A study on some discourse features in the reading texts in the Vietnamese new English textbook for non-English major students (with implication for teaching and learning) : M.A. Thesis Linguistics: 5 04 09

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UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND FOREIGN STUDIES
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
POST-GRADUATE FACULTY

NGUYỄN THỊ HƯƠNG GIANG

A STUDY ON SOME DISCOURSE FEATURES IN THE READING TEXTS
IN THE VIETNAMESE NEW ENLISH TEXTBOOK FOR NON-ENGLISHMAJOR STUDENTS (WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND
LEARNING)
Nghiên cứu một số đặc điểm diễn ngôn chính của các bài đọc hiểu trong sách giáo
khoa tiếng anh 11 mới dành cho học sinh không chuyên( kèm theo một số gợi ý cho
việc dạy và học)
M.A. THESIS
FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 50409

Ha Noi, August - 2010


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UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND FOREIGN STUDIES
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
POST-GRADUATE FACULTY

NGUYỄN THỊ HƯƠNG GIANG

A STUDY ON SOME DISCOURSE FEATURES IN THE READING TEXTS
IN THE VIETNAMESE NEW ENLISH TEXTBOOK FOR NON-ENGLISHMAJOR STUDENTS (WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND

LEARNING)
Nghiên cứu một số đặc điểm diễn ngôn chính của các bài đọc hiểu trong sách giáo
khoa tiếng anh 11 mới dành cho học sinh không chuyên( kèm theo một số gợi ý cho
việc dạy và học)
M.A. THESIS
FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 50409

SUPERVISOR: Dr. NGUYỄN HOÀ

Ha Noi, August - 2010


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Table of content
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

i

TABLE OF CONTENT

ii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

iii

Part I: INTRODUCTION

vi

1. Rationale

vi

2. Aim of the study

vii

3. Scope of the study

vii

4. Method of the study

vii

5. Organization of the study

viii

Part II: DEVELOPMENT

1

Chapter 1: Theoretical background

1

1.1.

Theory of discourse

1
1

1.1.2. Discourse versus text

2

1.1.3. Spoken and written discourse

2

1.1.4. Discourse features

3

1.1.5. Discourse analysis

3

1.2.

1.1.1. Definition of discourse

1.1.5.1.

Context in discourse analysis

4

1.1.5.2.

Discourse analysis and language teaching

5

Text types

5
6

1.2.2. Text types

6

1.2.3. Roles of text in language teaching

8

1.3.

1.2.1. Definition of text

Cohesion

8

1.3.1. The concept of cohesion

8

1.3.2. Cohesion versus coherence

9

1.3.3. Main types of cohesion

9

1.3.1.1. Grammatical devices

9

1.3.1.2. Lexical devices

13


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1.3.4.

Aspects of coherence

15

1.3.4.1. Topical coherences

15

1.3.4.2. Logical coherence

16

Chapter 2: Analysis of main discourse features in the reading text in the
Vietnamese new English 11 textbook for non-English - major students

17

2.1. Reference

17

2.1.1. Personal reference

17

2.1.2. Demonstrative reference

20

2.1.3. Comparative reference

23

2.1.4. Concluding remarks on reference

24

2.2. Substitution:

25

2.2.1. Nominal substitution

25

2.2.2. Verbal substitution

25

2.2.3. Clausal substitution

26

2.2.4. Concluding remarks on substitution

26

2.3. Ellipsis:

26

2.3.1. Nominal ellipsis

26

2.3.2. Verbal ellipsis

27

2.3.3. Clausal ellipsis

27

2.3.4. Concluding remarks on ellipsis

27

2.4. Conjunction:

27

2.4.1. Additive

28

2.4.2. Adversative

29

2.4.3. Causal

29

2.4.4. Temporal

30

2.4.5. Concluding remarks on conjunction

31

2.5. Lexical cohesive devices:

32

2.5.1. Repetition

32

2.5.2. Synonyms

35

2.5.3. Super-ordinate and general word

36

2.5.4. Collocation

37


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2.5.5. Concluding remarks on lexical cohesive devices:
Part III: Conclusion
1. Major findings and conclusion remarks

38
40
40

2. Implications for teaching and learning English for
non - English- major students at Tran Phu High School
3. Suggestions for further study

