## Discourse coherence: a case study of the French connector tandis que

## Abstract

This paper aims to explore the role of connectors in the degree of discourse coherence. Starting  from  Dik's  (1997:  ch.  18)  discourse  model,  I  examine  the  extent  to  which connectors  can  adequately  be  accounted  for  in  the  theory  of  Functional  Grammar through the study of the French particle tandis que . At the semantic level, tandis que is characterized as a circumstantial satellite marker be it locally or in a more global scope. As for pragmatic functions, it is argued that the Parallel Focus function singled out by tandis que can also be assigned to more than one element of a parallel construction when the contrast is not a binary relation. The last part of my paper is devoted to the textual functions of the discourse marker tandis que , which is relevant as a coherencepromoting device in introducing Topics or in signalling discourse discontinuity.

## 1. Introduction

Dik  (1997)  considers  connectors  to  be  one  of  the  main  factors  that contribute  to  the  degree  of  coherence  of  a  discourse.  Moreover,  this type of linguistic phenomena, which cannot be accounted for adequately in sentence-oriented models, is motivating current attemps to develop the FG model in a discourse grammar (cf. Kroon 1997). However, few accounts are reserved in FG framework to such a category referred to as discourse markers, connectors …

To enrich this field, I will concentrate in the present paper on the question  of  the  extent  to  which  connective  particles  are  required  in coherent discourse (Schiffrin 1987, Roulet et al. 1985, Jadir in print). A case study of the French connector tandis que 1 will serve as an illus- tration.

* I am grateful to Prof. A. Moutaouakil, C. Kroon, M. Mackenzie, M. Hannay, De Vries,  M.  Bolkestein  and  K.  Rasmussen  for  their  valuable  comments  on  an  earlier version of this paper.

* Mohammed Jadir Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences Department of French University Hassan II, Mohammedia (Morocco)

First I will give an overview of the discourse model sketched in Dik (1997: ch. 18). Then, after a characterization of the semantic properties of tandis  que as  a  marker  introducing  a  predicational  (and  circumstantial) satellite, I will discuss the appropriate pragmatic function of this  kind  of  Ó 2 satellite:  a  Parallel  Focus  or  a  subtype  of  Discourse Topic? The last section will be devoted to the textual roles of tandis que in French narrative ( L'Assommoir (ASS), La Fortune des Rougon (FR) and La Curée (CU) of Zola). Attention will be given, inter alia, to the local and/or global coherence established by this marker, to the informational 'central/subsidiary'  status  (Kroon  1995)  of tandis  que with regard to a preceding unit, and to the contribution of tandis que to the topical continuity of a discourse, i.e. to its coherence.

## 2. Toward a functional grammar of discourse

## 2.1. Three perspectives

Dik's (1997: ch.18) discourse model serves to approach problems of the production, organization and interpretation of discourse from three perspectives:  global  discourse  decisions  (2.1.1)  global  structures  in  discourse (2.1.2) and discourse coherence (2.1.3).

## 2.1.1. Global discourse decisions

In developing a discourse, S(peaker) takes many decisions which affect the whole stretch of discourse rather than a single clause. In this respect, various global discourse decisions or settings have to be distinguished. The first and primary decision concerns the (non-)entering into a discourse event. According to Hymes (1972), a discourse event is defined as a social, interpersonal event governed by parameters such as parti- cipants (S and A(ddressee)), their rights and duties with respect to interaction and content, and the time, place and setting of speaking.

1 In traditional French grammar (cf. Grevisse 1991: 1653, among others), the connective particle tandis que is described as combining two values: time (simultaneity) and opposition, as is shown in (i):

(i) Les  pintades  sauvages  s'envolaient devant  eux, tandis  que  les  perdreaux, écrasés par la chaleur, se contentaient de s'écarter un peu (J. et J. Tharaud)

where the opposition is established between the terms les pintades sauvages and les perdreaux , while the simultaneity is taken place between the two actions s'envolaient and se  contentaient  (de  s'écarter  un  peu) as  proved  by  the  use  of  the imparfait ('imperfective past').

After this initial step, S has to choose a discourse type and a discourse style. As for the discourse type, its choice is co-determined at least by the following parameters: the medium, the participation, the participant relation, the formality and the communicative purpose. For Dik, the choice of a type imposes certain limits on the style which can be used in implementing the discourse type.

Furthermore, embedding is relevant not only at the clause level but at the discourse level as well. The author distinguishes for example between the illocutionary value fixed per clause and what he terms discourse illocution. Likewise, a similar parallel can be made as regards temporal decisions. Temporal specifications on individual clauses do not depend on decisions taken per clause. Rather, they depend on tense decisions on a whole discourse.

