By
George Chidiebere Umeh
Phone: 08068073321 / 08150248194
Email(s): georgenwaumeh@gmail.com/
george.umeh@funai.edu.ng
Department of English & Literary Studies
Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike, Ebonyi State Nigeria
ABSTRACT
When a text is not properly bound, it does not cohere. If it does not cohere, meaning is hindered
or entirely distorted hence; the aim of such work is defeated. This work which is a linguistic
stylistic study of the text of consecration in Catholic Holy Mass, in addition to analyzing the data
from all levels of stylistic analysis, investigated the extent to which the cohesive devices in the
different but complementary segments of the text helped to drive home the liturgical/ theological
message of the mass. The research was conducted using the theoretical thrust of M. A. K.
Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics with particular focus on the textual metafunction. The
grammatical category cohesion as a stylistic device was investigated in the data with a view to
unearthing the method of application of cohesive devices for achieving linguistic stylistic effect in
a liturgical text. Findings reveal that various cohesive devices were stylistically applied for
multiple linguistic reasons paramount among which was to foreground information. At the
syntactic level of analysis, it was discovered that the section of the text that required the people’s
response were all written with very simple sentences for easier comprehension and fuller liturgical
participation and concentration. It was concluded that, aside being stylistically crafted to suit the
purpose of religious worship, the text was also properly bound by the appropriate cohesive devices
to make a complete prayer.
Keywords
Text, Stylistics, Systemic functional linguistics, Cohesion, Eucharistic Prayer 1
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INTRODUCTION
As no two authors write exactly the same way, so are no two texts exactly similar even if they are
on the same subject matter. As many as there are issues that give rise to texts, so are there styles
or approaches to such texts. Style therefore talks about peculiarities in language use while Stylistics
studies those peculiarities. Language is crucial in human interactions because it is the means by
which humans communicate ideas, feelings, observations and other experiences of life, (Yule
2004, Lyons 2004). As scholars have always maintained, language has the dual features of form
and meaning; and whether in the written or spoken form, communication is believed not to have
taken place when the hearer is unable to elicit meaning from the message passed across. To ensure
that meaning is effectively elicited, a speaker or a writer is normally conscious of his/her language
choice. In this respect, linguistic elements are consciously selected to faithfully reflect the context
and situation under which communication has occurred, (Owolabi 2014).
Language is not used in a vacuum, it is contextual. In formal linguistic study such as this,
context is seen in its broader sense of use where it may refer to any aspects of an occasion in which
a speech-act takes place, including the social setting and the status of both the speaker and the
person who’s addressed. Sometimes this is called social context. This is different from ordinary
communication and composition where context refers to the words and sentences that surround
any part of a discourse which help to determine its meaning. Words and most other linguistic
concepts are not independent entities. They depend for their force and also for their meaning, on
emotional associations and historical overtones, and derive much of their effect from the impact
of the whole passage in which they occur. Taken out of their context, they are falsified. Halliday
(1979, p.57) maintains that meaning should be analyzed not only within the linguistic system but
also taking into account the social system in which it occurs. In order to accomplish this, both text
and context must be considered. And it is based on context predictions that meanings of utterances
are made. That therefore means that language is used in social situations to achieve particular
linguistic goal. A situation could be formal or informal, hostile or friendly, casual or cordial while
the medium of language could be spoken or written. As situations vary so do language use. Enyi
(2013) says “in some situations, the use of language could be stereotyped, ritualized and
conservative such that there is no room for creative and innovative use of language. Other
situations may require specialized use of language technically called register”.
A religious service such as the Holy Mass in the Catholic Church presents a veritable social
situation or context for language use. Although worshipping God takes various forms some of
which are linguistically silent like personal meditation, most forms of worship are socially
interactive. This means that a great deal of language is employed in communication during
worship. Catholicism categorizes its prayers according to degrees. The Catholic Holy Mass is the
highest form of prayer in the catholic faith. From the beginning to the end, the mass is dramatic
and interactive and the chief resource for this interaction is language. Specifically segmented into
four (4) parts according to the Roman Rites of the Catholic Church – the Introductory Rites, the
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Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Concluding Rites- our study focuses on
the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Eucharist in itself equally consists of three parts:
the preparation of the gifts, the Eucharistic Prayer and the Communion. The Eucharistic Prayer
which is the crux of this study is also further divided into the Eucharistic prayer one to four (I-IV).
