Abstract

As a tool of communication, speech is a kind of talk or address given in public, a prepared speech delivered to a special audience or on a special occasion. Discourse analysis of speech is attracting more and more linguists’ attention. In order to inspire people, the language of a public speech should be cohesive and complete which can appeal to the audience and be easy to understand. Semantic coherence is an important principle measuring speeches and lexical cohesion is one of the important methods to build semantic coherence of discourse.

Based on the cohesion theory proposed by Halliday and Hasan, this paper analyses some lexical features of the public speeches and some commonly used lexical cohesion approaches and proposes that in a speech, the speaker can use different lexical cohesion approaches to achieve the desired results in order to improve the effectiveness of the speech.

Keywords: speech；cohesion theory；lexical cohesion

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction.1

2. LiteratureReview2

2.1 Cohesion.2

2.2 Types of cohesion.3

3. Lexical Features of the Speech5

3.1 Frequent changes of pronouns5

3.2 Use of rhetorical devices7

3.3 Combination of formal and colloquial language9

4. Application of Lexical Cohesion in Speech.9

4.1 Use reiteration to stress intentions9

4.2 Use synonymy to avoid tedium.11

4.3 Use antonym to make images distinct.12

5. Conclusion13

Works Cited15