Lingwistyka 1,2

1. How to ensure that the text is cohesive?

Cohesion is the grammatical and lexical linking within a text or sentence that holds a text together and gives it meaning.

There are two main types of cohesion: grammatical cohesion which is based on structural content (Substitution – replacement of a word or phrase with a pro-form, must be recoverable.

Ellipsis – grammatical omission (“zero substitution”), must be recoverable, Reference – relationship between the elements in the same sentence/discourse;

can be also achieved through the use of definite articles.), and lexical cohesion which is based on lexical content and background knowledge

(a) Repetition (“The car was stolen. [...] in the car.”) b) Synonymy (automobile -> car, etc.) c) Hyponymy (same semantic field: car ~ vehicle)

d) Meronymy (“part” of something; finger – hand) e) Antonymy (old =/= new, etc.) f) Collocation (words frequently appearing together)

A cohesive text is created in many different ways. A coherent text can be described as a text where the information is organized

and connected together into a logically-connected unit with cohesive devices joining the parts so that the text makes sense.

One important cohesive device is the topic sentence. This is the sentence which introduces the subject of the text and usually occurs at the beginning of the text.

The continuity and organization of the information is also an important factor in constructing a coherent text.

In addition, there are many words called linking words, which act as links between clauses and sentences in a text.

2. What kind of information is used by the reader to interpret the text as a coherent unit?

2. What kind of information is used by the reader to interpret the text as a coherent unit?

The key to the concept of coherence is not something that exists in the language, but something that exists in people.

It is people who make sense of what they read and listen to. They try to arrive at an interpretation which is in line with their experience of the way the world is.

Indeed, people‟s ability to make sense of what they read is probably only a small part of that general ability they have to make sense of what they perceive or experience in the world.

It seems to be involved in people‟s interpretation of all discourses. When readers comprehend text, they mentally build meaning representations at multiple levels(surface code, textbase, mental model, text genre, communication channel).

It should be perfectly obvious that children need to master each of these levels in order to be a proficient reader.

They need to learn the meaning of the words, the grammatical forms, the subject matter, the rhetorical structure, and the communication conventions.