Linguistic Threads: Crafting Meaning Through Cohesion and Coherence

Abstract

This study investigates the interplay between cohesion and coherence in discourse, examining how linguistic resources enable texts to function as unified and interpretable wholes. Grounded in Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar, with particular emphasis on the textual metafunction, the paper analyses grammatical and lexical cohesive devices in selected texts by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Purple Hibiscus and Zikora. Employing a qualitative descriptive methodology, the study identifies and categorises instances of reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical cohesion, demonstrating how these surface-level mechanisms establish syntactic and semantic connectivity across clauses and sentences. Beyond the identification of cohesive ties, the study interrogates how such linguistic patterns facilitate the construction of coherence. Cohesion operates through explicit textual markers that signal relationships within the discourse, coherence is conceptualised as a cognitive and interpretive achievement shaped by contextual knowledge, thematic development, and logical sequencing. The analysis reveals that cohesive devices function as guiding frameworks that structure information flow, whereas coherence emerges from the reader’s integration of these cues into a meaningful and contextually grounded interpretation. The findings affirm that cohesion and coherence are complementary yet analytically distinct processes in discourse construction. Effective meaning-making depends not solely on the presence of cohesive markers but on their interaction with interpretive processes that sustain unity and relevance. By elucidating this relationship within literary discourse, the study contributes to ongoing discussions in discourse analysis and stylistics, highlighting the centrality of cohesive strategies in enhancing textual clarity, continuity, and communicative effectiveness.