## 2.1.2. Global structures in discourse

The discourse has a hierarchical, layered structure when considered as a  finished  product.  This  structure  may  be  compared  to  the  layered clause structure in both the layering and the recursion. Just as layers discerned within the structure of the clause, Dik (1997: 425) makes the following distinctions at the discourse level:

## (1) 0. Discourse event

1. Interpersonal layer
2. 1.1 Interactional: concerning all those aspects of the discourse which relate to the interaction between S and A.
3. 1.2 Attitudinal: concerning all those aspects of the discourse which  relate to the (emotional or critical) attitude towards or evaluation of the discourse by S and A.
2. Representational layer
5. 2.1 Organizational: concerning all those aspects of the discourse which relate to the way the content is organized.
6. 2.2  Contentive: concerning all those elements of the discourse in which the actual content is transmitted, i.e. the Facts and States of Affairs dealt with in the discourse, including the participants in such Facts and SoA.

The  second  kind  of  complexity  in  discourse  is  due  to  recursion. According to Dik, 'recursion is involved in any situation in which a unit of type U may contain a sub-unit of the same type U, so that, within U, the organization typical of U may return' (1997: 427).

After having looked at the structure of discourse from a structural point of view, Dik considers this structure from a relational point of view. The author assumes that all intraclausal nucleus-satellite relations can  be  projected  onto  the  interclausal/discourse  level.  He  gives  the following examples:

- (2) The interpersonal level
- a. U 1 motivates U 2
- b. U 1 provides background for U 2
- c. U 1 gives an antithesis to U 2
- d. U 1 gives a solution for U 2
- (3) The representational level
- a. U 1 elaborates on U 2
- b. U 1 enables U 2
- c. U 1 specifies a condition for U 2
- d. U 1 specifies the purpose of U 2
- e. U 1 specifies a circumstance of U 2
- f. U 1 is a concession in relation to U 2 .

## 2.1.3. Discourse coherence

'When a discourse is properly construed it will be coherent in the sense that the different constitutive parts will follow each other in a natural, interpretable way. This holds both for the local sequencing of clauses ( local coherence) and for the sequencing of more global discourse units ( global coherence) ' (Dik 1997: 433). Several factors contribute to discourse coherence. The first is the 'frame', i.e. the organized knowledge concerning what can be done and said within a given institutional setting. The second is provided by certain default principles of iconic sequencing ( Temporal iconicity). The third is discourse topical continuity. Dik (1989,1997) distinguishes the following strategies: (i) Introducing a New Topic (New Top) into the discourse; (ii) Maintaining a Topic, once introduced, as a Given Topic (Giv Top); (iii) Inferring a Sub-Topic (Sub Top) from a Topic; and (iv) Reviving a Topic as a Resumed Topic (Res  Top).  Dik  mentions  three  other  devices  for  creating  coherence such  as  Focality,  Tail-head  linking 2 and  Connectors  which  occur  in patterns of the form:

- (4) Preceding Clause(s). Connector, New Clause.

## 2.2. Two directions

The hierarchical structure of the clause as conceived of in FG framework (Dik 1989, 1997) consists of five layers called  'nuclear  predication',  'core  predication',  'extended  predication',  'proposition'  and 'illocution'. These layers are claimed to be relevant to the analysis of natural languages; they designate various types of entities which are listed in Table 1 (Dik 1989: 50, 1997: 93):

Table 1 Entity types

|   ORDER | STRUCTURE        | TYPE              | VARIABLE   |
|---------|------------------|-------------------|------------|
|       0 | predicate        | Property/Relation | f          |
|       1 | first order term | Spatial entity    | x          |
|       2 | predication      | State of Affairs  | e          |
|       3 | proposition      | Possible Fact     | X          |
|       4 | clause           | Speech Act        | E          |

Recently, the development of the current, sentence-oriented FG model into  a  more  discourse-oriented  one  has  been  a  subject  of  a  certain amount  of  debate.  However,  there  are  two  particularly  emphasized directions  for  expanding  the  actual  FG  model:  first,  the  one  termed upward layering (cf. Hengeveld 1997; Moutaouakil 1993, 1998; Jadir 1998), whereby a higher textual layer is added to the underlying clause structure, i.e. the rhetorical level. Second, the one interpreting E (Dik 1989) as the product of a speech event, i.e. an utterance (Bolkestein 1992,  1998,  Vet  1998).  These  authors  propose  a  separate pragmatic module within which pragmatic aspects of language should be handled.