More specifically, this study centers on the Eucharistic Prayer 1 which is otherwise called the
Roman Canon.
The Eucharist is the epicenter of the mass which is the highest form of catholic prayer. The
Eucharist is the life wire of the church in catholic faith and so deserves a great deal of attention.
Emphasizing the Importance of the Eucharist in Catholic Church, Melissa Patruzzello, an editor
of the Encyclopaedia Britannica says:
Roman Catholic theology preserves the early understanding of the Eucharist as
a sacrifice in its teaching on the mass, and it has firmly insisted that the mass repeats
the rite that Jesus told his disciples to repeat. The rite is the memorial of the original
sacrifice of Christ. It is an effective commemoration of his death that also makes
present the sacrifice on the cross.
According to the Eucharistic doctrine of Roman Catholicism, the elements of
the consecrated bread and wine are transubstantiated into the body and blood of
Christ: their substance is converted into the substance of the body and blood,
although the outward appearances of the elements, their “accidents,” remain. This
teaching of the real presence is intended to emphasize the intimate relationship
between Jesus and the communicant.
The Eucharistic Prayer is the linguistic formula used in re-enacting the events of the institution
of the Eucharist. As observed above, the Eucharist is central in the life of a Christian especially a
Catholic. As important as this is, there have not been much linguistic studies carried out from a
stylistic perspective on the Eucharistic Prayers. Because the text is segmented at various points
with varied instructions, it is important to study the role of the cohesive devices applied in it to
serve the duty of linking it for more holistic purpose. This study has therefore come to fill the
gap of dearth of linguistic stylistic resources on the Eucharistic Prayer and that is the
contribution it has to knowledge.
LANGUAGE AND LITURGY
Liturgical activities could be classified as rhetorics and being a human activity, liturgy (in this case
with concentration on the catholic holy mass consecration text) is conducted with human language.
Nevertheless, the language of liturgy is not like the normal everyday language for ordinary use.
Liturgical language is specialized and contextualized for the purpose. Hence, (Arinze 2006) speaks
of liturgy as: “In the sacred liturgy the Church celebrates the mysteries of Christ by means of signs,
symbols, gestures, movements, material elements and words”. Words here denote language.
To better understand liturgical language, a bit of the understanding of liturgy would suffice.
Explaining Liturgy and quoting the Sacrosantum Concillium 7 – the Constitution of the Sacred
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Liturgy- one of the most important documents of the Catholic Church which emanated from the
second Vatican Council, Arinze (2006) says:
“…this Church, this new people of God, this Mystical Body of Christ, prays. Her
public prayer is the voice of Christ and his Bride the Church, Head and members.
The liturgy is an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In it, full public
worship is performed by the whole Church, that is, by Christ who associates with
him his members. “From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it
is an action of Christ the priest and of his Body the Church, is a sacred action
surpassing all others. No other action of the Church can match its claim to efficacy,
nor equal its degree of it”.
Historical exegesis will do well in giving a good understanding of the concepts. Thus, the
document “Adoramus” (emanating from the Society for the Renewal of Sacred Liturgy) explains
as follows: The Church in Rome used Greek from the beginning. Only gradually was Latin
introduced until the fourth century when the Church in Rome was definitely latinized
(Martimort, 1992, p. 161-165). With the gradual disappearance of Greek, Latin remained the most
universal language of the church from where after the second Vatican Council, permission was
granted for aspects of some liturgical documents to be translated into various other languages
which the council considered vernacular. This was so for many linguistic and sociological reasons.
Latin was considered most appropriate for a universal church like catholic for many reasons. Thus
(Arinze 2006) explains:
The Popes and the Roman Church have found Latin very suitable for many reasons.
It fits a Church which is universal, a Church in which all peoples, languages and
cultures should feel at home and no one is regarded as a stranger. Moreover, the
Latin language has a certain stability which daily spoken languages where words
change often in shades of meaning cannot have.
