothers and sisters were all grown up; her mother was dead. Tizzie Dunn was dead, too,
and the Waters had gone back to England. Everything changes. Now she was going to go
away like the others, to leave her home.
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Solution
She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue. Her head was leaned
against the window curtains, and in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne. She was
tired.
Few people passed. The man out of the last house passed on his way home; she heard his
footsteps clacking along the concrete pavement and afterwards crunching on the cinder path
before the red new houses. One time there used to be a field there in which they used to
play every evening with other people’s children. Then a man from Belfast bought the field
and built houses in it – not like their little brown houses, but bright brick houses with shining
roofs. The children of the avenue used to play together in that field – the Devines, the
Waters, the Dunns, little Keogh the cripple, she and her brothers and sisters. Ernest,
however, never played: he was too grown up. Her father used often to hunt them in out of
the filed with his blackthorn stick; but usually little Keogh used to keep nix and call out when
he saw her father coming. Still they seemed to have been rather happy then. Her father was
not so bad then; and besides, her mother was alive. That was a long time ago; she and her
brothers and sisters were all grown up; her mother was dead. Tizzie Dunn was dead, too,
and the Waters had gone back to England. Everything changes. Now she was going to go
away like the others, to leave her home.
That was a long time ago; she and her brothers and sisters were all grown up; her
mother was dead. Tizzie Dunn was dead, too, and the Waters had gone back to England.
Everything changes. Now she was going to go away like the others, to leave her home. (J.
Joyce, “Eveline”)
Notice also the use of parataxis (short, simple sentences, often without the use of
conjunctions) vs hypotaxis.
Lez.18/10
4. Repetition and lexical cohesion
Repetition
Repetition and lexical cohesion → items that establish lexical relations across a stretch of
text.
- Repetition is reiteration of various elements in a text, such as sounds, morphemes,
words, or clauses, all contributing to its cohesion. ex.Why walk when you can fly)
- Phonological cohesion is produced by the repetition of the same sounds by means
of alliteration (repetition of the same initial sound), assonance, consonance
(repetition of the same consonant sound), rhyme (repetition of the same sound). ex.
Add a very special S to your sensations)
I'm in love with the shape of you
We push and pull like a magnet do
Although my heart is falling too
Par in love with your body
Last night you were in my room
And now my bedsheets smell like you
Every day discovering something brand new
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls. → Rhyme: repetition of the same final sound. → Alliteration:
/k(r)/ > harsh sound(s) > CRUELTY → Consonance: /1/ -> liquid sound -> SOLITUDE
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How do we render phonological cohesion in another language?
In the sea, once upon a time, O my Best Beloved, there was a Whale, and he ate fishes. He
ate the starfish and the garfish, and the crab and the dab, and the plaice and the dace, and
the skate and his mate, and the mackerel and the pickerel, and the really truly twirly-whirly
eel. All the fishes he could find in the sea he ate with his mouth... so!
1. C'era una volta in mare, o miei adorati, una Balena che mangiava pesci.Mangiava la
stella di mare e l'aguglia, e il granchio e la passera, e la platessa e il cavedano, e la
razza e la sua compagna, e lo sgombro e il luccino, e l'anguilla proprio veramente
piroettante roteante. Tutti i pesci che trovava in tutto il mare li mangiava spalancando
la bocca... cosi!
2. C'era una volta in mare, o miei adorati, una Balena che mangiava pesci. Mangiava
triglie e aguglie, totani e scorfani, sardine e ombrine, salmoni e storioni, naselli e
maccarelli, e persino le anguille guizzanti e scivolose. Tutti i pesci che trovava in tutto
il mare li mangiava spalancando la bocca.. così! → it is correct even if it doesn’t
respect the translation because we have the idea of the elements
There was an Old Man of Peru,
Who watched his wife making a stew;
But once by mistake,
In a stove did she bake,
That unfortunate Man of Peru.
C'era una volta un Vecchio del Perù
A cui sua moglie faceva il ragù;
Ma per errore, quella,
Se lo fece un di in padella,
Quell'infelice Vecchio del Perù.
It reproduces phonological cohesion even if we change the meaning. In the translation of
limericks poems, short stories for children etc., the keeping of phonological cohesion
prevails over meaning.
→ Graphosymbolic cohesion is produced by the use of graphic symbols to convey
meaning:
l(a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
l
iness
FOTO
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The graphemes evoked a feeling of loneliness, this type of writing suggests what we can do
with this product.
