Understanding Cohesion and Coherence
Cohesion and coherence are two essential principles in literary texts, each encompassing various mechanisms and manifestations that contribute to their realization. The concept of cohesion refers to the interconnectedness of the words and sentences that form the text. This is achieved through specific tools that establish links between the text’s components, thereby ensuring cohesion at both the syntactic and semantic levels.
In contrast, coherence pertains to the overt and subtle textual mechanisms that render a text or discourse understandable, clear, and interpretable. This aspect is primarily related to the reader’s experience and not inherently tied to the discourse itself. Readers recognize coherence through several principles, including the principle of context, local interpretation, similarity, and relevance. Certain processes, particularly those involving cognitive and organizational backgrounds, must occur to establish textual coherence.
Mechanisms of Cohesion
Numerous mechanisms and features facilitate textual cohesion, the most significant of which include the following:
- Reference
This process establishes connections among words, sentences, and texts, linking smaller textual structures to create a unified whole. There are two types of reference: situational reference, which relates to the context or circumstances of the text, and textual reference, which concerns the relationships between different elements of the text, such as pronouns, demonstratives, and relative clauses.
- Substitution
This concept refers to replacing one element of the text with another. Substitution can be categorized into three types: nominal substitution, involving linguistic elements such as “another” or “others”; verbal substitution, where a verb replaces another verb; and clause substitution, where a sentence is replaced with another using connectors such as “that” or “not.”
- Omission
Omission plays a critical role in establishing cohesion by assuming the presence of an element within the text through the implication suggested by another element. There are three types of omission: nominal omission, which involves the removal of a noun; verbal omission, where a verb is omitted; and omission within phrases, which concerns the exclusion of parts of a phrase.
- Connection
This element assists in linking sentences and words through specific connectors that relate previous and subsequent elements. Connections can be subdivided into three types: additive connection using conjunctions like “and” or “or”; adversative connection using elements that signal contrast or qualification, such as “but” or “however”; and causal connection, which reflects logical relationships between sentences, as well as temporal connection, indicating the chronological progression between text elements.
Mechanisms of Coherence
Coherence in a text is achieved through several key features, including:
- Conjunction Relationships
This involves using conjunctions (and, so, or, then) to link one sentence to another, creating compound sentences that enhance the organization and coherence of the text.
- Adversative Connection (but)
This utilizes the conjunction “but,” which implies that the subsequent sentence contradicts or contrasts with the preceding one in meaning.
- Causal Relationships
Causal relationships indicate the manner in which one event or phenomenon occurs in relation to another, suggesting that one event is a prerequisite for the occurrence of another. Tools conveying this relationship include “to” and certain prepositions.
- Specificity and Generality
There are elements within texts that signal specificity or generality. Examples of these elements include: all, specific, some, every, each, and entirely.
- Continuity and Discontinuity
Continuity within a text signifies that the text is coherent, whereas discontinuity indicates a lack of coherence. Continuity is achieved through tools such as pronouns, demonstrative terms, and relative clauses.