Historically therefore, Latin was considered not only the official language of the church but also
the universal language. It follows then that every other language including English was considered
as vernacular by the church. Until papal permission was granted through the second Vatican
council for texts to be translated into English as well as other languages, Latin remained the only
official language of the church. Even with the permission, the church was still very skeptical of
the “mundane influence” of the everyday language on liturgical text, hence certain conditions were
given before translations could be done.
It took quite some time and very strong reasons before the church freely allowed the use of other
languages which includes English.
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THE SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL THEORY
M. A. K. Halliday’s Systemic Functional Theory (SFT) is a theory of language that centers on the
notion of language function. While SFT accounts for the syntactic structure of language, it places
the function of language as central (what language does, and how it does it), in preference to more
structural approaches, which place the elements of language and their combinations as central.
SFL starts at social context, and looks at how language both acts upon, and is constrained by, this
social context.
It is an effective way to analyze language on semiotic terms. It is based on nontransformation generative grammar which classifies words according to their roles within the
structure (Moji, 2011). SFL focuses on the functions of language with reference to different
contexts. It offers applied orientations to linguistics’ study (Christi & Unsworth, 2000). Choice of
words is, actually, meaning in the principle of Functional grammar. This principle focuses on the
functions that words perform and the meaning determined by the choice of these words (Ye, 2010).
Systemic Functional Theory therefore describes language in use, creates systemic relations
between choices and forms within the less abstract strata of grammar and phonology on one hand,
and more abstract strata such as context of situation and context of culture on the other hand.
The S. F. Theory has four main theoretical assumptions about language:
i. Language use is functional
ii. Its function is to make meanings
iii. These meanings are influenced by the social and cultural context in which they are
exchanged
iv. The process of using language is a semiotic process, a process of making meanings by
choosing.
As such “language is a resource for making meaning and meaning resides in systemic patterns of
choices (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014, p.23). Meaning is central to the theory with respect to
language as resources of human use in creating and living in his world. Examining Halliday’s
intent about the theory with respect to meaning, Emezue (2012, p.26) says “Generally, Halliday is
of the opinion that all languages are structured to make three kinds of meanings- the Ideational,
the Interpersonal and the Textual.”
The Ideational function (also sometimes called metafunction or macrofunction) expresses
content based on real experience. It is the function of language as “the representation of experience:
experience of the world that lie about us, and also inside us, the world of our imagination”
(Halliday, 1985, p.53). The Ideational function according to Emezue (2012) corresponds with the
grammatical category known as transitivity and contextually as field (the type of activities that
informs discourse).
The Interpersonal function is concerned with the maintenance of social relationships.
The main thrust of grammar here is to indicate the attitude of the language user to what he says.
The interpersonal function is grammatically realized as in mood/modality and contextually as
tenor. Elucidating on the interpersonal metafunction, Matthiessien and Halliday (1997) says:
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The interpersonal metafunction is concerned with the interaction between speaker
and addressee(s) — the grammatical resources for enacting social roles in general,
and speech roles in particular, in dialogic interaction; i.e. for establishing, changing,
and maintaining interpersonal relations. One of its major grammatical systems is
MOOD (p.17).
The textual metafunction concerns the form in which the experiences are coded. Emezue
(2012) holds that “it gives impetus to the notion of ‘cohesion’ which accounts for the relatedness
of one part of the text (or one sentence or utterance) to another. According to Thompson (2004) in
Damalu (2017):
The textual metafunction is reasonably the organization of the clause. It is the order
of the elements in the message. The foregrounding or back-grounding of the
message lies solely in the domain of the encoder when taking cognizance of the
term, text, which serves as the communicative source. This is the choice available
to the encoder in terms of the ordering of words (p.7).
Halliday and Matthiessen (1997) have the view that: “the textual metafunction is concerned with
the creation of text, with the presentation of ideational and interpersonal meanings as information
that can be shared by speaker and listener in text unfolding in context”.
To further elucidate on the interconnectivity of the concepts involved in the systemic
functional theory SFT, this diagram as adapted from Martins (1992, p. 8) by Cruz, (2019, p.4)
would suffice.
