Discourse Cohesion and Coherence Flashcards
Synonymy
refers to using pairs or groups that are equivalent or very similar in meaning
e.g. choice, selection, preference
Antonymy
the relationship of words that are opposite in meaning. Antonymy
unifies words even though they are opposite in meaning, as they can be easily
contrasted and compared
e.g. hot/cold, day/night
Hyponymy and Hypernymy
A hyponym is a word that belongs to (is considered a subtype of) a larger category of terms, which is called a hypernym. A hypernym can have multiple
hyponyms, and hyponyms can also be hypernyms
Ellipsis
the omission of words or phrases, particularly when they are already known due to contextual information or because they have been referred to previously.
Repetition
refers to using the same word throughout a text to reiterate an idea
or topic. It can occur with exact duplication, or with inflectional modification
Substitution
This works in a similar way to ellipsis except that, rather than working by omission, one word is substituted for another word, phrase or clause.
e.g. I offered her a seat. She didn’t want one
Collocation
Collocation refers to the tendency for certain words to occur together; words are predictably associated within phrases
It is cohesive because it involves the use of words that, because of their meaning, are already linked in the listener or reader’s mind
e.g. safe and sound, salt and pepper
Adverbials
words, phrases or clauses that provide information, often in
relation to time, place or manner. They can be used as signposts within a text.
e.g. firstly, immediately, finally
Front Focus
occurs when a speaker or writer places new or important information at the initial or front part of a sentence.
e.g. Potato cakes I like
Clefting
Splitting a sentence into two clauses each with its own verb
e.g. “It was I who received the promotion”, instead of “i received the promotion”
End Focus
End focus allows for prominence to be placed on a particular phrasal element in a sentence by moving it to the end.
e.g. My cat dropped a mouse on the doorstep, dead!
Deictics
Deictics (a deictic expression) is a term used to describe words or phrases which refer to a specific time, place, person or thing in a text without actually naming them by using a noun.
e.g. Come here and look at this mess.
Anaphoric reference
when an author or speaker refers to something previously
mentioned in a conversation or written discourse. This can be achieved using
pronouns or other referring expressions, such as possessive determiners.
Anaphoric reference allows us to avoid repetition
Cataphoric reference
when an author or speaker uses a pronoun or other referring expression to refer to something that will be mentioned later in the
discourse. Cataphoric reference can build anticipation and set up expectations
FLICC
Formatting
Logical ordering
Inference
Cohesion (SCARED CASHH FACCE)
Consistency and Conventions
Formatting
The use of subheadings, dot points, bold font, italics and underlining can be used to create coherence. The reader will find it easier to navigate their way through the text with the help of formatting
Logical Ordering
occurs when we construct a text, as we arrange information
in a way that will maximise understanding. We often do this subconsciously,
but in planned texts it is an intentional process designed to increase audience understanding
Inference
A text, therefore, does not make sense by itself, but rather by the interaction between the text material with the reader’s stored knowledge of the world. This can be very different from reader to reader. Thus the same text can be interpreted in a variety of ways, depending on the relationship between the world presented in the text and the reader’s own experience of the within which he or she lives
