Semantic Textual Cohesion: Concepts and Procedures

Abstract

Semantic textual cohesion is a central concept in discourse linguistics, drawing on procedures from various disciplines to open up a new phase of interdisciplinary linguistic studies. Prior to this, linguistics was confined to the study of language, particularly at the sentence level. Textual studies expanded to include the interactive dimension of language in texts, diversifying beyond the formal aspect. Al-Jahiz’s messages represent important texts in Arabic heritage, prompting the selection of a section from his introduction to the “Al-Mu’ash wal-Ma’ad” letter as a case study to achieve the research’s objectives and address its problem. This study explains some of the concepts used in textual cohesion and how they are implemented in linguistic texts, specifically in the genre of letters. Linguistic studies in this field have been influenced by cognitive psychology achievements, enabling their integration into linguistics to explore alternative approaches to traditional semantic analysis in textual analysis. This study aims to answer several questions, including why linguistics turned towards cognitive psychology and how to employ the achievements of this approach in analyzing transcendent texts. Answering these questions, along with others that will be addressed, is expected to shed light on the potential of semantic cohesion in textual analysis, optimal utilization in the study of heritage texts, and consequently, application in various types of texts and in Arabic language learning and teaching. The study’s objectives will be achieved through a descriptive-analytical approach, which allows for raising and discussing issues to fulfill the research’s aims and purposes.