In chapter 10, we discussed how language users successfully interpret what one another is trying to convey. They study of language beyond the sentence, in text and conversation is referred to as discourse analysis. Typically, one is concerned with accurate representation of forms and structures in language. However, the phrase No shoes, no service can be understood even if it is not grammatically correct. This is a fragmented linguistic message. These forms, or messages, aren’t rejected even if they are ungrammatical, rather we try to make sense of them. This is the basis of the study of discourse. While we do rely on structure and form, we interpret beyond what is written on paper. Another aspect includes cohesion. Cohesion is the ties and connections that exist between words and phrases in a text. A simpler way to view this is by looking at the “flow” of a text. If the text is connected to one another, it is cohesive. However, simply because a sentence is cohesive does not mean it will be easy to interpret. This is because some of the connections that words have are not compatible to make a successful sentence. The book uses the example of My father bought a Lincoln convertible. The car driven by the police was red. That color doesn’t suit her. She consists of three letters. However, a letter isn’t as fast a a telephone call. In this example, the connections between words are there. The first sentence mentions a Lincoln, while the second references a car, which is the connection. The second and third sentence are connected by color, whereas the third and fourth sentence are connected by the words she and her. The fourth and fifth sentence are connected by the use of the word letter. However, they are referring to different types of letters, which are the letters used in the alphabet, and letters in reference to a written message people send to one another. Therefore, while these sentences are indeed cohesive, they do not really make sense. In order to make everything it well together, or coherent, the listener or reader has to create a meaningful connection to interpret the text successfully. Coherence is something that exists differently within every person, because every person will use their own experiences to try to interpret a text. Coherence is the ability to form a consistent and logical unified whole. Our text also analyzes how we have a conversation, which is by taking turns. Usually, only one person will be talking at a time. When one individual is finished speaking, hey signal a completion point. This is done by pausing at the end of a phrase or sentence to indicate that you are done. Conversations are usually conducted with turn-taking, which means one person speaks, and then the other, and then back to the first, and so on until the conversation is done. However, this is not always the case. One speaker may interrupt another, or one speaker may be too shy to speak. In conversation, adjacency pairs also exist. This is when we respond to something in an almost automatic way. For example, when someone says Hello or Good afternoon, it is automatic to respond back with a similar greeting. There is also an insertion sequence, which is an adjacency pair that comes between the first and second parts of another pair. An example would be: Do you want some cake? said by the first person, followed with Is it gluten free? spoken by the second person. The first person responds with a negative or positive, such as Yes, it is gluten free, in which the second person will finally respond to the original question, such as Yes, I want some. This is an example of insertion sequence, since the phrases Is it gluten free? and Yes, it is gluten free were their own adjacency pair. In conversation discourse, there is also the co-operative principle, which is the assumption that participants are cooperating with each other. Philosopher Paul Grice described four maxims, or elements, to the co-operative principle. First is the quantity element, which is to make the information being relied as informative as required, no more or no less. The second is the quality element, which is to say the truth. The third is the relation element, which is to be relevant to what is being discussed. The fourth element is the manner element, which is to be clear, brief and orderly. In other terms, we expect people to make honest, clear, and relevant contributions to the interaction occurring. Our understanding of language is not simply used by what we read or hear, but also by what we have in our minds.