Riassunto esame Lingua inglese 3, prof. Bertuccelli, libro consigliato In Other Words, Baker

CHAPTER  VI  

Cohesion  is  the  network  of  lexical,  grammatical  and  other  relations  which  provide  links  between  various  parts  of  

a   text.   Cohesion   connects   together   the   actual   words   and   expressions   that   we   can   see   or   hear   (àCoherence   in  

Ch.7).  

Halliday  and  Hasan  identify  5  main  cohesive  devices  in  English:  

1. Reference   –   it’s   a   semantic   relationship   (Mrs.   Thatcher   has   resigned.   She   has   announced   her   decision  

this  morning).  

Here,   it   doesn’t   denote   a   direct   relationship   between   words   and   extralinguistic   objects,   it’s   limited   to   the  

relationship  of  identity  which  holds  between  2  linguistic  expressions.  

The  most  common  reference  items  in  English  are  pronouns  (3  person  frequently  used  to  refer  back/forward  in  

rd

the  text),  but  also  “the,  this  and  those”.  Reference  allows  the  reader  to  trace  participants,  entities,  events  and  so  

on  in  a  text.  

The  relationship  of  reference  may  be  established  situationally.  

Another  type  of  reference  is  the  co-­‐reference  (Mrs.  Thatcher  à  The  Prime  Minister  à  The  Iron  Lady).  It  isn’t  a  

linguistic  feature,  it  is  a  matter  of  real-­‐world  knowledge.  There  is  a  continuum  of  cohesive  elements  that  can  be  

used   for   referring   back:   Boy   boy   =   repetition;   Boy   lad   =   synonym;   Boy   child   =   superordinate;   Boy  

à   à   à   à  

idiot  =  general  word;  Boy    he  =  pronominal  reference.  

à

Anaphora  =  patterns  of  reference,  that  can  vary  both  within  and  across  languages.  

  2. Substitution  –  it’s  a  grammatical  relationship  (–  I  like  movies.    –  I   do  too.)  

3. Ellipsis  –  it’s  a  grammatical  relationship  (Joan  brought  some  carrots,  and  Catherine    some  peas).  

✓

It’s  the  omission  of  an  item:  leaving  something  unsaid,  which  is  nevertheless  understood.  

The  grammatical  system  of  each  language  encourages  itself  the  use  of  certain  devices  in  preference  to  others.  

English   uses   whatever   means   are   necessary   to   reduce   ambiguity   in   tracing   participants.   Lexical   repetition   is   a  

much  safer  option  in  cases  where  ambiguity  of  reference  may  arise,  because  English  makes  very  few  distinctions  

in  terms  of  number,  gender  and  verb  agreement.  

Every  language  has  its  own  devices  for  establishing  cohesive  links.  

  4. Conjunction:  it  involves  the  use  of  formal  markers  to  relate  sentences,  clauses  and  paragraphs  to  each  

other.  The  use  of  conjunction  doesn’t  instruct  the  reader  to  supply  missing  info.  

Types  of  conjunctions:  additive,  adversative,  causal,  temporal,  continuative.  

The   same   conjunction   may   be   used   to   signal   different   relations,   that   can   be   expressed   by   a   variety   of   means,   not  

only  conjunctions.  

Cohesion   is   considered   by   some   linguists   to   be   a   relation   between   sentences   and   not   within   them   à  

subordinators  are  not  considered  a  type  of  conjunction,  strictly  speaking.  

The   using   of   a   conjunction   provides   an   insight   into   the   whole   logic   of   discourse,   because   it   signals   relations  

between  chunks  of  information.    

Some   English   texts   make   little   or   no   use   of   conjunctions:   there   are   often   pragmatic   reasons   for   the   preference   of  

certain  conjunctions.  

Whether   a   translation   conforms   to   the   source-­‐text   patterns   of   cohesion   or   tries   to   approximate   to   target-­‐

language  patterns  depends  on  the  purpose  of  the  translation.  Every  option  has  its  advantages  and  disadvantages:  

following  source-­‐language  norms  may  involve  minimal  change  in  overall  meaning,  but  the   deviation  from  typical  

target-­‐language  patterns  may  sound  foreign.  

  5. Lexical  Cohesion  =  role  played  by  the  selection  of  vocabulary  in  organizing  relations  within  a  text.  

A  sort  of  lexical  chain,  divided  in  two  main  categories:  

a. Reiteration   =   repetition   of   a   lexical   item,   a   synonym   or   a   near-­‐synonym,   a   superordinate   or   a   general  

word.  It’s  different  from  Reference,  because  it  doesn’t  necessarily  involve  the  same  identity.  

b. Collocation  =  sub-­‐class  of  lexical  cohesion  that  covers  any  instance  of  lexical  items  associated  with  each  

other  in  the  language  in  some  way.  

It   is   not   a   relation   between   pairs   of   words.   It   operates   through   lexical   chains.   The   notion   of   lexical   cohesion  

provides  the  basis  for  the   instantial  meaning  (=  the  text  meaning,  the  meaning  determined  by  the  environment  of  

the  item  which  is  unique  to  each  specific  instance).  

Individual  lexical  items  have  little  more  than  a  potential  for  meaning  outside  the  text  and  their  meanings  can  be  

modified  through  association  with  other  lexical  items  in  a  particular  textual  environment.  

Languages  differ  in  the  level  of  lexical  repetition  they  will  normally  tolerate:  some  have  a  higher  level  of  lexical  

repetition  than  others.  

Reference,   substitution,   ellipsis,   conjunction   and   lexical   cohesion   establish   cohesive   links   in   English   and   they   are  

probably  common  to  a  large  number  of  languages.  

Cohesion   is   also   achieved   by   other   devices:   continuity   of   tense,   consistency   of   style,   punctuation   devices,  

conjunctions.  

The   level   of   cohesion   may   differ   from   one   language   to   another,   even   within   the   same   language   different   texts  

may  vary  in  the  density  of  their  cohesive  ties.