Textual Coherence and Language Means of Its Expression in German

Abstract

This article addresses the textual category of coherence and discusses verbal means of its expression. The paper analyzes textual connections that mirror systemic relations between objects, phenomena and processes of a "primary" reality. The paper argues that language units of different levels can be addressed as markers of textual connections which contribute to the semantic organization and shaping the text's formal structure. The paper distinguishes the following types of textual connections: lexical, grammatical, word-forming, stylistic, structural-compositional, etc. Special attention is paid to the phenomenon of word-forming textual connections. The paper highlights patterns of the said units' repetition and interaction within the text. The paper focuses on the binary semantics of derivatives and argues that it is responsible for both explicit and implicit representation of textual connections. In particular, derived nouns employing suffixes -ung and -tion are identified as language markers responsible for explicating diverse textual connections. Text-forming and text-binding functions of suffixed derivatives depend on their systemic characteristics i.e. their semantic motivation, a certain isomorphism of their word-forming structure and semantics, as well as semantic correlations of suffixes -ung and -tion in the language system and in the text. Linear unfolding of the text determines the respective arrangement of text's components. This unfolding of the textual space as a surface structure is determined by the components' local micro-arrangements and quantitative representation of different types of connections in the text field. The paper regards these phenomena as both functional and stylistic characteristics of the text.