Coherence and Cohesion in English Discourse

particular order. However, the evaluation can occur anywhere between the 
abstract and the coda, such as in Example (14), where the evaluation is part of 
the coda.
The patterns of textual meaning in literary discourse formed according to 
register and genre as discussed above illustrate how semantic relations between 
words create cohesion and coherence. We have already mentioned reference as 
a coherence-building device but co-reference is also used to build coherence in 
a text. Firstly we have to point out that there are simple cases of co-reference 
which bear no special interest for linguistic studies. They often occur in spoken 

---

98
utterances where two or more words refer to the same item and where the 
speakers involved know what they are referring to but the other participants 
may be confused and perceive the conversation as non-coherent. The notion of 
co-referencing becomes relevant when studied in wordplays used in newspaper 
headlines, humorous texts and jokes because they show “how linguistic forms 
can be used to achieve readings that pick out the same entity more than once” 
(Safir 2005). Here it is not always easy for the reader to judge whether two 
expressions are co-referring or not, and understanding of these texts depends on 
readers’ assumptions that some repeated phrases are co-referential. They have 
to search for cues in the complexity of a text because final clauses can bring 
significant cues. The following sentence borrowed from Goatly (2012: 201) 
implies humorous interpretation when the reader assumes that the anaphoric 
pronoun co-refers with the last noun phrase matching in number and gender: 
As 
he uttered the word he dropped his voice, and she didn’t quite catch it
. Cataphoric 
references attract more explicit contexts after the pronoun and the reader’s initial 
interpretation (first evoked by 
anaphoric reference) is reconsidered. For example, 
sentences such as ‘If you’re using one of our Single Processors and don’t know 
it, check our list of fastest to slowest to find out’ typically occur in informal 
(spoken or written) discourse. The ambiguities implied in these texts often create 
humour and as such are purposely elaborated in non-literary registers.