In conclusion, SFT as a model of linguistic analysis describes how a language works to
make meaning (Derewianka, 2011 ). SFT describes the relationship between grammatical forms
and their functions (Derewianka & Jones, 2010). These two authors assert that SFT is located in
the middle of a line between form and function. Derewianka (2012) emphasizes that “the
functional model includes most of the terms employed in traditional school grammars but differs
from traditional grammar primarily in terms of the purpose for learning about language and the
terminology needed to talk about the meanings being created” (p. 142). SFT views language as a
resource within which there is “a complex web of systems or sets of choices according to functional
purposes” (Gardner, 2010, p. 37).
COHESION
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Cohesion could be seen as a linguistic means by which a text functions as a linguistic unit. When
a text is properly tied both grammatically and lexically, it is said to be cohesive. According to Enyi
(2017) “proper tying of a text which is the simplest definition of cohesion is achieved through
linguistic items called cohesive devices.”
Cohesion is considered as a type of relationship that holds between parts of a text, usually
expressed by specific markers. In this regard, Renkema (1993) states that a text can get its
connectivity by cohesion and there are some relations that all languages have which, in one way
or another, help in the formation of that unity. One of such relations is that of cohesion which
makes the transition from one sentence to another smooth and flexible. In this way, the reader, or
listener, can proceed with the flow of ideas and get the ‘thread of discourse’ spontaneously.
Crystal (1980, p.67) defines cohesion as a “major concept, referring to the property of
units larger than the morpheme to bind together in a construction of an utterance or text, which
links different parts of sentences, or larger units of discourse”. This definition is similar to that of
Brown and Yule (1983, p.24) who define cohesion as “the view of the relationships between
sentences in a printed text.” As such, cohesive ties exist between elements in the connected
sentences of a text in such a way that one word or phrase is linked to other words or phrases.
Halliday and Hasan’s concept of cohesion was further examined by Enkvist (1985) who stated that
cohesion is a ‘cuing system’ or an ‘overt link on the textual surface that enables the reader to see
the semantic integrity of a text. As for Hoey (1991, p.3), he defines cohesion as “the way certain
words or grammatical features of a sentence can connect that sentence to its predecessors (and
successors) in a text”.
Halliday and Hasan’s Model of Cohesion
Scholars and linguists in the field of language studies proposed many models for analyzing
cohesive devices. One of such models is that of Halliday and Hasan (1976) outlined in their work
‘Cohesion in English’. Their model has proved to be comprehensive and as such, is used in
numerous studies including literary analysis.
According to Halliday and Hasan (1976), cohesion may be dealt with fewer than five basic
headings: reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical cohesion. The classification of
the ‘cohesive items’ is primarily based on the linguistic form, and the categories should be
considered within the lexico-grammatical system. This classification is further modified by Enyi
(2017) as being divided broadly into two: lexical and grammatical cohesion. With lexical having
two sub types- reiteration and collocation (each with its kinds) – and grammatical having
substitution, ellipsis and conjunction (also with their own kinds), the Hallidain model is further
modified.
Accordingly, the function of cohesion is based on the idea of relating one part of a text to
another within the same text. On the whole, it provides smoothness and continuity to the text.
Crystal (2008, p. 85) asserts that “cohesion is a major concept referring to the surface structural
features of an utterance, or text, that link different parts of sentences or large unites of discourse
together”.
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METHODOLOGY
The quantitative research methodology was adopted for the analysis of data alongside the
descriptive survey method. The sample for this study is the text of the Eucharistic Prayer 1
extracted from the 1967 revised edition of the Roman Missal, a text for the celebration of the Holy
Mass in the Catholic Church. The research was equally carried out within the ambit of functional
linguistics and could hence be classified as a functional linguistic study.
The Non-Probability sampling technique- which is a technique in which the researcher
selects the sample based on subjective judgment rather than random selection- was employed in
getting the sample for this research. In adopting this technique, it was narrowed down to the
purposive sub-technique in which sampling is done with a purpose in mind.
The data for this research were collected (and analyzed) directly from the published text of
the Roman Missal that contains it. The collected data was analyzed at various stylistic levels
identifying the multiple stylistic features in the text in addition to recognizing the various cohesive
devices employed in text. Cohesive devices identified were tabulated and analyzed based on
frequency and percentage.
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Analysis at Graphological Level
The consideration here is the systems of writing employed in the entire text and an
interpretation of the meaning they convey in the text.