41
42

REFERENCE

ix

APPENDIXES

x


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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 1: 1. Literacy text types
Table 1: 2. Personal reference
Table 1: 3. Demonstrative reference
Table 1: 4. Comparative reference
Table 1: 5. Grammatical and lexical cohesion
Figure 2: 1 Analysis of three types of reference in the chosen reading texts
Figure 2: 2. Analysis of four types of conjunction in the chosen reading texts

Figure 2:3. Analysis of lexical cohesive devives in the chosen reading texts


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Part I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale:
Nowadays, teachers of languages in Vietnam with the pressure of professionalization are
more aware of the important role of linguistics in their field. They spend much time and
energy not only keeping up with the field but also doing a lot of research on linguistics in
general and discourse analysis in particular. To a teacher of language, it is vital to
understand how textbooks are seen in the light of discourse analysis, i.e. how language is
used in when designing teaching materials or engaging learners in learning activities
aimed at improving their target language proficiency or when evaluating piece of
materials before deciding using them.
“Discourse feature” is a broad category which covers a variety of criteria, including both
intra-linguistics factors and extra-linguistics elements, such as cohesive, theme-rhyme
structure, text structure, speech acts, writer‟s/ speaker‟s intensions, background
knowledge, etc. Halliday and Hasan (1976:3) claim that: if a passage of English
containing more than one sentence perceived as a text, there will be certain linguistics
features present in that passage which can be identified as contributing to its total unity
and giving it texture”. To the researcher, the linguistics features that are of great
importance and interests are those of generic structure and cohesion due to the belief that
these two factors make influential contribution to defining a genre of discourse.
High school English teachers in general and English teachers at Tran Phu high school,
Vinh Phuc province in particular focus so intensively on their English subject. And they
warmly welcome the new set of English textbooks for non-English-major students which
based on quite a new approach - communicative approach - is highly appreciated by both
teachers and students. As a teacher of English here, I am deeply aware of challenges in
dealing with the interest but demanding subject of English. I also realize some obstacles
that needs in solving the teaching and learning process of this subject. Most of my

students face up with the difficulties in reading and deeply understanding the reading
texts in the textbook. These difficulties surely will hinder the effectiveness and
improvement of students‟ study. Further more, though there are many researchers who
have been paying much attention and doing researches on cohesive devices used in the
textbooks not for high school students but for those who learn English with special


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purposes (ESP). Therefore, I decided to study on some discourse features in the reading
texts in the Vietnamese new English 11 textbook for non-English - major students
(because of the limit of time and my knowledge), from the point of view of discourse
analysis, the researcher only focus on cohesion devices used in the reading texts. These
cohesive devices are related to properties that make the text a unified whole. They refer
to both text characteristics and readers‟ interaction with the text. Awareness of coherence
as a quality that make a text conform to a consistent world picture, to experiences,
culture, and convention and cohesive devices used the linguistics means by which
elements of a text are arranged and concern is vital for students of English in improving
reading comprehension. Based on my analysis from the point of view of cohesive
devices, some suggestions are given for improving the effectiveness of teaching reading
skill and learning reading skill for English teachers and students.
2. Aim of the study:
Examining the cohesive devices in the reading texts in the Vietnamese new English 11
textbook for non-English - major students including grammatical cohesive devices,
lexical cohesive devices and conjunctions, with the aim of working out the typical
features of cohesive in reading texts in the Vietnamese new English 11 textbook for nonEnglish - major students which to satisfy the research questions:


What are cohesive devices mainly used in the reading texts in the Vietnamese
new English 11 textbook for non-English - major students?



How are those cohesive devices performed in the reading texts in the Vietnamese
new English 11 textbook for non-English - major students?

3. Scope of the study:
Focuses of consideration for the investigation of one of the greatest category of the
discourse features that is cohesion, used in collected reading texts in a certain textbook:
the Vietnamese new English 11 textbook for non-English - major students
4. Method of the study:
To reach the final goal of revealing the discourse features of the reading texts in the
Vietnamese new English 11 textbook for non-English - major students, the methods of
description, analysis and statistic in linguistics are used in this thesis and are carried out
in the following steps:


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 Collecting data, including relevant theories for analysis, Reading texts in the
Vietnamese new English 11 textbook for non-English - major students will be
collected. Relevant theories will be extracted from various linguistics book written by
several linguistics, such as: Cook (1989), Hatim and Mason (1990), Swales (1990),
Halliday and Hasan (1976), etc, as unavailable in printed books in Vietnam, will be
collected from the Internet sources, the address of which will be provided in the list of
References at the end of this thesis.
 Relevant theories will be presented on the ground of several linguists‟ view of points.
 16 reading texts in the Vietnamese new English 11 textbook for non-English - major
students will be comprehensively investigated for cohesive devices so as to find out
the most typical cohesive devices used in written text.
 Based on the results of the analysis, some concluding remarks can be generalized and
some implication for teaching and learning reading skills can be proposed.

