Abstract Book of the 9th International Conference on Modern Research in Education, Teaching and Learning
Year: 2025
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AI’s Take on The Interaction Between Coherence and Cohesion
Jasmina Mirtoska
ABSTRACT:
This study reexamines the longstanding linguistic debate concerning the relationship between cohesion and coherence by analyzing their definitions, functions, and interaction within discourse. While recognizing the merits of both perspectives in the debate, the study emphasizes the interdependence of these two textual features. Halliday and Hasan (1976) argue that cohesion is the principal force behind textual unity, maintaining that cohesive devices such as reference, conjunctions, and lexical ties are necessary for coherence to emerge. However, Enkvist (1978) illustrates that even a text rich in cohesive markers can be incoherent if its sentences are not logically or topically connected, thereby challenging the notion that cohesion alone guarantees interpretability. To further investigate, ChatGPT was employed to generate, analyze, and replicate sample texts in order to illustrate how cohesion and coherence operate both independently and in conjunction. Through its analytical responses to two illustrative examples, one that is coherent but lacks cohesion and another that is cohesive but lacks coherence, ChatGPT was used to determine, once and for all, whether coherence can function without cohesion and whether cohesion can exist without coherence. This approach not only reinforces the study’s central arguments but also challenges conventional assumptions in linguistic theory, offering a fresh perspective on how cohesion and coherence should be understood and taught.
Keywords: coherence, cohesion, discourse analysis, AI input