The title of the text – EUCHARISTIC PRAYER I – is in capital letters and boldened. The rider
(THE ROMAN CANON) is also in capital but put in brackets. The capitalization is a foregrounding
strategy aimed at drawing attention to title of the text. The one in bracket is so written to show that
it has a subsidiary role in the whole text.
Following the title is the segment of the text with dramatic features. It has the aspects that
indicate what is to be said by the priest and what is to be responded by the people. Each is begun
with the letter ℟ written in capital and red colour, ending with a colon before proper text to be said.
Same pattern is for the response but is introduced by the symbol Ꝟ. A possible stylistic explanation
to that is equally a foregrounding strategy aimed at ensuring that the linguistic roles of the
characters are properly executed without mistakes.
Excerpts are as below:
℟: The Lord be with you.
Ꝟ: And with your spirit.
℟: Lift up your hearts.
Ꝟ: We lift them up to the Lord.
℟: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
Ꝟ: It is right and just
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All instructions are written in italics and with red colour which is also to demonstrate
foregrounding for stylistic effects. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God… are written with each beginning
with capital letter to show theocratic reverence. Where names are to be mentioned, there are
indicated with capital letter N. written in red as N. This is also done for focal prominence so that
the reader does not omit it but rather give it the required linguistic attention.
At page 2, segment no 86, the name of Mary is written as Virgin Mary with the virgin
beginning with capital V. This is for a theo-linguistic reason. That the virgin is already a apart of
Mary’s name and identity. This is possibly a way of lending linguistic credence to the theological
doctrine of perpetual virginity of Mary. The next name after Mary is blessed Joseph. The “blessed”
is written with small letter ‘b’ which indicates that it was playing adjectival role not nominal as in
the case of Mary where Virgin is seen as a nominal- a part of her name.
An excerpt from the text reads:
In communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the
glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ,
† and blessed Joseph, her Spouse,…
Page 5 has a lot of graphologically significant indicators. A lot of instructional texts are written in
red with smaller fonts while the normal text written in black and usual fonts are fewer. There is
also the part written in black but in capital with bold. That is the part that enunciates the words of
Consecration which births transubstantiation. It is so done for very strong reasons: for
foregrounding reasons and to ensure that the exact words are clearly pronounced without mistakes
lest the actions become invalidated.
The excerpts below show the text but not in colours. Instructions which are in red with italics in
the original text would only be italicized here without colouring.
On the day before he was to suffer,
(He takes the bread and, holding it slightly raised above the altar), continues:
he took bread in his holy and venerable hands,
(He raises his eyes) and with eyes raised to heaven to you, O God, his almighty
Father, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his
disciples, saying:
(He bows slightly).
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT,
FOR THIS IS MY BODY,
WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.
(He shows the consecrated host to the people, places it again on the paten, and
genuflects in adoration). (After this, the Priest continues):
In a similar way, when supper was ended, (He takes the chalice and, holding it
slightly raised above the altar, continues):
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he took this precious chalice in his holy and venerable hands, and once more giving
you thanks, he said the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying:
He bows slightly.
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT,
FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD,
THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT,
WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE
FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.
(He shows the chalice to the people, places it on the corporal, and genuflects in
adoration)
Page 6 has musical notes and signs of staff notations clearly written in it. Under the notes
are also words written which are meant to be sung. That is the part of the text where the people
also participate- the part of the proclamation of the mystery of faith. Page 9 which is the end of
the text also has the musical notes written in them. It is the last part where the prayer is ended and
summed up with the people’s response of Amen.
The beginning of the prayer is conversational in nature. It is written in structurally simple and
functionally declarative sentences. An excerpt is as below:
℟: The Lord be with you.
Ꝟ: And with your spirit.
℟: Lift up your hearts.
Ꝟ: We lift them up to the Lord.
℟: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
Ꝟ: It is right and just
The prayers rendered by the priest alone are all written in sentences that are structurally very
complex and functionally declarative as below:
To you, therefore, most merciful Father, we make humble prayer and petition
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord: that you accept these gifts, these
offerings, these holy and unblemished sacrifices, which we offer you firstly for your
holy Catholic Church. Be pleased to grant her peace, to guard, unite and govern her
throughout the whole world, together with your servant N. our Pope and N. our
Bishop, and all those who, holding to the truth, hand on the Catholic and apostolic
faith.
