What is a text individual words

What is a text? ≠ individual words ≠ sentences, or fragment of sentences A multidimensional unit the list of definitions could be very long. . .

Example of texts . . .

I’m Nobody! Who are you? Are you – Nobody – too? Then there’s a pair of us! Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know! How dreary – to be – Somebody! How public – like a Frog – To tell one’s name – the livelong June – To an admiring Bog! (E. Dickinson, 260)

I ham in love with you!

[Jenny] What are we having for dinner? [Michael] Paul just pulled in [Jenny] I was hoping that you'd make macaroni and cheese [Michael] Did you replace the light bulb in the hall?

Text types Informative Operative Expressive Hybrid. . .

register Language used for a particular purpose in a particular social setting doctor: clavicle we: collarbone “I require your attendance to be punctual” “I want you to come on time”

TEXT: “[A term] used in linguistics to refer to any passage- spoken or written, of whatever length, that does form a unified whole […] A text is a unit of language in use. It is not a grammatical unit, like a clause or a sentence; and it is not defined by its size […] A text is best regarded as a SEMANTIC unit; a unit not of form but of meaning. ” (Halliday and Hasan, 1976: 1 -2)

“Texts are used as tools and, at the same time, they reveal the tool-user. They communicate something and about someone. ” (Neubert, 1992)

TEXT: “A naturally occurring manifestation of language, i. e. as a communicative language event in a context. The surface text is the set of expressions actually used; these expressions make some knowledge explicit, while other knowledge remains implicit, though still applied during processing. ” (Beaugrande and Dressler, 1981: 63)

“[A] language that is functional. […] Language that is doing some job in some context, as opposed to isolated words or sentences” Halliday and Hasan (1985: 10)

both “a product and a process”

In its social-semantic perspective, text is an object of social exchange of meanings As such, it is embedded in a context of situation The context of situation is the semio-socio-cultural environment in which the text unfolds text and context = intimately related

Context of situation What = field of discourse Who = tenor of discourse What is happening? What is it the participants are engaged in? Who is taking part to the discourse? How = mode of discourse How is the text organized? What role has the language?

Context of culture The broader background. . . “What is the rock band whose members are all presidents? ”

A sentence is grammatical or ungrammatical A text is acceptable or non acceptable

what makes the text a unified meaningful whole rather than a mere string of unrelated words and sentences? According to Beaugrande and Dressler 7 standards of textuality

Cohesion Coherence Intentionality Acceptability Informativity Situationality Intertextuality

COHESION "[. . . ] concerns the ways in which the components of the surface text, i. e. the actual words we hear or see, are mutually connected within a sequence. ” > TEXTUAL QUALITY: ties across sentences that join them together

COHERENCE "[. . . ] concerns the ways in which the components of the textual world, i. e. the configuration of concepts and relations which underlie the surface text, are mutually accessible and relevant" > OVERALL CONSISTENCY: logical connections

Poor COHESION The hotel is famous. It is one of the most wellknown hotels in the country. The latest international dancing competition was held at the hotel. The hotel spent a lot of money to advertise the event. The hotel wanted to gain international reputation. But not many people attended the event.

Good COHESION The latest international dancing competition was held at the hotel, which is one of the most wellknown hotels in this region. The hotel spent a lot of money on advertising the event since it wanted to enhance its international reputation; however, it failed to attract many people.

Poor COHERENCE The wind began to moan in hollow murmurs, as the sun went down, carrying glad day elsewhere; and a train of dull clouds coming up against it, menaced thunder and lightning. Large drops of rain soon began to fall and Charles closed the umbrella.

Good COHERENCE The wind began to moan in hollow murmurs, as the sun went down, carrying glad day elsewhere; and a train of dull clouds coming up against it, menaced thunder and lightning. Large drops of rain soon began to fall and Charles opened the umbrella.

poor cohesion > poor coherence For me, the worst thing about waiting tables is the uniform. All the waitresses had to wear this ugly brown striped jumper. The shirts were polyester. Sometimes someone you know comes in. Now I have a job in an office.

ELEMENTS OF COHESION Reference items those that depend on 1) the context or on 2) antecedent or following elements for interpretation 1) Endophoric reference: a) I can see a bird. It is singing. > anaphoric reference b) When they arrived at the house, all the guests were very tired. > cataphoric reference

2) Exophoric reference (something in the context of situation) Did you see that?

Deixis : refers to words and phrases that cannot be fully understood without additional text or context This, that : discourse deictics here, there : place deictics he, she : personal deictics Now, later : time deictics

ELEMENTS OF COHESION Ellipsis and substitution a) How did you enjoy the paintings? – A lot were very good but not all = A lot of the paintings were very good but not all the paintings b) “Tell a story” - “I don't know one”

ELEMENTS OF COHESION Conjunction: Through its use a logical-semantic relationship is expressed between two sentences Additive: and, also, too, furthermore, additionally Adversative: yet, though, only, but, in fact, rather Causal: so, then, for, because, for this reason, as a result, in this respect Temporal: then, next, after that, next day, until then, at the same time, at this point

ELEMENTS OF COHESION Lexical cohesion: Use of synonyms and collocations Repetitions of words He saw an old nurse. The woman looked at him for a while then. . . For 15 years, Putin has been a faithful ally to the United States. Today, no one in Washington still thinks of Mr. Putin as a partner. "Every American, to the last man, lays claim to a 'sense of humor’ yet he rejects humor as a contaminating element wherever found. America is a nation of comics and comedians; nevertheless humor has no stature and is accepted only after the death of the perpetrator. "

For me, the worst thing about waiting tables was the uniform. At the last place I worked, all the waitresses had to wear an ugly brown striped jumper. Underneath it we had to wear an even uglier polyester shirt. Sometimes someone I knew would come in and I'd feel embarrassed by my outfit. Now I have a job in an office, where I can wear my own clothes.

