Cohesion

First of all, Cohesion is the ``glue`` that holds the paragraph together. In other words, if a
paragraph has good cohesion, then we say the ideas flow from one sentence to another smoothly.
The end of one sentence is related to the beginning of the next sentence. Cohesion is a vitally
important characteristic of good academic writing because it promotes clarity. The sentences and
paragraph within an academic text should all be related to one another. It is the job of the writer
to make these connections between sentences and paragraphs , as clear as possible.

In the book “Cohesion in English”, the authors M.A.K. Halliday, Ruqaiya Hasan
mentioned that:`` the concept of cohesion is a semantic one; it refers to relation 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. The one presupposes the other, in
the sense that it cannot be effectively decoded except by recourse to it. When this happens, a
relation of cohesion is set up, and the two elements, the presupposing and the presupposed, are
thereby as least potentially integrated into a text (M.A.K. Halliday, Ruqaiya Hasan, Cohesion in
English, p.4)”. An example to understand better cohesion, could be: Anna always watches movies with
me after school. I was always happy when she did. I like Anna. In this example, we make reference to two
individuals: ‘’me’’, the author of the sentence and ‘’Anna’’. The pronominal form ‘’she’’ in the
second sentence cannot be interpreted in its own right. The reader has to look in the text to be
able to interpret it and for, he should look back to ‘’Anna’’ in the first sentence. This interpretation
of the reader is made possible by a particular cohesive relationship that links “ she” to “Anna”. The
two terms are linked through some meaning relation. Cohesive chains and chain interaction are
the most interesting constructs in describing cohesion. In his book, Hasan defined a chain as a set
of items, each of which is related to the others by semantic relations of co-reference, co-
classification, and co-extension ( Holiday& Hasan, 1989, p.73-74).

Co-reference relates two or more items in a cohesive chain because they have the same
referent. Using the previous example: the pronoun ‘’she” refers to no other person but the one who has been
mentioned previously in the text as ‘’Anna” . Co-classification ties have a different referent, but a
relationship of belonging to the same class. Consider the following examples:

1. Frank will join the youth team, but Jack is in the senior one.
2. A: It`s nice, your dog!
B: So is yours.
In the example 1 “’one “ refers to a team, but definitely not to the same team mentioned in
the previous clause. The “youth team” and “the senior team” are two distinct members of the
class of teams. “Yours” in example 2 is an parallel form for “ your dog”. Here again “your
dog” and “yours” are related through co-classification as the expressions refer to two
distinct dogs.

Co-extension ties belong to what Hasan terms the same ‘’general field of meaning”. In the case
of co-extension, term B can be interpreted in its own right in contrast to co-reference and co-
classification whose B terms can be interpreted only through reference to term A. For example:

“…Mor had been obliged to invent excuses for staying at school. End of terms exams were just beginning, and
although this meant less teaching it means more correcting, and it was about this time too that Mor had to settle
down to the organization of reports and the solving of various staff problems for next term…”(Murdoch, 1969:144)

In this excerpt co-extension is exemplified by “school”, “exams”, “teaching”, “correcting”, “organization of

reports”, “solving of various staff problems ”. The words and expressions above are related to “school”
through their denotation. They all denote activities normally performed by teachers in schools.
The sense relation between “school” and the rest of the lexical items is one of hyponymy, where
“school” is the superordinate naming the general class and and the lexical items are the hyponyms
denoting the sub-classes of the general class. These three types of relationships allow us to
classify chains as belonging to one of two types: identity and similarity chains. In an identity
chain, the members are related by co-reference : every member of the chain refers to the same
thing, event, etc. Identity chains are established in the text. In a similarity chain, the relations are
of co-classification or co-extension.

Cohesive devices are linking words, linkers, connectors, discourse markers or transitional
words. Cohesive devices tell the reader what we are doing in a sentence and help to guide them
through our writing. They signal to the reader what the relationships are between the different
clauses, sentences and paragraphs. Let`s take an example: 1.The public transport in this city is
unreliable and it’s cheap; 2. The public transport in this city is unreliable but it’s cheap. There are two cohesive
devices in the sentences above: ‘and’ and ‘but’. Both give the reader different signals and change
the meaning of the sentence. The first sentence tells the reader that ‘ it’s cheap’ is simply being
added to the previous information, however, the second sentence tells the reader that they are
giving a contrasting opinion to the first part of the sentence by using the word ‘but’. In other
words, the second sentence is saying: “it’s unreliable” (which is bad) but the good thing about it is
it’s cheap. Simply using the word ‘but’ conveys that whole message without needing to literally
say it.This makes our message more succinct and our writing easier to read.

Endophoric interpretation is the interpretation whose source is the co-text-language

accompanying the linguistic element under discussion. Endophoric referencing can be divided
into two types: anaphoric, and cataphoric.