The simple sentences only appear where there are responses from the people. Again, there is a
predominant use of vocatives in the text.
In communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the glorious everVirgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ,
† and blessed Joseph, her Spouse,
your blessed Apostles and Martyrs,
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Peter and Paul, Andrew, (James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Simon and Jude; Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian,
Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian)
and all your Saints; we ask that through their merits and prayers, in all things we
may be defended by your protecting help. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)
An appropriate linguistic explanation to the structure and function of sentences used in the prayer
is that the prayer is generally crafted in simple English to aid easy understanding and avoid
ambiguity. Making the part of the sentence where the people respond simple is also to give a sense
of prayer to it where people are supposed to talk to God in a very simple way denoting their
humility to God to who made them simple and unambiguous. Functionally, declaratives are used
to state facts and so the prayer is generally a statement of facts- facts of our intentions before God.
The usual S. P. C. pattern of sentence arrangement was not followed in most of the sentences here.
Instead, most of the sentences are left-branched as shown in some of the examples extracted from
various segments of the prayer text as shown:
Therefore, Lord, we pray: graciously accept this oblation of our service,…
Be pleased, O God, we pray, to bless, acknowledge, and approve this offering in
every respect…
Remember also, Lord, your servants N. and N., who have gone before us with the
sign of faith…
In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God…
Analysis at the phonological level
Although the entire prayer is usually sung on big feast days of the church, not all parts of
the prayers are designed to have strong phonological effects. However, some parts, especially
those areas that require responses from the congregation or that leads to where the congregation
would respond have some specific phonological effects. Excerpts are as below:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Through him,
and with him,
and in him, …
…this pure victim,
…this holy victim,
…this spotless victim,
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Here, we see the repetition of most of the words about three times. This is not just for stylistic and
phonological effect; it equally has some spiritual significance. It is denotative of the concept of the
most Holy Trinity, a very strong dogma of the Catholic Church. There is also a constant repetition
of the consonant H at the beginning of every sentence as in Holy, Heaven, Hosanna, and another
repetition of the word ‘Him’ at the end for the second excerpts as in through him, and with him
and in him…. Then the repetition of the word victim is equally phonologically significant.
The musical notes of staff notation are equally strong phonological indicators which show
that worship to God as a human activity is usually accompanied with a song. Songs liturgically are
said to lift our souls and minds to God.
Analysis at the lexical level
At the lexical levels we have many official words that are related to worship and adoration
all round the entire text. These are used in place of the everyday words to show formality of the
exercise. Some of such words include:
…unblemished sacrifices
…homage to you,
…we venerate
…In communion with
…from eternal damnation
…holy and venerable hands,
…Chalice of everlasting salvation
To show formality and a sense of register, these words are used instead of the more common forms:
unblemished instead of holy, homage instead of respect, venerate instead of adore, in communion
instead of in unity, eternal damnation instead of punishment or suffering, venerable instead of holy
and chalice instead of cup.
Analysis at the textual level
At this level, primacy is placed on the context and situation and how they collectively
manifest in the text creation. The context here is religious worship in a situation of mass. The entire
text all reflects same.
Beginning from the title EUCHARISTIC PRAYER I to the greeting “The Lord be with you…”
and up to the Holy Holy Holy… and down to the other prayers in the text. All these reflect a
worship setting. The mention of the name of the Pope and the diocesan bishop and then that of
Virgin Mary and many Saints etc are all reflective of the catholic doctrines. The crux of the text
which is the proclamation of the words of consecration proper which are the words of Jesus at the
last supper with his apostles is completely reflective of the religious situation.
The greetings “the Lord be with you…” is not ordinary but contextually spiritual. It is a
form of greeting that is specifically for the purpose and context of mass. The song or poem Holy
Holy Holy is the Lord God of host….is also contextually appropriate for mass. It is not a song for
party of clubs. It is not even a song for other religious services like benediction or confessions or
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during baptism or liturgy of hours. It is specifically for the context of mass. The continuous use of
the word sacrifice is also to be carefully noted as it shows the religious exercise. The mass is a reenactment of the messianic salvific sacrifice of the cross for the salvation of mankind.