→ Morphological cohesion is the repetition of the same bound or free morphs:
Dance to your Daddy,
My little babby,
Dance to your Daddy,
My little lamb.
You shall have a fishy
In a little dishy,
You shall have a fishy
When the boat comes in.
→ Diminuitive suffixes
A: I'm so sick of that Kay and her stupid little doggy that she's alway calling her 'little
baby-waby'
B: Little Baby-waby is a kitty, not doggy.
A: Doggy, kitty. Whatever. It's all the same to me. It's a stupid little spoiled beast with a
stupid little spoiled mistress.
→ Repetition of the suffix -y conveys something diminutive and familiar
Lexical cohesion
●
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Reiteration
Recurrence and Partial recurrence
Parallelism
Chiasmus
Paraphrase
Synonymy
●
-
Collocation
Meronymy
Hyponymy
Antonymy
1. Recurrence and partial recurrence
Recurrence is the straightforward repetition of elements or patterns: There's water through
many homes - I would say almost all of them have water in them. It's just completely under
water ; A wise man never thinks how far he's come. He thinks how far he can still travel.
Partial recurrence entails using the same basic word components but shifting them to a
different word class (morphological variant): Wittauer makes the watches people watch ;
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed
Exercise
Identify recurrence and partial recurrence in the following text
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ENZYMATIC CATALYSIS. Nearly all chemical reactions in biological systems are catalyzed
by specific macromolecules called enzymes. Some of these reactions, such as the hydration
of carbon dioxide, are quite simple.
Others, such as the replication of an entire chromosome, are highly intricate.
Nearly all enzymes exhibit enormous catalytic power. Enzymes usually enhance reaction
rates by at least a millionfold. Indeed, chemical transformations rarely occur at perceptible
rates in vivo in the absence of enzymes. More than a thousand enzymes have been
characterized, and many more have been crystallized. The striking fact is that all known
enzymes are proteins. Thus proteins play the unique role of determining the pattern of
chemical transformation in biological systems.
Nominalization
●
●
Partial recurrence can be obtained via Nominalization.
Nominalization is the process via which a prototypical verbal clause is converted
into a Noun Phrase: She knew him > Her knowledge of him ; She refuses to leave >
Her refusal to leave ; She was ill > Her illness ; They were absent from the meeting >
Their absence from the meeting Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable... Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies.
Nominalization is typically used in specialized texts:
In some parts of the world sulfur deposits lie too deep to be mined in the ordinary way.
However, in about 1900 an American engineer called Herman Frasch developed a process
for the extraction of this deep-lying sulfur. The Frasch process depends on the fact that the
boiling point of sulfur is only a little above the boiling point of water. The process consists of
three basic operations.
First, large amounts of water are super-heated; in other words, the water is heated under
pressure to above its normal boiling point. Secondly, this superheated water is pumped
down the well so that it melts the sulfur. Finally, this molten sulfur is pumped to the surface.
→ This is a well formed text, it is cohesive, nominalization creates a network between the
words
Exercise
Identify nominalization in the following text.
Acer warrants any Acer computer hardware product first sold to an end-user in a country of
the European Economic Area, to be free from defects in materials or workmanship under
normal use for the duration of the warranty period as stated on the Limited Warranty card
supplied with your System. The warranty period commences on the date of purchase. Your
original purchase invoice, showing the date of purchase of the System, is your proof of the
date of purchase. This Limited Warranty extends beyond the original purchaser to any lawful
successor in interest, provided, however, that anyone claiming under this warranty must,
upon request, produce the original purchase invoice to be entitled to warranty services.
Parallelism
Parallelism entails re-using surface formats but filling them with different expressions.
I wish I loved the Human Race;
I wish I loved its silly face;
I wish I liked the way it walks;
I wish I liked the way it talks;
And when I'm introduced to one
I wish I thought What Jolly Fun!
Parallelism is used in poetry, in songs, during political speeches and also in ADVs; it’s useful
because it helps keeping the attention on what is new.
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Exercise
Identify recurrence and parallelism in the following text (Kungs, Clap Your Hands).
Everybody, let's move to the beat
We can dance now, bass line under our feet
Everybody, dancing all along
Time to party, sing our happy song
We are dreamers, we are young.
We're the future superstars
That is who we are
Clap your hands, now on the floor
Clap your hands, one, two, three, four
→ This is an effective text (discours by Martin Luther King) in which we have a lot of
repetitions in order to emphasize the point: injustice, unsatisfaction.