5. Organization of the study
This research is composed of three main parts.
Part I, the Introduction, present briefly the rationale, the aims, the scope, and the
methods of the study as well as the organization of the study.
Part II is the Development, which consist of two chapters.
Chapter 1 discusses the Theoretical Background related to discourse analysis. In this
chapter, the researcher will present the basic concept of discourse and discourse
analysis, the discourse features, text types and its important roles as all the reading texts
in the chosen textbook is performed in the text form, as well as the notion of cohesion
which mainly focus on
Chapter 2 is devoted to the analysis of Cohesive Devices used in the reading text in the
Vietnamese new English 11 textbook for non-English - major students so as to reveal
some typical features. And finally, some remarks are discussed to answer the research
questions.
Part III is the Conclusion. In this part, a review of the study is presented, together with
some implication for teaching and learning, and suggestions for further studies.
The study is ended with Appendixes showing list of Reading texts taken into
consideration.


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Part II: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1.

Theory of discourse

1.1.1. Definition of discourse
The concept of discourse has been paid considerable attention to by many linguists.
Different authors have different definitions of discourse. Let‟s look at some of them to

achieve the similar as well as the different among them.
According to Crystal (1992:25) discourse is “a continuous stretch of (especially spoken)
language larger than a sentence, often constituting a coherent unit, such as a sermon, an
argument, a joke or a narrative”
Cook (1989: 156) shares the same idea with Crystal in stating that discourse is “stretches
of language perceived to be meaningful, unified and purposeful”. In his point of view,
discourse may be composed of one or more well-formed grammatical sentences – and
indeed it often is – but it does not have to be. There can be some grammatical mistakes in
a discourse, which do not affect the overall structure and meaning of the discourse.
Discourse treats the rules of grammar as a resource, conforming to them when it needs to,
but departing from them when it does not. Discourse can be anything from a conversation
to a great novel or a length legal case. Cook also argues that “What‟ matters is not its
conformity to rules, but the fact that it communicates and is recognized by its receivers as
coherent” discourse is supposed to be meaningful and thus used to communicate with one
person in a way that another person does not have the necessary knowledge to make
sense of.
Halliday & Hasan define discourse as follow: “We can define text (discourse) in the
simplest way perhaps, by saying that it is language that is functional. By functional, we
simply mean language that is doing the same job in some context as opposed to isolated
words or sentences that I might put on the blackboard. (These might also be functional of
course, if I was using them as linguistic examples). So any instance of living language
that is playing some part in a context of situation, we shall call a text. It may be either
spoken or written or indeed in any other medium of expression that we like to think of”.
We can understand from Halliday & Hasan‟s perspective on discourse is that discourse is
a unit of meaning and is functional. It is functional in the sense that it occurs in a context


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of situation. In terms of size, a discourse may be realized by a word, a phrase, a clause or
a sentence, a paragraph, a cluster of paragraph, a book or even the whole library of books.

To sum up, the majority of linguists seem to share a common view when defining the
concept of discourse. Their definitions, though expressed in different ways, all
emphasized the two most important aspects of a discourse:
1

The structure of a discourse: a discourse is a well-formed organization above the
level of a sentence.

2

The function of a discourse: a discourse serves as a mean of communication

1.1.2. Discourse versus text
There are, in fact, many ambiguities around the two terms “text” and “discourse”.
According to some linguists, the two terms seem to be used almost interchangeably. For
example, Halliday and Hasan (as I quoted above) uses “text” to refer to “discourse”
because they say “a text is a unit of language in use and it may be spoken or written,
prose or verse, dialogue or monologue”
Crystal (1992: 72) defines text as “a piece of naturally occurring spoken, written or
signed discourse identified for purposes of analysis. It is often a language unit with a
definable communicative function such as a conversation, a notice, and a poster”
Moreover, some people argue that discourse is the language in action while a text is the
written record of that interaction. According to this view of point, discourse brings
together language the individuals producing the language and the context within which
the language is used. Thus, it is characterized as a discourse – as a process view. For
other linguists, they tend to avoid using the term “discourse” altogether, they prefer the
term “text” for all recorded instances of language in use. Brown and Yule (1983: 6) point
out that “text is the representation of discourse and the verbal record of a communicative
act”. Cook (1989: 158) sees text as “a stretch of language interpreted formally without
context. This can be described as a text –as product view. So, do we need to distinguish

between the two term “text” and “discourse”? My answer is we really do not, as I shall
present in this thesis, because text or discourse is an instance of language in use and no
text occurs without a context.
1.1.3. Spoken and written discourse
The two form, spoken and written discourse, have some similar features but have some


