Modes of Co-reference as an Indicator of Genre

Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt/M., New York, Oxford, Wien. This book explores the property of co-reference within various texts as a possible means of distinguishing genre types. Based on observed rather than invented material, it supplies empirical data on co-reference as a cohesive mechanism within authentic English texts. Co-referential form and frequency are identified in nine texts representing three genres: academic journals, news magazine articles and fictional narrative texts. This study offers not only quantitative but also qualitative information regarding co-reference in three individual text types, thereby laying the foundation for a comparative study of the three different genres. Focusing on the property of co-reference in this way singles out differences in language use and allows for some pertinent statements to be made regarding modes of co-reference as an indicator of text variety. Contents: Study of one aspect of text cohesion: co-reference - Definition of co-reference - Study of the modes of co-reference - Co-reference as a text-distinguishing language feature - Genre characteristics - Co-reference linked to language use - Language variation - Use of anaphora versus cataphora - Definition and identification of referent types - Systemic-functional linguistic approach as applied to co-reference - Influence of register variables (field, mode, and tenor) on co-reference - Quantitative and qualitative similarities and differences concerning use of co-reference in different text types.