Cohesive Devices - Reference

Reference items are probably the most frequent and the easiest of cohesive devices to understand. They can be divided into three subgroups: personal reference, demonstrative reference, and comparative reference. Personal and demonstrative reference items are simple pointers (references) to an earlier person or thing or place in the text. Comparative reference occurs when we look at two things and see how they are similar or different. Clearly, we cannot compare two (or more) items without making reference to them so comparatives are classified as reference cohesion.

Personal Reference

The items we use for personal reference are personal and possessive pronouns. They are: Personal Pronouns: I, you (s&p), he, she it, we, they; me, you (s&p) him, her, it, us, them. Possessive Pronouns: my, your (s&p), his, her, its, our, their; mine, yours (s&p), his, hers, ours, theirs. The most important ones in academic text are "it" and “they”. This is because academic text is written in an impersonal style and doesn’t often refer to particular people; it refers to facts, ideas, events, processes, procedures, arguments, theories, hypotheses, results, and so on. The other pronouns are found very frequently in fiction and conversation. Three things are necessary for the life of a plant: minerals, carbonic acid (CO2), and light energy. The comparison here is between these three necessities. Is one more important than another? No they are “equally" important. And a reason is given; they all help in the building up of its food. The adverb, “equally", points to these three necessities and establishes their equivalence.

Demonstrative Reference

The items we use for demonstrative reference are determiners and adverbs. They are: Determiners: the, this, that, these, those. Adverbs: here, there, now, then. The definite article (the) is always followed by a noun (or noun phrase). It is the noun or noun phrase which has meaning and refers to something else in the text. The only meaning that the word ‘the” has is to indicate that a referent for the following noun can be found somewhere (in the text anaphorically, or sometimes cataphorically) or outside the text (exophorically). The words "this" and "that" are used in text to indicate proximity (nearness or farness) in space or time: "this” being closer and "that” being more distant. The words "these" and “those” do the same but indicate plurality. The words "here" and "there" are used in text to indicate proximity in space : “here” being closer and “there” being more distant; “now” and “then” are used to indicate time - normally some point in time just referred to in the text. The highlighted words are determiners - "the" and "this". There are 5 highlighted instances of the word “the” and one of the word “this". The first example of "the" is part of the noun phrase "The fourth side". Because of the word "the" in this noun phrase we know that this noun phrase has a referent either in the text or, exophorically, outside. The referent here is the little room in the previous sentence. "The fourth side" means the fourth side of the little room. The second example of "the" is in the noun phrase "the columns". There is no previous mention of columns but we can assume that the room mentioned before was supported on its open side by columns. The third example of "the" is in the noun phrase "the cement floor". Rooms have floors so we can also assume that the cement floor refers to the little room Ariston was painting. The next highlighted example is the word "This". This can only refer to the little room (with the one side open to the court with columns whose shadows were cast on the cement floor). The fourth example of "the" is in the noun phrase "The Artist". The only person so far mentioned in the text, Ariston, was painting in this room so it obviously refers to him. What was he painting? "the walls" - our last example of "the" as a demonstrative reference item - refering to the walls of the little room which we now know was the master's room. All of this may seem tediously obvious but these instances of demonstrative reference tie the text together and indicate where the referents may be found. Note the second sentence. It tells us that he stood in "a" little room. It has to be "a" and not "the" because there has been no previous mention of the room in the text. It's the first time it is mentioned. There are other examples of the use of "the" in this text but most of them are not textual references; they are exophoric: the brilliant sky of Italy, The August sun, the mighty deeds of warlike Herakles etc. We know what these items refer to but they do not reference anything in the text.

Comparative Reference

The items we use for demonstrative reference are adjectives and adverbs. They are: Adjectives of Identity (when the items refer to the exact same entity) : same, identical, equal. Adjectives of Similarity: similar, suchlike, additional. Adjectives of Difference: other, different, else. Other Comparison Adjectives: more, better, worse: plus all comparative adjectives (e.g. greater, faster, higher, etc.) Adverbs of Identity: identically. Adverbs of Similarity: similarly, likewise, so, such. Adverbs of Difference: differently, otherwise. Other Comparison Adverbs: so, more, less, equally When we compare we compare at least two items so there must be a referential connection between them. This is how comparison is part of referential cohesion.  In the examples below the first shows an adjective of identity (same) and one of similarity (similar). The second shows and adjective of difference (other). The third shows an adjective in the comparative (smaller) and the fourth shows adverb of comparison.

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