COHERENCE "[. . . ] concerns the ways in which the components of the textual world, i. e. the configuration of concepts and relations which underlie the surface text, are mutually accessible and relevant" > OVERALL CONSISTENCY: logical connections

COHESION "[. . . ] concerns the ways in which the components of the surface text, i. e. the actual words we hear or see, are mutually connected within a sequence. ” > TEXTUAL QUALITY: ties across sentences that join them together

Elements of cohesion: - Reference: deixis (< Ancient Greek: deiktikos, ‘pointing’) personal: I want the dog you found in the alley spatial: I want the dog over there temporal: I want the dog now discourse: do you understand this?

Endophoric reference Anaphoric reference: My dog’s name is Cate. She’s very sweet. Cataphoric reference: This is how to get the best results. You let the berries dry in the sun, till all the moisture has gone out of them, then… Exophoric reference: Did the gardener water those plants?

Elements of cohesion: - Ellipsis : Would you like to go to school? Yes, I would. Who saw the tooth fairy? Bob - Substitution : What kind of cupcake would you like? A chocolate one, please. I didn’t like the film, but everyone else did (=liked the film)

Elements of cohesion: - Conjunctions : logical connectors Smith probably committed the crime. He had a guilty look on his face. Moreover, the police found a gun under his bed. Smith probably committed the crime. He had a guilty look on his face. Yet, the police could not find the gun. People think tomatoes are vegetables, but, in fact, they are fruits.

IN FACT ≠ infatti Lo studente fu espulso. Questo è particolarmente interessante, infatti il MIT non ha un codice d’onore. The student was expelled. And this is particularly interesting, because MIT doesn't have an honor code. Ecco perché ho sollevato la questione, infatti il tema non compariva in agenda. Questo lo trovavo ingiusto. That is why I raised the question, as the matter has not appeared on the agenda. I thought this was unfair. Sì, la vacanza è stata favolosa. In effetti è stata la migliore che abbiamo mai fatto. Yes, the holiday was terrific. In fact, it was the best we’ve ever had.

AS – SINCE : causal When the reason is well-known or of less importance than the rest of the sentence He died because of cancer. Since his cancer had left him immunocompromised, he died I’m leaving because I’m fed up! As women were not supposed to be novelists, she took the name George Eliot.

Elements of cohesion - Lexical cohesion Repetitions of words Use of synonyms and collocations There are few activities better than swimming. Swimmers exercise every part of the body. One of the most admired qualities in a person is honesty. But being truthful in all situations can lead to unexpected problems.

The concept of cohesion is a semantic one; it refers to relations of meaning that exist within the text, and that define it as a text. «it takes two to tango!» We always need a pair of items to talk about cohesion. The relation between the two items is called a tie.

A text is any passage, spoken or written, of whatever length, that does a unified whole. Not the sum of sentences, but a unit of language in use. Or: a semantic unit, a unit not of form but of meaning. Cohesion is the set of possibilities that exist for making the text hang together

Cohesion is a semantic relation Cohesion occurs when some element in the discourse presupposes another or prospects another (in the immediate environment) Cohesion is expressed partly through the grammar and partly through the vocabulary

The first years of Henry’s reign were given over to sports and gaiety, though there was little of the licentiousness which characterized the French Court. The athletic contests were very popular. Masques, jousts and spectacles followed one another endlessly. He brought to Greenwich a tremendously vital court life.

The first years of Henry’s reign were given over to sports and gaiety, thought there was little of the licentiousness which characterized the French Court. The athletic contests were very popular. Masques, jousts and spectacles followed one another endlessly. With their huge retinues of staff and servants, medieval monarchs demanded a series of houses to take care of their needs. Their requirements were very large. They were responsible for a large numbers of followers and visitors had to be entertained with style. The clerk, the priest and other middlemen with regular business at court were also considered courtiers. He brought to Greenwich a tremendously vital life.

Encapsulation - Prospection - Each new sentence encapsulates the previous one with an act of reference (one of the elements of cohesion) - A sentence can make a prospection about the next sentence, establishing a need for the next sentence to fulfil the prospection

Encapsulation - Prospection They explain how texts can be organized and how their dynamism may be created and fuelled Encapsulation is a process by which an element in the text refers back to another element in the text (not only a noun, for ex. , but a whole idea) Prospection occurs where the phrasing of a sentence leaves the reader to expect something specific in the next sentence; the act of prospection means that the interactive force of a sentence extends to the next.