| 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. |
