On the Functions of Lexical Repetition in English Texts

XIAO Fuliang

【Abstract】Lexical repetition， as a cohesive device of an English text， can help make up a cohesive and coherent text. Therefore， in English textual learning， it is helpful for students to know about different patterns and functions of lexical repetition to improve their English level and ability.

【Key words】lexical repetition； function； English learning

The more the students get the knowledge of lexical repetition， the better they learn an English text. However， different patterns of lexical repetition and their functions are often neglected in English textual teaching， there exist some problems of lexical repetition in students textual learning. To solve this problem， students should be guided to learn different patterns of lexical repetition and their functions， which will be discussed in detail.

1. Definition of Lexical Reiteration

Mainly based on Hallidays theory， combining Hoeys lexical cohesion patterns， lexical reiteration is considered as a form of lexical cohesion which involves the repetition of a lexical item，which refers to the repetition in the form of same words， synonyms or near synonyms， super-ordinates and general words. In the following their functions are illustrated one by one.

2. Functions of Lexical Reiteration

2.1 Functions of Same Words

Same words are the simplest form of lexical cohesion， which is very important in creating a text.The information that every sentence carries can not be completely new， so some words must be repeated in order to elicit something new； and sometimes some words may be repeated for emphasis. In addition， in order to organize the text and make the information exchanged more efficiently， people must use this kind of repetition to make the text coherent. It can achieve the effect of giving prominence to the topic that we are talking about and making it much impressed.

Example 1：

As one of my friends say — even doctors have a few friends — its all experience. Experience！ I dont need such experience. I need a warm， comfortable， undisturbed bed all my own. I need it badly. I need all telephones to be thrown down the nearest well， thats what I need.

Here the writer uses the word need five times continually， which expresses the strong emotion that what he is eager to need and what he doesnt want to need as a doctor， achieving clear and prominent theme. It is a typical example in which the repetition is created mainly for emphasis. The use of them makes the sentences related very closely and thus existing a very strong cohesion. At the same time， the word experience is also used three times， expressing the writer is not satisfied with the boring life as a doctor.

Example 2：

All but one of the blacks gave up their places obedient…Anyway， the 42-year-old seamstress refused to give up her seat … Black and white passengers alike stared at the troublemaker.

The use of gave up and give up not only makes the sentences cohere， but also helps to express the attitude how the black woman feels toward the racial discrimination. So the theme is very clear that she is firmly determined not to give up her seat obediently but to struggle for the same equality as the white even though others thought she was a “troublemaker”.

2.2 Functions of Synonyms

Synonyms are the words with the same meaning. The occurrence of these lexical items in the same text due to their similar or identical ideational meaning enables them to complement to each other semantically， not only forming cohesive tie， but also helping to improve its expressive force. To illustrate the point， we will take an example：

Now suddenly she began to sob， holding herself in as if weeping were a disgrace.

In the example above， sob and weeping are different in morphological features， but they form synonyms to make the text cohere， from which we can know the authors feeling of disappointment on the matter happening to him very clearly， thus enriching its expressiveness. In the meantime， the use of them reveals the characteristic of English words being flexible and changeable. In such a way， a text can avoid being wordy and dull. As the saying goes， “variety is the spice of life”， which means using different ways of referring to an entity makes more interesting prose or conversation.

All the synonyms or near-synonyms appear together， which shows the colorful feature of vocabulary. But what is more important is that these different forms express the same meaning， which makes different parts cohere. .

2.3 Functions of Antonyms

Words featuring opposite relations are antonyms， which are one of the rhetorical devices. The utilization of antonyms enables to complement to each other and produce a strikingly effect of great contrast and thus give prominence to the meaning which they express and strengthen the expressive force. Meanwhile， the presence of antonyms in the same text may enable the different parts of the text to form antagonistically contrasting relations in meaning. It can be distinctly proved in the following example.

“It is，” he said quietly， as if remembering something he had tried to forget.

This pair of antonyms remembering and forget make a sharp contrast， revealing his sad and contradictory feelings， and achieving cohesive function inside a sentence. They also produce a strikingly effect of great contrast and thus give prominence to the meaning which they express and strengthen the expressive force.

2.4 Functions of Super-ordinates

When A is a kind of B， the lower term A（which is more specific） is the hyponym， and the upper term B（which is more general） is the super-ordinate. For example， animal is the superordinate of dog， wolf， horse， bird， etc. On the contrary， dog， wolf， horse， bird are the hyponyms of animal. If we may make use of their semantic relations to make them substitute for each other， we can avoid unnecessary repetitions and dullness with the acquirement of tactfulness and consistence. To illustrate it， lets read the example below：

She told the others， and soon all of them were in it， caught up in the... the pictures Vingo showed them of his wife and three children — the woman handsome in a plain way， the children still uniformed in the much-handled snapshots.

In the example above the super-ordinates woman is the reiteration of the hyponyms wife ， avoiding the clumsy repetition. In this situation， generally speaking， hyponyms are placed before super-ordinates whose function is the classification or generation of the hyponym mentioned earlier.

2.5 Functions of General Words

General words refer to a small set of words having generalized reference. In the same text we can use them to refer to the related persons， places， actions， etc， such as person， thing， matter， place， do， etc. They can avoid repetition， give just the amount of information as is necessary， and incarnates the containment of words.

For example：

What would she like？ A pair of slippers perhaps. Or a new cardigan. A cardigan would be lovely. Blues such a pretty color. Jim had always liked her in blue. Or a table lamp. Or a book， a travel book， with pictures， or a little clock， with clear black numbers. So many lovely things.

In the example above， the word things is the general word referring back to slippers， cardigan， a table lamp， a book， a travel book， or a little clock， which are scattered like an umbrella. In the last sentence the general word relates these together and integrates different parts as a whole.

3. Conclusion

Lexical repetition， one of the lexical cohesion， plays an very important role in making an English text coherent and cohesive. If students can know well about its functions and know how to apply it in English learning， which will be help them better comprehend an English text when reading， produce a better material when writing， and learn lexis more efficiently.

References：

[1]Halliday，M.A.K.and Hasan，R.Cohesion in English.London：Longman，1976.

[2]Hoey，M.Patterns of Lexis in Text.Oxford：Oxford University Press，1991.

[3]陳芳.英語(yǔ)專(zhuān)業(yè)學(xué)生議論文中詞匯銜接發(fā)展模式研究[D].揚(yáng)州大學(xué)，2008.

[4]胡壯麟.語(yǔ)篇的銜接與連貫[M].上海：上海外語(yǔ)教育出版社，2003.

About the author： Xiao Fuliang（1971-）， Associate Professor， Vice Dean of Foreign Languages Department of Loudi Vocational and Technical College. Main field of research is Applied Linguistics and Business English.