Mechanisms of Linguistic Cohesion and Text Structure

1. Connectors (Cohesion Mechanisms)

Syntactic Connectors

• Conjunctions: and, nor, but, that.
• Sentential Adverbs: however, nevertheless, consequently.
• Prepositional Phrases: although, because.
• Predicates of Various Categories (Discourse Markers): In conclusion, alternative.

Expository Connectors

• Interlocutive Connectors: Appeal to the interlocutor (e.g., Look!).
• Switches (Discourse Markers): Words that have lost their original meaning and function as transitions (e.g., now, well).

2. Deictic Elements (Deixis)

1. Personal Deixis: (I, me, he, him, etc.)
2. Spatial Deixis: (this, that, here, there, these, etc.)
3. Temporal Deixis: (today, tomorrow, yesterday, when, etc.)
4. Social Deixis: Forms of address used when dealing with a partner (e.g., your, you, Sir, Lord).
5. Discourse Deixis: References to parts of the speech or text.
   • Structural Expressions: Refer to the structure itself (e.g., in the previous chapter).
   • Referring and Coreferential Expressions (Discourse): Include one or more sentences.

Anaphora and Cataphora

Anaphora: Occurs when a pronoun replaces a nominal phrase, and the referent (antecedent) appears before the pronoun. If the antecedent of the pronoun appears after the pronoun, it is a Cataphora.

Relationship: BEFORE (Antecedent) → AFTER (Pronoun) = Anaphora. AFTER (Antecedent) → BEFORE (Pronoun) = Cataphora.

Types of Anaphora and Cataphora

Examples of anaphoric/cataphoric pronouns: what, who, his.

1. Referential Anaphora: The pronoun refers directly to the antecedent/referent.
2. Sense Anaphora: The referring pronoun and the antecedent share meaning or form.
3. Elliptic Anaphora: Occurs when pronouns are omitted but the reference is obvious.

3. Lexical Cohesion (Textual Links)

1. Repetition

• Simple Repetition: Repetition of a word or its derivatives.
• Structural or Parallelistic Repetition: Repeating the grammatical structure.
• Synonymy or Coreferentiality: Using elements that are synonymous (sharing the same meaning).
• Isotopy: Using words related to the central topic.
• Paraphrase: Repeating the words of another while making small changes.

2. Substitution

Replacing one element with another to avoid redundancy.

• Hyponymy and Hyperonymy: Using a general term (hyperonym) for a specific term (hyponym), or vice versa. Example: Color (Hyperonym) / Flower (Hyperonym) → Red, Green, Daisy (Hyponyms).
• Anaphora: A pronoun that replaces an element previously mentioned in the text.
• Ellipsis: Omission of elements to avoid duplication, often because they are contextually obvious.
  • Example: She says she will not come (the second "she" or the verb phrase is often omitted).
  • Telegraphic Style: Omission used in short communications (e.g., SMS).
  • Types of Ellipsis:
    1. Nominal Ellipsis: Students have class in 2nd grade, not the 3rd [grade].
    2. Comparison Ellipsis: ... stand as much as John [stands].
    3. Verbal Ellipsis: Will you walk? No, [I will] study.
    4. Sentence Ellipsis: Do you play the guitar? No [I do not play the guitar].

3. Enumeration

A sequence of elements separated by commas.

• Speaker Enumeration (Related Items): Listing related items.
• Unlisted Components (Inaudita): Components not explicitly listed, often used to achieve literary effects.

4. Temporality

Cohesion achieved through temporal references.

• Grammatical Temporality: Use of verb tenses and temporal adverbs.
• Sequential Temporality: Ensuring correct ordering of events or ideas.