Analysis of Cohesive Devices of Mark Rober’s Address to MIT Class of 2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/g304ft11Keywords:
Cohesion Theory, Public Speech, Grammatical Cohesion, Lexical CohesionAbstract
Cohesion is one of the core concepts in discourse research, first proposed by Halliday and Hasan as early as 1976. They believe that if one part of a discourse plays a crucial role in understanding another part, then there is a connection between these two parts. They divide cohesive devices into grammatical devices and lexical devices. The grammatical devices include reference, substitution, ellipsis, and conjunction, and the lexical devices include reiteration and collocation. Based on the cohesion theory of Halliday and Hasan, this paper analyzes the grammatical cohesion and lexical cohesion of Mark Rober’s address to MIT class of 2023. By systematically studying the application of cohesion theory in speeches, the audience can better understand Mark Rober’s intention in his speech and have a certain understanding of the discourse layout of his speech. It is helpful for the audience to have a comprehensive understanding of the speech text; meanwhile, this can also help English learners understand the practical application of cohesion theory and apply it to social practice.
Downloads
References
[1] A. Musaev, “Factors of speech formation and its main features,” Mental Enlightenment, vol. 12, pp. 17–27, 2020.
[2] F. Hao and Y. Liu, “Analysis of interpersonal meaning in public speeches-A case study of Obama’s speech,” Journal of Language Teaching and Research, vol. 6, pp. 825–829, 2010.
[3] H. Masithoh and S. Fadlilah, “Grammatical cohesion found in recount texts of ‘Pathway to English’ X Grade Curriculum 2013 General Program by Erlangga,” Vision: Journal for Language and Foreign Language Learning, vol. 6, pp. 62–79, 2017.
[4] Hu, ZL 1994, Coherence and Cohesion in Discourse, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, Shanghai.
[5] J. R. Martin, English Text: System and Structure. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1992.
[6] Liu, HJ & Hu, XQ 2008, “Analysis of lexical coherence in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address”, Journal of Hotan Teachers College, vol. 2, pp. 154-155.
[7] M. A. K. Halliday and R. Hasan, Cohesion in English. London: Longman, 1976.
[8] S. Marfu’ah and Khristianto, “Reference grammatical cohesion in Christine Lindop’s The Bridge and Other Love Stories: A discourse analysis,” International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, vol. 6, pp. 76–81, 2023.
[9] V. Mandarani and M. Z. Fakhruddin, “Grammatical and lexical cohesion analysis of Trump’s speech upon Soleimani assassination,” Journal Basis, vol. 7, pp. 131–139, 2020.
[10] Wang, HX 2013, “Analysis of vocabulary coherence in discourse: Taking President Xi Jinping’s speech at the Moscow Institute of International Relations as an example”, Youth Years, vol. 16, pp. 151.
[11] Wang, Y & Huang, FG 2021, “A study of lexical coherence techniques in Bill Gates’ Harvard graduation speech”, Overseas English, vol. 24, pp. 101-102.
[12] Zhang, XX & Hu, CM 2023, “Analysis of coherence techniques in English graduation speeches”, Comparative Study of Cultural Innovation, vol. 17, pp. 32-36.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Education and Humanities
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