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different in term of form and function. Halliday (1985: a) state that “speaking does not
show clearly sentence and paragraph boundaries or signal the move into direct quotation
while writing leaves out the prosodic and paralinguistic contributions”. Meanwhile
written discourse complies of complete sentence with subordination, rich lexis and
frequent modifications via adjectives and adverbs, spoken contents incomplete sentences.
Although spoken and written discourse have the general function of communication,
spoken and written serve various functions: the former is the primarily concerned with
interactional use and latter with the transactional use. (Brown and Yule, 1983: 13)
To sum up, speaking and writing are alternative outputs that realize the meaning potential
of language. The major differences between them derive from the fact that speaking is
essentially transitory and writing is designed to be permanent. In this thesis, the two
terms “text” and “discourse” both refer to written discourse.
1.1.4. Discourse features
What are the features for distinguishing a discourse from a non-discourse? According to
Bell (1991), in order to identify a language unit as a discourse, it must meet at least seven
standards but here to make it brief we can organize them into five: (i) cohesion and
coherence, (ii) intentionality and acceptability, (iii) informative,(iv) relevance, and (v)
intertextuality.
As I said before, in this thesis, the two terms “text” and “discourse” both refer to written
discourse. So, what are the features of a written discourse? A written discourse,
especially a well-written discourse exhibits two important features: cohesion and
coherence. These inherent features of a written discourse facilitate the interpretation of

the discourse during the process. While creating the discourse, the writer invests time and
effort to make the discourse cohesive and coherent, the effective reader can take
advantage of these features.
1.1.5. Discourse analysis
Discourse analysis (DA) is concerned with the study of the relationship between language
and the context in which it is used. This has been developed from the work of different
disciplines in the 1960s and early 1970s, including linguistics, semiotics, psychology,
anthropology and sociology. Discourse analysis studies language in use, written text and
spoken data of all kinds under the approach different from that of old grammarians.


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Yule (1996) states in his Study of language that:
“In the study of language, some of the most interesting questions arise in
connection with the way language is used, rather than what its components are. (…). We
were, in effect, asking how it is that language–users intent to convey. When we carry this
investigation further and ask how it is that we, as language – users, make sense of what
we read in texts, understand what speakers mean despite what they say, recognize
connected as opposed to jumbled or incoherent discourse, and successfully take part in
that complex activity called conversation, we are understand what is known as discourse
analysis”
British DA was mainly influenced by M.A.K Halliday‟s functional approach of language.
Halliday‟s framework emphasizes the social function of language and the thematic and
informational structure of speech and writing. Halliday and Hasan (1976) as well as
Prague Scholl of linguists have made their significant contribution to this branch of
linguistics in pointing out the links between grammar and discourse.
To sum up, the brief over view of discourse analysis we have provide above has shown
that the area of research has grown into a wide – ranging and heterogeneous discipline
which finds its unity in the description of language above the sentence and interest in the
context and cultural influences which affect language in use.

1.1.5.1.Context in discourse analysis
Celce and Murcia (2000) use the term “context” in DA to refer to “all the factors and
elements that are non- linguistic and textual but which affect spoken or written
communicative interaction”. There are different classifications of context but there are
two main types as follow:
Context of situation: it is an integral concept of DA. According to Nunan (1983: 7)
“context refers to the situation giving rise to the discourse and within which the discourse
is embedded”. And Hymes states that “the role of context in interpretation as, on the one
hand, limiting the range of possible interaction, and on the other hand, as supporting the
intended interaction”. Many other linguists have shared a common view that readers can
understand thoroughly what someone says or writes only when they know the context of
situation. Thus, in order to understand a discourse we need not only focus on its
description of discourse but also the context in which it is embedded.


