Coherence in Spoken and Written Discourse: How to Create It and How to Describe It: Selected Papers from the International Workshop on Coherence, Augsburg, 24 27 April 1997

Until very recently, coherence (unlike cohesion) was widely held to be a 'rather mystical notion'. However, taking account of new trends representing a considerable shift in orientation, this volume aims at helping relieve coherence of its mystifying aura. The general bibliography which concludes the book bears witness to this intriguing development and the rapidly changing scene in coherence research. Preceding this comprehensive up-to-date__Bibliography on Coherence__are 13 selected papers from the 1997 International Workshop on Coherence at the University of Augsburg, Germany. They share a number of theoretical and methodoligical assumptions and reflect a trend in text and discourse analysis to move away from reducing coherence to a product of (formally represented) cohesion and/or (semantically established) connectivity. Instead, they start from a user- and context-oriented interpretive understanding and rely on authentic data throughout in relating micro-linguistic to macro-linguistic issues. The first group of papers looks at the (re-)creation of coherence in,__inter alia__, reported speech, casual conversation, argumentative writing, news reports and conference contributions. The second group describes the negotation of coherence in oral examinations, text summaries and other situations that require special efforts on the part of the recipient to overcome misunderstandings and other disturbances. The third group discusses theoretical approaches to the description of coherence. Until very recently, coherence (unlike cohesion) was widely held to be a 'rather mystical notion'. However, taking account of new trends representing a considerable shift in orientation, this volume aims at helping relieve coherence of its mystifying aura. The general bibliography which concludes the book bears witness to this intriguing development and the rapidly changing scene in coherence research. Preceding this comprehensive up-to-date Bibliography on Coherence are 13 selected papers from the 1997 International Workshop on Coherence at the University of Augsburg, Germany. They share a number of theoretical and methodoligical assumptions and reflect a trend in text and discourse analysis to move away from reducing coherence to a product of (formally represented) cohesion and/or (semantically established) connectivity. Instead, they start from a user- and context-oriented interpretive understanding and rely on authentic data throughout in relating micro-linguistic to macro-linguistic issues. The first group of papers looks at the (re-)creation of coherence in, inter alia , reported speech, casual conversation, argumentative writing, news reports and conference contributions. The second group describes the negotation of coherence in oral examinations, text summaries and other situations that require special efforts on the part of the recipient to overcome misunderstandings and other disturbances. The third group discusses theoretical approaches to the description of coherence. Introduction: Views Of Coherence / Wolfram Bublitz -- Coherent Voicing: On Prosody In Conversational Reported Speech / Elizabeth Couper-kuhlen -- It Takes Two To Cohere: The Collaborative Dimension Of Topical Coherence In Conversation / Ronald Geluykens -- Learning To Cohere: Causal Links In Native Vs. Non-native Argumentative Writing / Gunter Lorenz -- Coherence Through Understanding Through Discourse Patterns: Focus On News Reports / Jan-ola Ostman -- Semiotic Spanning At Conferences: Cohesion And Coherence In And Across Conference Papers And Their Discussions / Eija Ventola -- Coherent Keying In Conversational Humour: Contextualising Joint Fictionalisation / Helga Kotthoff -- Disturbed Coherence: 'fill Me In' / Wolfram Bublitz And Uta Lenk -- Coherence And Misunderstanding In Everyday Conversations / Carla Bazzanella And Rossana Damiano -- The Effect Of Context In The Definition And Negotiation Of Coherence / Anna Ciliberti -- Coherence In Summary: The Contexts Of Appropriate Discourse / Barbara Seidlhofer And Henry Widdowson -- Coherence In Hypertext / Gerd Fritz -- Communicative Intentions And Coherence Relations / Ted Sanders And Wilbert Spooren -- If Coherence Is Achieved, Then Where Doth Meaning Lie? / Willis J. Edmondson -- A Bibliography Of Coherence And Cohesion / Uta Lenk, Sarah Gietl And Wolfram Bublitz. Wolfram Bublitz, Uta Lenk, Eija Ventola. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. The aim of this collection of papers is to help relieve coherence of its mystifying aura. Coherence has been dismissed as a vague, fuzzy and mystical notion with little practical value for the analyst. However, since the 1980s coherence has found its place as a key concept in discourse and text analysis. In this text, coherence is used in accordance with the European tradition where coherence is a context-dependent, hearer- (or reader-) orientated and comprehension-based interpretive notion. The text consists of 13 of the 18 papers given at the International Workshop on Coherence 1997. The papers are organized into sections which cover how to create or recreate coherence, how to negotiate coherence and degrees of coherence and thirdly how to describe coherence and views of coherence. The aim of this collection of papers is to demystify coherence and present it as a key concept in discourse and text analysis. The 13 papers examine how to create and recreate coherence, how to negotiate coherence and degrees of coherence and how to describe coherence.