Anaphoric refers to any reference that “points backwards” to previously mentioned

information in the text, when the information needed for the interpretation is in the preceding
portion of the text. Let`s take the next example:’’ Anna always watches movies with me after school. I was
always happy when she did. I like Anna.”. A is “Anna” and B is “she”. The tie between “she”
and”Anna” in the previous example is cohesive as both terms are within the same text. Term A
with respect to which term B is interpreted may precede or follow term B. When it precedes term
B, as was the case of the tie “Anna”-“she”, the cohesive tie is anaphoric.

When term A follows term B, the cohesive tie is called cataphoric. In this case, the
receiver looks forward in the text to be able to interpret term B. For a better understanding,
cataphoric can be seen in the next examples : You can`t keep teaching him , Lisa, you can`t keep teaching
him, every time he wants. A is “teaching him, every time he wants” and B ” teaching him very time he wants .”.
Cataphoric relations are often found in literature and in news articles, where they are intended to
capture the reader`s attention and sometimes to hold it for quite a long stretch of text.

Exophoric interpretation is the interpretation of the cohesive devices lies outside the co-
text, in the situational, social, or cultural context. Example: “It seemed to me so unbelievable that in
Britain somebody might be waging a systematic campaign of racial violence. Now we`re learned our lesson.”. The
pronoun “we” in the second sentence does not refer the reader either backward or forward to a
lexical item in the text. It requires exophoric interpretation. What the reader cannot easily
establish is whether its referent is the people of Britain to which C. Exophoric interpretation is
available only to the receivers who share either experience or knowledge with the message
sender. Sometimes exophora is culture-bound and assumes knowledge of the cultural background
of the linguistic message for its interpretation.

The difference between endophoric and exophoric relations was made by Halliday and
Hasan(1976). Brown and Yule(1983:199-201) argue that since endophoric interpretation of the
cohesive devices in a text ultimately resort to our mental representation of their referents rather
than to the verbal expressions of terms A in the text.

Cohesion has been almost popular target for research, and it is well known its relation to
the second of the textuality standards, coherence. Since cohesive markers are important for the
understanding of oral or written texts, all speakers make extensive use of them, for example in
order to enhance coherence, but also for reason of economy. Since cohesion is expressed partly
through the grammar and partly through the vocabulary, there are two main types of cohesive
devices considered as general categories of cohesion: Grammatical cohesion( substitutional,
ellipsis, conjunction, reference) and Lexical cohesion ( reiteration, collocation).

As we can see, according to Halliday & Hasan (1976), in grammatical cohesive devices,
there are four items are attached which are reference, substitution ellipsis and conjunction. Each
of them stands as grammatical cohesive device that has its own character. Reference is one of
them. Wales (1989: 396) observes that reference is concerned with the relation between words
and extra-linguistic reality.
 Reference is when one word refers to the other word. So, to be more clear,
reference occurs when one item in text points to another element for its interpretation. It is of
three kinds: personal, demonstrative and comparative. Personal Reference is implemented by the
system of personal pronouns( the third person: he, she, it, they) and of possessive pronouns and
adjectives( mine, his, her, its, etc.). Personal reference is a reference by means of function into a
speech situation, through the category of person. Personal reference functions within the nominal
group (noun phrase) determiners pronouns are the members of this group. These are some
examples for personal references:

1. I never met him before. My friends said that he is a kind and helpful professor. I wish I can see Professor
William soon.
2. Those three thiefs! Those three thiefs! They were shot by the sheriff.
In the first example, the use of personal pronoun “he” of “him” for “Professor Wiliam “ is
a source of personal reference. In the second example, the personal pronoun “they” is
used for the noun “thiefs” and is also a source of personal pronoun.

Demonstrative reference use demonstrative pronouns( this- that, these- those), adverbials(
here- there, now- then) and the definite article “the” . Here is an example of this: There I was born
and grew up. There I met him, my beloved one. There we raised our kids. There, in a small town called Slawi. Here,
the adverbial “there” is used to refer to “Slawi”.

Comparative devices are based on general and particular comparison. The former is
comparison in terms of likeness and unlikeness expressed by words and expressions such as “ the
same us”, “similar to/with”, “different from”. The latter is comparison in terms of equality and
quantity expressed by means of comparative and superlative patterns: as+adj+as, not as/ so
+adj+as, etc. The identity of one referent becomes define by relating it to another referent
through a property which they share or which distinguishes them( Halliday & Hasan,, 1976). An
example for this cohesive device is: I think this dress is too dark for my skin. Can I have the lighter, please?.
Here, we used the comparison, to refer to a noun. The identity of the noun” dress” is defined by
relating through a property, by the colour:” the lighter”.

