Page 51 - A GRAMMAR OF BHOJPURI _ PhD Dissertation 2020 TU

human cognitive representative system where combined clauses are coded with
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grammar. Such clauses provide multi-propositional information. In this framework,
the syntactic constructions (i.e., clause types) are taken as the focal point of
grammatical description and various types of clauses or constructions are taken as
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grammatical coding instruments that signal discourse pragmatic function. The
primary grammar-coding devices are in turn used to signal more abstract levels of
grammatical organization.

Functions of grammar
Grammar codes both propositional semantics and discourse coherence
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(pragmatics) side by side. Although, it is solely located in the clause, its functional
scope is not primarily about the propositional information displayed in the clause in

which it dwells. Rather, grammar is predominantly about the coherent relations
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between propositional information (clause) and its wider discourse context. The most
common discourse-pragmatic domains coded by grammar are listed in (1-3)

(Givón 2007: 6-7).
(1) Noun phrase grammar

Structures Functions
VP grammar Referential coherence

a. Grammatical relations referential coherence
b. Definiteness, reference referential coherence

c. Anaphora, pronoun referential coherence
d. Deictic referential coherence
e. Pragmatic voice referential coherence

6. Givón (1979:303) states, "At an evolutionary level where discourse is already multi-propositional
and where coherence and topic have emerged, the clausal order of agent-patient-verb is, at least in
terms of discourse frequency, also most likely to be topic-patient-verb."
7. Givón (1979:297) exhibits, "The pragmatic mode of discourse is used either in the society of
intimates, where all generic information is shared, or in communication about the immediate context,
where all specific information is shared. These are the two contexts where this mode of
communication is used in extant human language, such as in pidgins, child language, and informal
unplanned register of adults."
8. Gernsbacher, Morton Ann and T. Givón (1995: vii) state "coherence is a mental phenomenon rather
than an inherent property of a written or spoken text. The fact that readers or listeners can indeed
judge with high agreement that one text is more coherent than another. But neither the words on the
page nor the words in the speech stream of themselves confer coherence."
9. Givón (1995b: 61) defines coherence as continuity by stating "coherence is the continuity or
recurrence of some element (s) across a span (or spans) of text." He further notes that of the many
elements that can recur across text, the six are more visible, concrete and the easiest to track and
measure. They are: a. referents, b. temporality, c. aspectuality, d. modality/mood, e. location and f.
action/script.
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