Previous investigations of discourse coherence have emphasized the importance of a variety of coherence mechanisms. The conventional approach to coherence has been to analyze the mechanisms found in starndard texts and conversations. This article provides examples from nonstandard linguistic sources, such as experimental writing and schizophrenic speech, to establish the necessity and sufficiency of the coherence mechanisms. We conclude that an assumption of coherence is the only necessary and sufficient mechanism required for judgments of coherence. This article emphasizes that, by ignoring atypical linguistic samples in favor of more ordinary ones, researchers are overlooking powerful ways to test their theories about discourse.

Copyright © 1993 by Ablex Publishing Corporation

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