ENGLISH LINGUISTICS II: Coherence I – Explaining Sense (Continuity in Text)

Vocabulary flashcards covering coherence, frames, scripts, macrostructures, and related concepts from the lecture notes on Continuity in Text.

Coherence

the  mutual  accessibility  and  relevance  of  concepts  and  the   relations  among  them  in  the  textual  world.  

Semantic continuity created by the reader’s interpretation and world knowledge; depends on context.

concept : definition + 4 types of primary concepts

An idea of knowledge in the mind that forms part of a larger frame.

A clear idea in the mind (e.g., dog, school)

objects :  a  stable  identity  and  constitution  (e.g.  tree,  ground,  bike,  lock)  

situations: objects  in  their  current  states  (e.g.  bike  getting  stolen)

events:  a  situation  or  a  state  within  a  situation  (e.g.  bike  was  gone)

actions: events  brought  about  by  an  agent  (e.g.  jump,  hit,  realize,  park)

Relations

links  between  concepts  which  appear  together  in  the  textual  world;  coherence  can  be   interpreted  as  a  structure  of  concepts  and  their  relations  to  one  another  

Clause Relations

Clauses can be reduced to core propositions that show basic meaning, usually combining a reference (who/what) with a predication (action/event). = reference + predication (e.g., person + action).

Eve  jumped  from  the  tree.  She  hit  the  ground  only  to  realize  that  the  bike  she  had  parked  there  was  gone.  Locks   are  great  gadgets  if  you  remember  to  take  one  with  you.

2. LIST OF PROPOSITIONS 1  Eva  jump  tree  |  2  Eva  hit  ground  |  3  Eva  realize  bike  gone  |  4  Eva  parked  bike  |  5   Eva  forgot  locking

Clause/ semantic Relations

Logical- sematic Relations

Frame and script theory

understanding relies on stored knowledge structures (schemata). A frame is a mental structure for a concept (e.g., restaurant), while a script is the typical sequence of events within it (e.g., enter → order → eat → pay). Scenarios cover broader knowledge patterns.

FRAMES – SCRIPTS – SCENARIOS

①  FRAME:  “our  knowledge  about  concepts”  (ibid.),  e.g.  skiing  equipment  

②  SCRIPT:  “our  knowledge  about  the  roles  people  have  in  a  specific   situation”  (RENKEMA  2004:  237),  e.g.  skier,  lift  operator,  skiing  instructor  

③  SCENARIOS:  “our  knowledge  about  the  ordering  of  activities”  (ibid.),   e.g.  riding  a  ski  lift 

Semantic Frame

a structured mental framework of connected concepts, experiences, and knowledge that underlies a word or expression, providing context and influencing how we interpret meaning

Slot/Filler

every  frame  has  characteristic  ‘slots’  which  can  be provided  with  ‘fillers’,e.g.   university  slots:  courses,  lecture  hall,  library,  students  etc.)

Script: definition + 4 elements of scripts

a  typical  process  or  sequences  of   actions  including  all  necessary  objects  and  the  acting  subjects,  i.e.  ‘slots’  (e.g.  ‘eating   out  in  a  restaurant’)

①  PROPS:  all  the  objects  and  places  in  the  script  (e.g.  table,  menu,  food,  bill)  

②  ROLES:  the  people  ac*ng  in  the  script  (e.g.  guest,  waiter,  cook)  

③ENTRY  CONDITIONS:  precondi*ons/situa*on  at  the  beginning  (be  hungry,  have   money)  

④  RESULTS:  effects  at  the  end  of  the  script  (be  full,  be  pleased)

SCENES (AS KNOWLEDGE – FRAMES AS LINGUISTIC ELEMENTS)

Coherent segments of human experience(e.g., a classroom, a meal, a meeting), including visual situations, interactions, scenarios, institutions, actions, or imaginations. Frames are the linguistic systems linked to these scenes.

Macrostructure- Macro-proposition

summary meaning, The overall meaning of a text. Readers build macrostructures by summarizing individual sentences into a main theme or topic, using inference rules. It contrasts with microstructure, which focuses on sentence-level details.

e.g.

Macro-rule 3

deletion/selection

generalization

construction.

Deletion/Selection(macro-rule)

all  irrelevant,  non-­‐essential  propositions  are  deleted,  the  relevant,  most  significant  statements   are  selected  from  the  overall  text  structure     >  A  girl  passed  by.  She  was  wearing  a  dress.  The  dress  was  yellow.  -­‐-­‐>  A  girl  passed  by

Generalization(macro-rule)

details  are  summarized  in  more  general  statements     >  John  was  playing  with  his  car,  Mary  was  building  a  sand  castle,  and  Sue  was  blowing   soap  bubbles.  -­‐-­‐>  The  children  were  playing.

Construction(macro-rule)

a  macro-­‐proposition  is  constructed  from  various  micro-­‐proposi3ons  by  inferring  content  from   frame  and  script  knowledge     >  John  went  to  the  staKon.  He  bought  a  Kcket,  started  running  when  he  saw  what  Kme   it  was,  and  was  forced  to  conclude  that  his  watch  was  wrong  when  he  reached  the   pla\orm.  -­‐-­‐>  He  missed  the  train.

Superstructure

A conventional schema gives a text its overall form (e.g., story, news report, argument); about how that content is organized.

Genre

A conventional text type defined by typical content, communicative purpose, and expected stages of organization (e.g., a news article, recipe, or academic essay).

Letter-to-the-editor

①REFERENCE:  men*on  content  

②EVALUATION:  assess  content  

③ARGUMENT:  give  reasons  

④AUTHOR:  give  name