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Context of culture: beside the language itself, we need to pay attention to many
other factors to understand deeply a discourse among those is context of culture. When
analyzing a discourse, we need to know well about the culture in which the utterance is
used. As Malinowsky states “If you are not a member of culture, you cannot understand
what it meant”, that expresses the important role of knowing the culture in interpreting
and understanding given messages.
In short, it is hard, if not possible, to fully understand a linguistic message if one is
foreign to a discourse community. In other words, text interpretation must take into
account, together with the context of situation, the larger context of culture.
1.1.5.2.Discourse analysis and language teaching.
The most prominent characteristic of linguistics from its process of historical
development in the past towards the first half of this century was that it did not escape
from the concept of sentence. The sentence was always considered to be the largest
complete unit studied in the linguistics sphere. Because of this misunderstanding point of

view, we are incapable of helping students to write coherent compositions, and analyzing
errors and suggesting ways of correcting errors in students‟ works as well as help them
deeply understand the meaning of what are going on in spoken and written discourse. As
the result of these drawbacks, a new subject DA grew out of the work in different
disciplines in the 1960s and early 1970s, including linguistics, semiotics (the study of
signs and symbols in language), psychology, anthropology and sociology. It can draw
attention to the skills needed to put this knowledge into action to achieve successful
communication and is therefore of great importance in language teaching.
In the introduction to Mc Carthy‟s book Discourse analysis for language teachers he
maintains:
“The various disciplines that feed into discourse analysis have shared a common interest
in language in use, in created sentences. Discourse analysis is therefore of immediate
interest to language teachers because we have had too long the question of how people
use uppermost in our mind when we design teaching materials or when we engage
learners in exercise and activities aimed at making them proficient user of their published
materials before deciding to use it”.
1.2.

Text types


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1.2.1. Definition of text
Jenni Connor says: “…We live in a world of words, when these words are put together to
communicate a meaning, a piece of text is created”
(www. AboutEnglish-texts.html.p1)
So, a text is any communication, spoken, written or visual involving language. In
teaching and learning process, teachers and students always work with texts such as:
conversations, speeches, postcards or letters, extracts from novels, plays, songs, poems,
articles and so on. It is obvious that texts are around us, in books, documentaries or in

everyday life such as everyday conversations, phone conversations, or letters. However,
there are lists of different types of texts and teachers need to know how to help their
students to interpreter and create these various types of texts.
1.2.2. Types of text
Texts are around us and certainly they are not the same. They are various in different
types with different purposes.
“Whenever a text is created, it depends on our purpose and context. It requires us
to make careful choices about the words we use, and how these words are put together
and this creates a wide variety of language forms in which have particular structure,
style and purpose. And these various forms we create are called text-types”
(www.education.tas.gov.au/English, p1)
In learning foreign language in general and specially in learning English, students should
experience and actively create a wide variety of text types, proceeding from simple to
more complex ones and this process will develop their language knowledge. And this
process can not be separated from the teachers‟ help, thus, teachers should learn how to
help their students to interpret and create all different aspects of these text types because:
“Literacy… involves the integration of speaking, listening, viewing and critical thinking
with reading and writing” (Literacy policy, p2)
Different types of texts invite different ways of reading and writing and make different
demands on students and required different skills for students.
Text types are often used as: literacy texts, mass-media texts and everyday texts. The
following quotes from the website of Tasmanian Government Education Board define:
“Literacy texts are characterized by the aesthetic use of language and the


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imagination to shape, explore, reproduce understandings about, reflect on, represent and
speculate about human experience through the construction of real and imagine
(including virtual) worlds”. Example: narratives, novels, poems, dramas, short stories,
biographies, autobiographies, essays, etc.

“Mass-media texts are those produce in a variety of paper and electronic media
for mass audience such as: children‟s TV programs, journalism, TV news, advertising,
radio talk back, web pages, etc”
“Everyday texts are those associated with education, leisure, work, family and
daily life as: information reports, face-to-face and online discussions, speeches, personal
email, letters, interviews, daily conversations and so on”
(www.education.tas.gov.au?English, p1)
All the texts given in the Reading texts in the Vietnamese new English 11 textbook for
non-English - major students are literacy texts. So, what are literacy text types? To make
this question clear, we can have a look at this following table:
Literacy

text

Purpose

Example

- Using spoken or written language to tell a story which

Picture book, stories, novels,

may be based on imagination.

fairy/ folk tales, myths, fables,

- Used for entertainment.

legends

- Using spoken or written language to tell what happened

Travel,

by orderly, logical sequence based on life experiences

accident, reports, poems, real

and person-oriented, especially it is the construction of

life fictions, new reports

types
Stories
novels

Narratives

or

adventure,

diaries

real world.
Poetries

- To express aesthetic feeling, sensory experiences,

Song lyrics, poems, ballads,

imaginative perceptions and impressions of life.

sonnets

- To tell a story with the poets‟ viewers on people and
events. All poetry is presented through different kinds of
techniques such as simile, metaphor, rhythm, sound
patterns and personifications
Descriptions

- To describe some places, someone or something in
detail.
- To describe in literacy terms, natural, physical, cultural
and individual phenomena based on 5 senses: sight,

Postcards, letters, theme writing


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hearing, taste, touch and smell.
Dramas

- Use acting to convey ideas and experiences.