Substitution occurs when an item is replaced by another item in the text to avoid
repetition. The difference between substitution and reference is that substitution lies in the
relation between words, whereas reference lies between meanings. Halliday and Hasan (1997)
state that substitution is divided in to three types. They are nominal substitution, verbal
substitution and clausal substitution. Nominal substitution substitutes the noun in the sentence.
Commonly the substitutes used are one/ones. For example: “This car is old. I will buy a new one.” The
pronoun “one” substitutes the noun “ car”. Verbal substitution is a replacement process of verbs
with “do”, “did” or other auxiliary verbs. For example: “ A: You think Joan already knows? B: I think
everybody does”. Here, “does” is the substitute of “already knows”. Clausal substitution is the
replacement process of clause by “so” or “not”. For example: “Do you think that the assignment will
due this week? I hope not! I haven`t written anything” . Here, the clause “the assignment will due this
week” is replaced by “not”.

Ellipsis is the process in which one item within a text or discourse is omitted
orreplaced by nothing. Ellipsis occurs when something that is structurally necessary is left
unsaid, as it is has been understood already. The interpretation of ellipsis usually operates in an
anaphoric way, but cataphoric interpretation also occurs. Ellipsis has three types: nominal, verbal
and clausal. In nominal ellipsis, the noun is omitted. This is exemplified by: “My sisters like sports.
In fact, both love tennis”. In the second sentence, the noun “sisters” is omitted. Verbal ellipsis
involves the omission of the verb. For example:” A: Have you been watching? B:Yes, I have.”. The verb
“watch” is omitted in the second sentence. In clausal ellipsis, parts of a clause elements are
omitted. For example: ”A: Who is sleeping in the house? B: Anna is.” The clause “sleeping in the house”
is omitted in the second sentence.

Conjunction shows the relation between clauses and connect their ideas together.
Conjunctions are divided into four types: additive, adversative, causal and temporal. Additive
conjunctions connect units that share semantic similarity. Examples od additive conjunctions:
likewise, furthermore, in addition, etc. Adversative conjunctions are used to express contrasting
results or opinions. They are expressed by words such as: but, however, in contrast, etc. Causal
conjunctions introduce results, reasons, or purposes. They are characterized by the use of items
such as: so, thus, therefore, etc. Temporal conjunctions express the order of events such as:
finally, then, soon, at the same time, etc.

In English discourse cohesion is also achieved with lexical means. Lexical cohesive
devices realize the co-extension relation shown by Halliday and Hasan to exist among vocabulary
items across sentence boundaries. Lexical cohesion manifests itself in two distinct forms:
reiteration and collocation. According to Halliday and Hasan, reiteration is “the repetition of a
lexical item, or the occurrence of a synonym of some kind, in the context of reference; that is,
where the two occurrences have the same referent”. The forms of reiteration are: repetition,
synonymy, antonymy, and hyponymy and meronymy. An example of repetition is: “ Sarah ate the
pie. The pie was delicious.”. Synonymy is used to refer to items of similar meaning. Antonymy is the
relation between items of opposite meaning, such as: “good” or “bad”. Hyponymy is the relation
between a superordinate which represents a general class and a hyponym which represents a sub-
class. For example: “tree” is the superordinate for “oak”. Meronymy denotes the relation of part-
whole. For example, the words: “root”, “trunk”, “leaf” designate parts of a tree, and therefore
they stand in a relation of meronymy with the word “tree” which designates the whole.

Collocation can be defined as a device which ensures continuity of meaning through the
lexical items which often co-occur in the same semantic surrounding. It includes combinations of
adjectives or nouns, such as: ”fast food”, verbs and nouns such as: ”run out of money”.

In conclusion, cohesion is an important textual property of discourse. Through it can be

interpreted a linguistic element in a relation to another element of the discourse. There are two
main types of cohesion: grammatical cohesion, which is based on structural content and lexical
cohesion, which is based on lexical content and background knowledge. Cohesion plays an
important role in a discourse. By its role in providing texture, cohesion helps to create text and
expresses the continuity that exists between one part of the discourse and another.

References:
Brown, G. and G. Yule. 1993. Discourse Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Dejica Daniel: Cohesion. Note de curs
Gee, J.P. 2005. An Introduction to Discourse Analysis. 2nd edition. London: Routledge
G. D. 1985. An Introduction to Systemic Grammar. London: Longman. Root
M.A.K Halliday, Ruqaya Hasan. 1976. Cohesion in English London:Routledge
Superceanu, R., 2000, Elements of Discourse and Discourse Analysis, Timișoara: orizonturi Universitare
Taboada M. T. 2004 . Building Coherence and Cohesion: Task-oriented Dialogue in English and Spanish. John
Benjamins Publishing

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