If you are preparing for the Cambridge DELTA, you have most likely encountered the terms cohesion and coherence. They are often used interchangeably in everyday staffroom chat, but for Delta-level analysis, keeping them distinct is essential—not only for passing Module 1 but also for writing precise background essays and giving focused feedback to learners. SoContinueContinue reading “C is for Cohesion vs Coherence”
Category Archives: Discourse
T is for Turntaking
If you turn on Greek TV during a talk show or interview, you will note that Greeks do interrupt each other quite frequently and freely. But they are not the only ones – watch this video…. Surprised? No wonder so many people consider Trump to be the epitomy of a bully! The following videoContinueContinue reading “T is for Turntaking”
G is for Grice’s Cooperative Principle
Image fron canva.com Paul Grice’s Cooperative Principle, proposed in his 1975 William James Lectures, outlines how people generally cooperate in conversation to achieve mutual understanding. Grice suggested that participants in a conversation implicitly agree to cooperate with one another, aiming to be informative, truthful, relevant, and clear. This underlying agreement, or “Cooperative Principle,” is elaboratedContinueContinue reading “G is for Grice’s Cooperative Principle”
P is for Politeness
The post which follows is an article which appeared in the IATEFL Business English Special Interest Group Newsletter in 2015
N is for New Information
Definition New information is information that is assumed by the speaker not to be known to or assumed by the addressee, or previously established in the discourse. Discussion New information typically is placed late in the sentence, and has a high amount of stress placed on the words representing it. Examples (English) In the following exchange, the stressed wordsContinueContinue reading “N is for New Information”