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of
police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of
travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the
cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto
to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their
selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only. We cannot be satisfied
as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has
nothing for which to vote.
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters,
and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the
sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of
injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom
and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
→ Here the use of parallelism stresses the fact that probably one day something will happen
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone
of hope.
With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful
symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to
jail together, to stand up for freedom together knowing that we will be free one day.
→ The effectiveness of this text comes from parallelism, sometimes we need parallelism in
order to express concepts
Exercise
Identify parallelism and ellipsis in the following text.
Black people are more likely than their white counterparts to be stopped by the police. If
stopped, they are more likely to be arrested. If arrested, they are more likely to be charged. If
charged, they are more likely to be remanded in custody; and if convicted, [they are] more
likely to receive a sentence of imprisonment,
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➔ If is used as the link between the final part of a clause and the first part of the next one
Exercise
Identify parallelism and ellipsis in the following text.
Its profile displays the elegance of jewelry.
Its face [displays] the precision of a high-performance instrumen
Its back [displays] a watchmaker's masterpiece.
→ Parallelism used also in ADVs in order to create cohesion
→ The two ellipsis both verbal ellipsis
Exercise
Identify parallelism and reference
POLITICALLY correct it is not. Sexy, shiny and raunchy, on the other hand, it most certainly
is. Leather has long been the stuff of S&M fantasy, biker jackets and practical outer-wear but
now it is emerging as a versatile tool for designers too.
→ Parallelism with a marked structure: Fronting
→ Cataphoric reference: it > leather
→ Anaphoric reference: it < leather
Lez.
Lez.24/10
Superstructure in texts
Texts not only depend on the weaving together of lexical and grammatical strands, but also
have a superstructure (or macrostructure), so the global òevel of organization. The
superstructure of a text has recognizable parts that are organized according to
conventional patterns.
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Ex: superstructure of recipes
Name of the dish
List of ingredients
Instructions for combining and/or cooking the ingredients
-
must be in this order
we immediately recognize this as a recipe by its superstructure
Ex: superstructure of a wedding invitation
Ex: superstructure of an email
What does text type mean?
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Following Egon Werlich (1976), the term text type refers to an abstract concept or idealized
norm, which corresponds to the language user’s competence of the rules for the structuring
of the text at a deep level.
The purpose of the text and extra-linguistic knowledge of how the text is organized
(intertextuality) influence the linguistic elements that appear in the text.
Text type: classification
In general, text typologies are abstract level classifications dependent on different factors
shared by groups of texts:
●
●
●
Contextual factors → ex the main communicative purpose of the text producer
(writer/speaker); social relations and roles played by participants (text producer and
receiver); the spoken/written channel; topic; etc…
Cognitive factors → extent of shared world knowledge between participants, but
also mental processes closely related to purpose (perception in space and time;
comprehension of concepts, ecc…)
Linguistic factors → element on the text surface
Werlich (1976) identified five idealized (because not every text will correspond exactly to
these categories, we can also have heterogeneous text types) text types, taking inspiration
from classical rhetoric for 1 - 4, and adding the new type 5:
1. description (descriptive text type)
2. narration (narrative text type)
3. exposition (expository text type)
4. argumentation (argumentative text type)
5. instruction (instructional text type)
Descriptive text type
● Descriptive text type: definition
The text producer of descriptive texts intends to represent and convey a mental picture of a
scene to the receiver (with objects, people, situations) as perceived in space. Indeed, from a
cognitive point of view, descriptive texts are linked with the mental process of perception in
space.
●
Descriptive text type: basic division
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Descriptive texts vary depending on:
- Quality of the description: general vs detailed
- Point of view: objective (technical description), which records objectively verifiable
data (frequently supported by diagrams or illustrations);
vs subjective
(impressionistic description), which often gives expressions to the writer's personal
attitudes, feelings and the like. The subjective text type is usually associated with
informal register, while the objective with a formal register: the use of impersonal
construction (it is important that …); passives (it is commonly held that);
nominalization (its extensions); avoidance of imperatives, direct question,
contractions, I/II person, pronouns; avoidance of colloquial words or idioms.