Films,

scripts,

stage

- Often be acted by actors on the stage with visual

dramatic monologues.

plays,

elements to help communicate meaning as facial
expressions, body language, costumes, sets, etc.
Essays

- To discuss a topic from an author‟s personal viewpoint.

Epistle, theme writing

Reviews

- To summarize/ analyze or to respond personally or to

Book description

review a literacy text.

Table 1: 1. Literacy text types
1.2.3. Roles of texts in language teaching
Text is very important in language teaching, if we only teach students grammar and
individual words, students cannot use them in practice, but we show them how words are
in use in real context, they will know how to modify and extend in their utterance. What
is more? Text enlarges vocabulary rapidly and is the best way to show how language is in
use.

Apart from being a source of reading, structures and vocabulary, the text is a starting
point for grammar practice, listening work, pronunciation and intonation practice and
discussion.

It exploits the visual dimension and it is our prime source of cultural

information. A good text can be the basis of a multi-skill lesson conducted entirely in the
target language
Besides, text also helps students improve their writing skill by imitating the expressing
ways used in the text
1.3. Cohesion
1.3.1. Concept of cohesion
As mentioning in the previous part, cohesion is one of the very important technical terms
in discourse analysis. So, what is cohesion? In Indo-European languages, the term "text"
derived from the Latin word "texium" meaning "cohesion", therefore cohesion somewhat
very meaningful to a text.
According to M.A.K Halliday's point of view (1976) "The concept of cohesion is
semantic one, it refers to relation of meaning that exist within the text, and that define it
as a text". He also points out that “cohesion often occurs where the interpretation of some
elements in the discourse is dependent on that of another. The one presupposes the other,


19
in the sense that it cannot be effectively decoded except by recourse to it”
Cohesion is therefore of great significance to the interpretation of discourse. It expresses
the continuity existing between one part of the text and another which enable the reader/
listener to supply all the missing pieces, all the components of the picture which are not
presented in the text but are necessary to its interpretation.
1.3.2. Cohesion versus coherence
Cohesion and coherence are two terms closely connecting to discourse. They both share

the same Latin prefix “co” which means „together‟, „with‟ or „cohere‟. However, they
greatly differ from each other.
Cohesive items are clues or signals as to how the text should be interpreted and
understood whereas, coherence is something created by the people in the act of reading or
hearing. Cohesion is expressed in grammatical and lexical links between different
elements of a text meanwhile coherence is the feeling that a text hangs together that it
makes sense, and is not just a jumble of sentences. In another words, cohesion is a guide
to coherence. The key concept of cohesion is something which exists in the language,
right in the text but coherence is something which exists in reader‟s or listener‟s mind.
1.3.3. Main types of cohesion
According to Halliday $ Hasan (1976) as well as many other linguists, cohesion is
expressed partly through grammar and partly through the vocabulary. So, there are two
broad divisions of cohesion: grammatical and lexical
1.3.3.1.Grammatical cohesion
Grammatical cohesion may be defined as the surface making of semantic links between
clauses and sentences in written discourse, and between utterances and tunes speech. The
various types of grammatical cohesion are references, substitution, ellipsis, and
conjunction
Reference:
According to Halliday in his book An introduction to Functional Grammar – second
edition published in 1994, he said “A participant or circumstantial element introduced at
one place in the text can be taken as a reference point for something that follows.” Saying
in another words, reference is used to avoid being repetitive. Also from his point of view,
reference is divided into two types: endophoric and exophoric.