So in all, the entire text is wrapped up with the doxology declaration of Through him and
with him and in him…. That is the summation of the entire prayer which is ended by the echoing
of Amen both by the priest and the congregation to signify a collective acceptance of the entire
content of the sacrificial prayers.
Analysis for cohesive devices
Sample 1 Ꝟ: The Lord be with you. [1]
℟: And ˄ with your spirit. [2] (Underlined= nominal ellipsis)
Ꝟ: Lift up your hearts. [3]
℟: We lift them up to the Lord. [4] (underlined = phrasal substitution)
Ꝟ: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. [5]
℟: It is right and just ˄
[6] (underlined = clausal ellipsis)
Sample 2 To you, therefore, [underlined=conjunction (causal: reasons)] most
merciful father, we make humble prayer and [underlined =
conjunction (additive)] petition through Jesus Christ your Son, our
Lord: that you accept and bless these gifts, these offerings, these
holy and unblemished sacrifices, [underlined = reiteration
(repetition)] which we offer you firstly [underlined= conjunction
(temporal: enumeration)] for your holy catholic church [7]
Sample 3 Therefore [underlined= conjunction (causal: reason)] Lord we pray:
graciously accept this oblation of our service, that of your whole
family; order our days in your peace and [underlined= conjunction
(additive)] command that we be delivered from eternal damnation
and [underlined= conjunction (additive)] counted among the flock
of those you have chosen.[8]
Sample 4 On the day before he was to suffer, he took bread in his holy and
venerable [underlined = reiteration (synonym)] hands… [9]
Statistical analysis of the data
Table showing analysis of lexical cohesive devices
Reiteration devices Collocation devices
Type No % Type No %
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Repetition 1 9 Complementaries 0 0
Super-ordination 0 0 Converses 0 0
Synonyms 1 9 Antonyms 0 0
Part or whole 0 0
Part + part 0 0
Co-hyponmys 0 0
Links 0 0
Total 2 18 Total 00 00
Table showing analysis of Grammatical Cohesive Devices
Substitution devices Ellipsis devices Conjunction devices
Type No % Type No % Type No %
Nominal 0 0 Nominal 1 9 Additives 3 27.3
Verbal 0 0 Verbal 0 0 Adversatives 0 0
Clausal 1 9 Clausal 1 9 Causal 2 18.9
Verb + Verb Temporal 1 9
Total 1 9 Total 2 18 Total 6 55.2
Summary of table for lexical and grammatical cohesive devices
LEXICAL COHESIVE DEVICES GRAMMATICAL COHESIVE DEVICES
TYPE NO % TYPE NO %
Reiteration devices 02 18 Substitution devices 1 9
Collocation devices 00 00 Ellipsis devices 2 18
Conjunction devices 6 55.2
Total 02 18 Total 09 82.2
Total no of clauses analysed = 11
Total no of cohesive devices used: 02+09 = 11
Total percentage = 18 + 82.2 = 100.2%
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
In the sample selected, at the lexical cohesive devices level, the reiteration devices are two (2)
which are repetition and synonyms. This demonstrates that the text is a prayer because the essence
of the reiteration is for emphasis. The text wants the unseen addressor- God- to hear and hear again,
the intention and take note of it as not just being one. There is zero collocation devices.
At the level of grammatical cohesive device, the substitution device is just 1 which
represents 9% of the sample. The ellipsis devices are 2 and that is 18% of the sample while the
conjunction devices are 6 which represent 55.2% of the data. The meaning and interpretation of
such is that the sample text are grammatically bound properly. This is further interpreted to mean
that, although the text is in different segments, it is carefully and intentionally bound to form one
whole prayer and petition to God.
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CONCLUSION
This research which is a stylistic investigation of the text of consecration in Catholic Holy Mass
examined the selected sample against the backdrop of stylistic analysis at the various levels as well
as looking into the cohesive devices employed in the text. It is concluded that all the linguistic
features in the text exist there for communicative reasons some of which are for the purpose of
information focus as well as foregrounding. The foregrounded segments are so done either for
guidiance, emphasis or to aid in passing information. The cohesive devices are applied in such a
way that it is simply concluded that, although the text of consecration are fragmented in segments,
they are comprehensively bound to make a whole prayer.
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APPENDIX