Application of Cohesion Theory in Listening Text Analysis

董天++牛敬敏

【Abstract】Based on discourse cohesion, this thesis adopts phonological cohesion, lexical cohesion, structure cohesion and logical conjunction as the theoretical guidance and analyzes the listening texts and proves that multidimensional cohesion plays an important role in listening comprehension.

【Key words】Cohesion theory;Listening text;Teaching of English listening中图分类号：G648文献标识码：B文章编号：1672-1578（2014）20-0009-021.Introduction

Listening is one of the basic skills in language learning and it is an acoustic processing of speech. On the basis of phonetic cohesion, lexical cohesion, structural and logical cohesion in cohesion theory, this paper analyses listening text through examples. In this way, it is can help us to develop more effective approaches to listening teaching.

In 1976, the publication of Cohesion in English marks the maturity of Cohesion Theory in which Halliday and Hasan modify their former work and further classify cohesion into five categories: reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical cohesion which are further divided into reiteration and collocation. This paper intends to explore listening teaching from a completely new angle: the application of cohesive devices in discourse to English listening teaching.

2. Cohesion Analysis

2.1Phonetic cohesion.In this part, intonation and stress which response to the discourse cohesion will be discussed. According to Halliday, intonation functions as the mark of the information structure of a sentence. Tone patterns are essential in spoken discourse to signal cohesive relation between utterances. In listening discourse, the same sentence would have different meaning if the tone is different. For example:

(1) A: I can't make cake. (T1, it is stating a fact)

B: Let me make it. (T1, according to A, B wants to have a try)

(2) A: I can't make cake. (T2, it is a question or angry attitude)

B: Ok, Let me see. (T2, it is a doubt and needs A to prove it.)

Accent helps students grasp the cohesion of the text so that they can understand the speakers' implication.

2.2Lexcial cohesion.Lexical cohesion is a chain that is set up in a text by the use of the same content word or related words, to express a sense of the integration of the text.

2.2.1Reiteration.Reiteration mainly refers to a single word or phase repeatition. To summarize a recurring word or phase could help the listener to grasp the main content of the listening text. For example:

Surgeons at Cambridge have successfully transplanted a pancreas-the organ that produes insulin-in two patients suffering from diabetes. One patient, a 23-year-old electronics worker also had a liver transplant. The other patient, a 55-year-old housewife, had a kidney transplanted at the same time. Both patients are doing well.

The above text is a intermediate English listening in a news report, the directly repeated words are:

-(two)patients, (one)patient, (the other)patient, (both)patients

-Transplanted, transplant, transplanted

Only through these two groups of words is not hard for one to infer the content of the passage is about two organ transplant patients. And their situation is reported in detail.

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2.2.2General word.It is a common phenomenon by using a general word to refer the specific one. In English, the general word contents person, thing, place, fact, etc. To understand the general word in listening discourse helps the listener coherent the information. For example:

Before the Olympic Games in 2008, these athletes were doing exercises diligently. People in China placed high hopes on these young people.

(using a general word)

2.2.3Similarity.Similarity is a number of things in between-the use of a synonym, near-synonym. Synonym refers to the word or words whose meaning is the same or nearly the same as the earlier item. For example, Before the Olympic Games in 2008, these athletes were doing exercises diligently. People in China placed high hopes on these sportsmen.

2.2.4Collocation.Collocation is "the most problematical part of lexical cohesion, cohesion that is achieved through the association of lexical items that regularly occur" (Halliday &Hasan, 1976, p.284). The discourse which belongs to collocation has obvious result relationship, modified relationship and causal relationship. For example:

More than 2,000 patients are dying annually while waiting for transplants,…The shortage of organs is so acute…

In this text, "The shortage of organs" and "waiting for transplants" forms a causal relationship, and the listener could predict the possible reasons for "waiting for transplants" to speed up comprehension.

2.3Structural cohesion.

2.3.1 Substitution.Substitution is a replacement of one item by another, such as words or phrases. The substitute item has the same structural function as that for which it substitutes (Halliday & Hasan, 1976, p. 88).

a. Nominal substitution：one, ones, same,that,those:

A: Can I have a cup of black coffee with sugar, please? B: Give me the same, please.

b. Verbal substitution: do (does, did, done): Lily likes swimming, so does Tom.

c. Clausal substitution: so, not, neither, nor: I was tired, and so were the others.

In the above table, "the same" substitutes A's "a cup of black coffee", "does" substitutes the verb "likes", "so" institutes " same tired". Only if the listeners master these expressions' cohesion function, can they find the replaced parts as soon as possible.

2.3.2Ellipsis.Ellipsis can be defined as substitution by zero.

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