Abstract
The present paper aims to reveal what the basic condition for textual coherence is. The research method is mainly comparison and theoretical argumentation. In the first part of the paper three major theories are compared and the contributions and limitations of each are pointed out. The current situation is that the research on textual theory still lays its emphasis on the aspect of linguistic forms; the interpretations for textual coherence in the aspect of language meaning and the recognition of the essence and the condition of textual coherence are not yet deep nor comprehensive enough. Then in part two the authors reveal the different knowledge or enlightenments by the three theories about what textual coherence is, and argue that semantic relevance is the essence of textual coherence. In fact the production and understanding of language cannot be free from context. Context constrains the generation of coherent texts and the cognition of the coherence of the text. So part three of the paper elaborates the constraining effect of various contexts on the relevance of the meaning of the various linguistic items within the text. In the end the paper draws the conclusion that contextual relevance is the basic condition for textual coherence, that is to say, only relevant contexts can bring a smooth, logically coherent text.
Highlights
The present paper aims to reveal what the basic condition for textual coherence is
ZHANG Jianli has generalized the recognitions in the linguistic world into seven types, namely: (1) textual coherence is presented as topics; (2) textual coherence is the relevance of text in terms of form, meaning and language use; (3) textual coherence is pragmatic relevance; (4) textual coherence reflects the experience/common sense of interlocutors; (5) textual coherence is embodied in unified rhetorical structures; (6) textual coherence is the result of deduction; (7) textual coherence is the result of participation, negotiation and cooperation.[1]
Since the theoretical interpretation of textual coherence is directed to the meaning level of a text, it is natural that the semantic analysis cannot part with the context analysis of the text
Summary
Coherence constitutes a core concept in textual linguistics (or discourse linguistics). Out of the same differences, coherence becomes “a very important and frequently-used term in the field of textual analysis, whose intension and extension are not yet fully demonstrated.” [8] It should be noted, from such theoretical perspectives and linguistic aspects as linguistic behaviors and social psyche, language functions and linguistic forms, communicative behaviors and language cognitions, the above-mentioned three textual theories have laid essential theoretical and methodological foundations for the establishment and development of textual linguistics. All the three theories have, to some extent, identified the important role of semantic coherence in textual coherence and noticed the importance of language communication subjects and context in text production and comprehension It is self-evident why these theoretical researches or their theoretical orientations which involve some methodological significance have exerted profound and far-reaching impact on the theoretical development of linguistics and textual linguistics
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