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 Exophoric is the situational reference referring to a thing as identified in the
context of situation.
 Endophoric is textual reference referring to a thing as indentified in the

surrounding text. Endophoric may be divided into two kinds: anaphoric and
cataphoric.
Anaphoric and cataphoric reference indicate two different ways in which
reference items can functional within a text. Anaphoric reference points the reader
or listener „backward‟ to a previously mentioned entity, process or state of affairs.
e.g. 1: I am studying at Tran Phu High school. The school is very big.
We can realize that the article „the‟ refers back to Tran Phu high school. This is
the case of anaphoric reference, we mean the use of a word or phrase to refer
forward to another word or phrase which will be used latter in the text.
Halliday and Hasan (1976) classify three sub-types of referential cohesion: personal,
demonstrative and comparative. These various devices enable the writer or speaker to
make multiple references to people and things within a text.
Personal references are references by means of function in the speech situation, through
category of person. These items are expressed through pronouns and determiners. They
serve to identify individuals and objects named at some other points in the text.
Semantic category
Grammatical function class

Existential

Possessive

Head

Modifier

Noun (pronoun)

Determiner

I me

Mine

My

You

Yours

Your

We us

Ours

Our

He him

His

His

She her

Hers

Her

They them

Theirs

Their

It

Its

Its

one

One‟s

Table 1: 2. Personal reference
(Source: Halliday and Hasan, 1976: 38)


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Demonstrative references are references by means of location, on a scale of proximity,
expressed through determiners and adverbs. These items can represent a single word or
phrase, or much longer chunks of a text.
Semantic category

Selective

Grammatical function class

Modifier/head

Adjunct

Modifier

Determiner

Adverb

determiner

This these

Here [now]

The

That those

There then

Non-selective

Table 1: 3. Demonstrative reference
(Source: Halliday and Hasan, 1976: 38)
Comparative references are indirect references by means of identity or similarity,
expressed through adjectives and adverbs and serve to compare items within a text.
Semantic category - Grammatical function class
Modifier:

Sub-modifier /adjunct

Deictic/Epithet
Adjective

Adverb

Same identical equal

Identically

Similar additional

Similarly, likewise, so, such

Other different else

Differently otherwise

Better more etc

So more less equally

[comparative

adjectives and

quantifiers]

Table 1: 4. Comparative references
(Source: Halliday and Hasan, 1976: 38)
Substitution:
Halliday and Hasan pointed out that “substitution is the relation between linguistic items,
such as words or phrase and in terms of linguistic level it is a relation on
lexicogrammatical level, the level of grammar and vocabulary”. Three types of
substitution are: nominal, verbal and clausal.
e.g. 2:
Nominal: I don‟t want that kind of shirt. Give me the black one
(One substituted for „shirt‟)


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Verbal: My friend made a very good presentation yesterday. So did I
(Did is substituted for „made a very good presentation‟)
Clausal: A: I think we will get her letter next Tuesday
B: I think so
(So is substituted for „we will get her letter next Tuesday‟)
Ellipsis:
Ellipsis is the omission of elements normally required by the grammar, which the
speaker, writer are obvious from the context and therefore need not be raised. Ellipsis is
distinguished by the structure having some missing elements, which are retrievable from
the surrounding text. Halliday and Hasan (1976) state that “similar to ellipsis, substitution
operates at three levels: nominal, verbal and clausal”. In other words, ellipsis can be
interpreted as the form of substitution in which the item is replaced by nothing. The
purpose of using this device is not to burden the text with needless substitution or
repetition. Generally, readers do not pay much attention to ellipsis device because in most
of the cases, it does not directly affect misunderstanding of the text.
e.g. 3:
Nominal: A: I‟d like a cup of lemon juice with sugar

B: Me? No sugar, please
Verbal: He likes cooking but I don‟t (like cooking)
Clausal: I didn‟t break that vase, you know? (I didn‟t broke that vase)
Conjunction:
Conjunction signals systematic connection between what is to follow and what has gone.
Saying in different way, conjunction is used to link words, phrases, clauses, sentences, or
even paragraph to create logical semantic relationship between them. We can list here
four main types of conjunction: additive, adversative, casual-conditional and temporal.
 Additive: and, besides, furthermore, likewise, in addition, by the way, in other
words, for instance, thus, etc.
e.g. 4: He turned off the light and went out
 Adversative: at the same time, though, only, at least, instead of, nevertheless, yet,
but, however, on the contrary, in fact, etc.
e.g. 5: We tried our best to complete the work in time, however, we failed.


