1. The document discusses cohesion in discourse analysis, which refers to the ties and connections that exist within a text. 2. Cohesive devices help create cohesion and include references, substitutions, ellipsis, conjunctions, and lexical ties that link different parts of a text together. 3. An example analyzes the cohesive devices like pronouns, repetition of words and phrases, and semantic ties in a short paragraph to help interpret what the writer is trying to say.

1. LECTURE 75:
1. INTERPRETING
DISCOURSE
I. COHESION
II. COHESIVE
DEVICES
Ch#11: Discourse Analysis
The Study of Language

2. An Example
Provided By
Eric Nelson
• MyTown My natal was in a small town, very
close to Riyadh capital of Saudi Arabia.The
distant between my town and Riyadh 7
miles exactly.The name of this Almasani
that means in English Factories. It takes
this name from the peopl’s carrer. In my
childhood I remember the people live. It
was very simple. Most the people was
farmer.

3. HOW TO
INTERPRET
A TEXT?
We find many texts, breaking grammatical rules but
yet we build an interpretation about them.
In the previous slide, we find the sample paragraph
of an English language learner, which contains all
kind of errors but yet it could be understood.
So, what we are doing is to reach an interpretation
that what the writer is trying to say.
Most of us would agree that this is the text
understandable.
To reach at an interpretation we rely on linguistics
form and structure of sentence but as a language
user we have knowledge more than that.

4. COHESION
The ties and connection that exit within a text (The
Study of Language).
The act or state of keeping together (OALD 9th
Edition).
The act or state of sticking together tightly
(MerriamWebster).
We know that texts have certain structure and that
structure depends upon some factors that are
different from a single sentence.
Some of these factors are described in terms of
cohesion or the ties and connection that exist within
texts.
These ties are also called cohesive ties or cohesive
devices.

5. COHESIVE
TIES OR
COHESIVE
DEVICES
EXAMPLE
• My father once bought a Lincoln
convertible. He did it by saving every
penny he could.That car would be
worth a fortune nowadays.
However, he sold it to help pay for
my college education. Sometimes I
think I’d rather have the convertible.

6. CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN
WORDS
Father – he – he – he
My – my – I
Lincoln – it

7. CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN
PHRASES
•a Lincoln convertible –
that car – the
convertible.

8. GENERAL
CONNECTIONS
CREATED BY A
NUMBER OF
TERMS SHARRING
A COMMON
ELEMET OF
MEANING
“money”(bought–saving–penny–worth a
fortune–sold– pay).
“time” (once – nowadays – sometimes)
The verb in first four sentence is past
referring to a particular time and creating a
connection between events.
Analysis in this way help us to understand
that what does writer want to say.
A number of cohesive devices play a crucial
role in judgements that something is
written good or not.

9. DIFFERENCE
& PROBLEMS Cohesive devices may differ from one language to the other and
may make it difficult to translate a text.
A text does not depend solely on cohesive ties excessiveness.
If a text has much cohesive ties, it does not necessarily indicate
that it would be understandable.
Here is a sample text having many cohesive devices but it is
difficult to make sense of it.
My father bought a Lincoln convertible.The car driven by the
police was red.That color doesn’t suit her. She consists of three
letters. However, a letter isn’t as fast as a telephone call.
These other factors we will look in next lecture in the terms of
“coherence.”

10. Continued
• The property of unity in a written text or a
segment of spoken discourse that stems from
links among its surface elements, as when words
in one sentence are repeated in another, and
especially from the fact that some words or
phrases depend for their interpretation upon
material in preceding or following text, as in the
sequence Be assured of this. Most people do not
want to fight. However, they will do so when
provoked, where this refers to the two sentences
that follow, they refers back to most people, do so
substitutes for the preceding verb fight, and
however relates the clause that follows to the
preceding sentence (Dictionary.com).

11. NEXT
LECTURE 76:
WHAT IS
COHERENCE
CH#11: DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
THE STUDYOF LANGUAGE