Genre And Cohesion

Hasan indicates that a Contextual configuration is a specific set of values that realize the field of discourse, the tenor of discourse, and the mode of discourse, that is, context of situation. Contextual configuration can predict the structure potential of a given genre, or its Generic structure potential. They can predict (1) the Obligatory, (2) the Optional, (3) the sequence of the Obligatory, (4) the sequence of the Optional, and (5) the Iteration. Generic structure potential consists of the Obligatory, the Optional, the sequence of the Obligatory and the Optional, and the Iteration. Hasan's GSP only focuses on options of structural elements and their sequences in counter-service business genre, without study the generation of various genres in context of culture. Therefore, a new term-Genre Potential is coined in this thesis based on the generalization of contemporary genre studies. Genre potential is a potential that is born with language system and through that various genres can be generated. It is determined by context of culture.In Systemic Functional Linguistics, context is classified into two kinds: context of culture and context of situation. Context of culture is realized by numerous specific contexts of situation; context of situation is the specific representation of context of culture. Context of situation consists of three features: the field of discourse, the tenor of discourse, and the mode of discourse. Thus, the field of discourse, the tenor of discourse, and the mode of discourse determine Genre Potential. Genre potential could be realized into three levels: (1) genre potential corresponding to the field of discourse, including potential of content and potential of obligatory elements and their positions of a given content. (2) Genre potential corresponding to the tenor of discourse, determining the choice of the role relationship between the actual speaker and hearer of the genre. (3) Genre potential corresponding to the mode of discourse, obtaining potential of channel and potential of rhetorical mode. The field of discourseand the tenor of discourse being the same, new genres can be generated if the mode of discourse changes. Genres generated through potential of rhetorical mode if choices from other potential being the same mainly include six types: narration, description, description of character, definition, judgment, and argument.Determined by context of situation, different genres can be generated through choices in the three levels of Genre potential. According to SFL, context of situation triggers the semantic configuration, which is realized by the lexico-grammar system in the text. Determined by the more specific context of situation, texts of a given genre generated through options in lexico-grammar system conditioned by semantic system. In turn, genre potential corresponding to the field of discourse relates to the ideational meaning, which is realized by the transitivity and lexis. Genre potential corresponding to the tenor of discourse relates to the interpersonal meaning, which is realized by the mood, modality and lexis. Genre potential corresponding to the mode of discourse relates to the textual meaning, which is realized by the theme-rheme structure, information structure, and cohesion.The theme-rheme structure, information structure, and cohesion might characterize various genres, which are generated through potential corresponding to the mode of discourse if the field of discourse and the tenor of discourse are the same. This thesis intends to explore the cohesive features of narration, description, description of character, definition, judgment, and argument, which are generated through potential of rhetorical mode. Halliday summarizes five types of cohesive patterns: reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexicon cohesion. In resent years, the researchers at home and abroad find more types of cohesion. This paper only analyzes the characteristics of Halliday's five cohesive patterns in six genres. One or more cohesive patterns, which frequently...