● Descriptive text type: typical features
The typical features of descriptive text surface structures are:
- use of the verb to be or positional verbs to describe states of affairs (Whitehaven
Beach is located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef)
- use of quality attributing adjectives and spatial prepositions and adverbs (Navagio
beach is a strikingly beautiful sandy cave on the Greek island of Zakynthos)
- use of comparisons/superlatives/figurative language to help us picture the scene
(Australia’s most famous beach stretches for 4.4 miles)
- use of our five senses - how sth. feels, smells, looks, sounds and tastes (esp. in
subjective description) (The sand is 95% part silica, which gives it a brillant, near
luminescent color)
Example 1 of a descriptive text
Gregory is my beautiful gray Persian cat. He walks with pride and grace, with the delicacy of
a ballet dancer. He spends most of his time indoors on top of his pillow, watching television
and growing fat. He enjoys TV commercials, especially those for Meow Mix and 9 Lives. He
does not like generic brands of cat food, but prefers only the most expensive ones. Gregory
is as fussy about visitors as he is about what he eats, immediately liking some but staying far
away from others under the bed. After my visitors have left, I look at him snoozing and
smiling to himself as he sits in front of the television set, and I always forgive him for his
obnoxious, but endearing, habits.
- State/position verbs;
- Descriptive adjectives;
- adverbials of location/place;
→ these help the reader creating a mental image
- Superlative/metaphor
Exemple 2 of a descriptive text
The Tuscan coastline is so beautiful and enchanting that makes the ideal place to spend
your summer holidays: deep blue sea, clear waters, breathtaking views, steep cliffs, wild
nature, sports and of course good food! Traveling along the coast of Tuscany opens a unique
spectacle! The sea is of a deep blue color, with small harbors and picturesque coves, long
beaches of pebbles and sand, verdant pine forests, and ancient look-out towers. There are
really countless amazing and beautiful beaches of Tuscany.
- Participants: the text producer is the writer of travel guides or a web designer; while
the text receiver is a tourist.
- Predominant sense involved: sight
- Nouns from nature semantic field (there is also a lexical cohesion, meronymy)
- Quality: general
- Point of view: subjective (amazing and beautiful beaches)
- Register: informal (... and of course good food!)
Exercise: Identify the features of the following descriptive text
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The Tuscan seaside is well-known not only for its long beaches, but also for its age-old
pinewoods, the beautiful mountains Apuan Alps, the very famous marble quarries, and most
of all for its night life. Besides that, Versilia is near other well-known tourist towns, like Pisa
and Lucca, which are 20 km away, or Firenze at about 90 km. Along its coast you will also
find small cultural towns like Torre del Lago, where Giacomo Puccini was born, or glamorous
towns like Pietrasanta or Viareggio, with its famous Carnival, and Forte dei Marmi.
- Verb to be or positional verbs
- Quality attributing adjectives/adverbs
- Noun from nature
- Noun from culture
Exemple 3 of a descriptive text
In the foreground, Christ is represented half-figure as He is raising from the grave; death is
vividly depicted through the pale tone of the skin. In the background the landscape is framed
by two walls of rocks that define the perspective. The walkway on the right, which crosses
the river and the wood and reaches the lake at the bottom of the composition, renders the
painting extraordinarily deep. On the top of the right hand side rocks we find a dead tree,
while flourishing vegetation dominates the left side of the landscape. (Giovanni Bellini, Imago
Pietatis)
- Participants: the text producer is the writer of the museum guide; while the text
receiver is a tourist or an art critic.
- Verb of state/position in passive voice
- Inanimate/abstract subjects
- Use of quality attributing adjectives/adverbs
- Use of spatial expressions
- Nouns from nature: landscape, rocks, walkway, river, wood,lake, tree, vegetation,
landscape
- Predominant sense involved: sight, because the perspective changes from the
general landscape to the particular and than again to the landscape (in a sort of
circularity)
- Quality: detailed
- Point of view: objective
- Register: formal (passive forms: pluralis maiestatis “we”)
Exemple 4 of a descriptive text
There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people
they passed on the stairs on their way to and from their room. Their room was on the second
floor facing the sea. It also faced the public garden and the war monument. There were big
palms and green benches in the public garden. In the good weather there was always an
artist with his easel. Artists liked the way the palms grew and the bright colors of the hotels
facing the gardens and the sea. Italians came from a long way off to look up at the war
monument. It was made of bronze and glistened in the rain. It was raining. The rain dripped
from the palm trees. Water stood in pools on the gravel paths. The sea broke in a long line in
the rain and slipped back down the beach to come up and break again in a long line in the
rain. The motor cars were gone from the square by the war monument. Across the square in
the doorway of the cafe a waiter stood looking out of the empty square. (Ernest Hemingway,
“Cat in the Rain”)
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