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 Casual-conditional: for that reason, as the result, hence, in that case, so,
therefore, because, otherwise, if, unless, as, etc.
e.g. 6: If you take these bills, you will get better.
 Temporal: meanwhile, next time, soon, at once, until then, first, then, and then,
after that, from now on, when, before, finally, etc.
e.g. 7: Before going to school, I had phoned you.
1.3.1.2. Lexical cohesion
As mentioning in the previous part, cohesion is expressed in grammatical and lexical
links. So, as well as grammatical cohesion, lexical cohesion plays an important role in
creating a discourse. Lexical cohesion embraces two distinct though related aspects:
reiteration and collocation.
Reiteration:
Halliday and Hasan (1976) consider: “Reiteration is the repetition of a lexical item or the

occurrence of a synonym of some kind, in the context of reference; that is, where the two
occurrences have the same reference”. Reiteration involves repetition, synonym and /or
near synonym, antonym, super-ordinate and general words. Let‟s look at these following
examples for clarifying.
 Repetition:
Repetition is the way we repeat exactly a lexical item mentioned previously in the text.
Thus, repetition aims at logical emphasis, which is necessary to fix the attention of the
readers on the key words or phrases of utterances.
e.g. 8: We also have the Express Mail Service and your EMS mail will be
delivered in the shortest possible time.
 Synonym:
Synonym means that two or more words have the same meaning. Many new words in
English appear very close in meaning to each other.
E.g. 9: The game will begin when the referee blow the whistle and all the fan will
start to shout
 Antonym:
Antonym is a word which is of the same part of speech and apposite in meaning to
another word. But this definition is not adequate as words may be opposite in meaning in


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different ways, and some words do not have exact opposites
e.g. 10: The winner will get 2 points, and the looser have no point.
 Super-ordinate:
Super-ordinate in the text means that the later noun is synonymous with the previous one
in the sense of higher level of generality.
e.g. 11: She won the trophy. The prize was not her surprise
 General word:
General words or general super-ordinate is common in English discourse. The class of
general nouns is a small set of noun having generalized reference within the major noun

classes.
e.g. 12: People, person, man, woman, child, boy, girl
Collocation
As a matter of fact that, words are rarely used alone. They go with each other and depend
on each other. Word meaning is also governed by the meaning of other words which tend
to occur in its environment. Though there are many possible word combinations, we tend
to use common and regular ones to gain naturalness in speech and writing. Linguists
name these regular combinations of words collocation.
Collocation can be divided into three groups: collocations in term of lexical relations,
collocations in term of semantic relations and collocations in term of grammatical
relations. Most of collocations are examined in this thesis are basing on semantic
relations.
Grammatical cohesion

Lexical cohesion

Reference:

Reiteration:

Exphoric reference

Repetition

Endophoric reference

Synonym / near synonym

Substitution:

Antonym

Nominal substitution

Super-ordinate

Verbal substitution

General words

Clausal substitution

Collocation:
Noun + noun

Ellipsis:
Nominal ellipsis

Adjective + noun

Verbal ellipsis

Verb + noun


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Clausal ellipsis

Noun + preposition
Preposition + noun

Conjunction:
Additive

Verb + verb

Adversative

Verb + preposition

Clausal

Adjective + preposition

Temporal

……….

Others

Table 1: 5. Grammatical and lexical cohesion
1.3.4. Aspect of coherence
Topical and logical coherence are the two vital factors making coherent discourse.
1.3.4.1.Topical coherence
To achieve coherence of a text mostly only one specific topic should be discussed
through the text
Lunar New Year, or Tet, is Vietnam‟s main holiday. It is the grandest and most
important occasion in the year which falls sometime between 19th January and 20th
February on the Western calendar. Tet mark the beginning of spring and, for agrarian
people, the start of a new year.

As we can see, the above paragraph consists of three sentences all refer to the same topic
that is Tet holiday. To make the topic clear, the extract begins with a topic sentence
which states that Tet is the main holiday in Vietnam. The two supporting sentences prove
why it becomes the main one. In addition, the words and phrases in the extract are
repeated or closely related with one another. The above analysis of the extract shows that
the coherence of the text can be achieve in the topical cohesion that is different from
jumble of sentences
1.3.4.2.Logical coherence
Logical coherence is another important aspect of coherence because functionally it
creates coherent comprehension for readers. Looking back at the above paragraph, it is
also apparent that all sentences are logically linked together. Logical cohesive devices are
enumeration,

addition,

transition,

apposition,

replacement, contrast, concession and comparison.

result,

inference,

reformulation,


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In conclusion, cohesion and coherence are inseparable parts of discourse analysis. They

have contributed to the major shift of focus in language teaching from linguistic form to
language use at all level