| Abstrak/Abstract |
The emergence of social media as a new channel of communication has produced a new form of discourse which has different characteristics compared to the formerly established conventional discourses. These differences do not only lie in how the messages are delivered but also in their structural components which contribute to the unity of the text, namely cohesion and coherence. Cohesion is realized by language units (words, phrases, or clauses) known as cohesive markers which indicate the relationship between parts of discourse either grammatically or lexically. This article aims at describing the composition and distribution of cohesive markers within the Facebook conversations along with their roles in determining the characteristics of the discourse. The results show that the cohesive system of Facebook conversations are dominated by references, ellipses, repetitions, and conjunctions. The frequent occurrences of certain referential cohesive markers indicate Facebook conversations as typical of interactive discourse whereas numerous ellipses and particular conjunctions reflect the informal mode of communication carried out through the social media. On the other hand, various repetitions show the existence of topical cohesion within the conversations. |
