The conjunctive ''and'' and its Arabic counterpart ''و'' are discourse markers that express certain meanings and presuppose the presence of other elements in discourse. They are indispensable aids to both the text writers and readers. The present study aims to show that such cohesive ties help the writer to organize his main argument and communicate his ideas vividly and smoothly. They also serve as explicit signals that help readers unfold text and follow its threads as realized in the progression of context. The researcher has utilized the Quirk Model of Semantic Implication for data analysis. A total of 42 (22 for English and 20 for Arabic) political texts selected from different elite newspapers in both Arabic and English for the analysis. The results of data analysis revealed that ''and'' and و [wa ] are necessary discourse markers that provide surface clues for the interpretation of text and the absence of such clues may cause ambiguity and result in incoherentdiscourse. In conclusion it was confirmed that the approach of semantic implications of ''and '' adopted by Quirk, et, al. suits the characteristics of Arabic text.
University of Baghdad
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