2 Tail-Head Linking (cf. De Vries 1989, Dik 1997) plays a role in co-determining the coherence of a discourse. In this strategy a clause starts with a constituent which briefly summarizes a crucial part of the preceding clause or context. This may be done, for example, through an anaphorical term, as in:

(ii) After a long journey they come to a small village. In that village/ there they found a place where they could spend the night.

In  this  analysis  of  the  French  marker tandis  que ,  I  will  adopt  an expanding approach (cf. Moutaouakil 1998). This approach consists of extending Cuvalay's (1997) model of underlying expression structure so as to enable it to house the representation of discourse notions such as Récit and Discours (Benveniste 1966). The author proposes to call such  an  extension  'Underlying  Text  Structure'.  It  can  be  roughly represented as in (5):

- (5) π 6 T i  : [ Pi : [ Expression ]] (Ó 6 )

Where  T i is  the  text  variable,  which  is  specified  by  a  textual π 6 -operator  and  Ó 6 -  satellites.  The  function  of  the π 6 -  operator  is  to indicate  the  type  of  text  (R  (=  Récit)  or  D (=Discours)).  As  for  Ó 6 satellite  category,  it  subsumes  expressions  fulfilling  various  textual tasks  such  as  initiating,  modalizing  or  ending  a  text  with  respect  to other texts. P i  (Passage) is an intermediate entity introduced between clause  and  text.  Moutaouakil's  upward  layering  approach  not  only accounts for features of clause structure but also predicts certain cooccurrence properties of clauses and even whole passages of text.

## 3. Semantic properties

In  FG  (Dik  1989,  1997)  level  2  satellites  (Ó 2 )  represent  the  lexical means through which the SoA designated by the nuclear predication can be located with respect to spatial, temporal, and cognitive dimensions.  The  most  important types of Ó 2 satellite  are:  Location,  Time, Circumstance,  Result,  Purpose,  Reason  and  Cause.  We  restrict  ourselves here to briefly exemplifying the two types which interest us: Time (at which, from which, until which):

- (6) a. Peter left the office at three o'clock
- b. John did his homework from eight o'clock until eleven o'clock .

Circumstance :  an  SoA  presented  as  obtaining  concurrently  with  the SoA expressed in the core predication.

- (7) a. John was reading a book, while Peter was watching TV
- b. No more matters arisin g, the meeting was closed.

There are good reasons to believe that the semantic function of Circumstance as defined above perfectly corresponds to the subordinate clause introduced by the French connector tandis que . Indeed, in such an example as:

- (8) La fruitière retirait sa dernière poêlée de pomme de terre, tandis que le charcutier remettait en ordre des assiettes débandées de son comptoir...(ASS: 42)

the  predication  embedded  by tandis  que provides  no  precise  specification about the beginning or the end of the SoA expressed in the matrix predication, in that the SoA expressed in the former is concurrently  obtained  to  that  expressed  in  the  latter.  In  other  words,  the subordinate construction tandis que le charcutier remettait ... specifies a circumstance  of  the  principal  construction La  fruitière  retirait ...,  the two actions expressed in them occurring simultaneously.

It follows that the adverbial clause of Circumstance introduced by tandis  que pertains  to  the  second  order  entities,  in  the  sense  that  it expresses  an  SoA  and  not,  e.g.  a  Possible  Fact.  In  other  words,  the tandis que -clause belongs to the predicational layer as it presents an SoA  carried  out  concomitantly  with  that  expressed  in  the  main predication  without  any  commitment  on  the  part  of  the  participant. Witness the following modifications (8' a-c):

- (8') a. La fruitière retire sa dernière poêlée de pomme de terre, tandis que le charcutier remet en ordre des assiettes débandées de son comptoir.
- b. * La fruitière retirait sa dernière poêlée de pomme de terre, tandis que le charcutier remettra en ordre. ..
- c. * La fruitière retirait sa dernière poêlée de pomme de terre, tandis que le charcutier pouvait remettre en ordre. ..

(8' a) is grammatical since, unlike (8'b), the SoA simultaneity condition  required  by  the  marker tandis  que is  fulfilled  in  this  case.  The grammaticality  of  (8'c)  reveals  that  if  temporal  modifications  are allowed (e.g.(8'a)), the expression of propositional attitudes are proscribed; such a linguistic test provides confirmation of the predicational status of the clause introduced by tandis que .

Accordingly,  the  semantic  function  assignment  of  the  Circ(umstance)  at  the  level  of  the  predicational  layer  can  be  represented  as follows (cf. Hengeveld 1996):

- (9) (Sim π 2  e i )  Circ Predication π

Where Sim is a temporal operator indicating simultaneity and 2 is a predicational operator.

## 4. Parallel contrast

In FG, the pragmatic function of Focus is conceived of as pertaining to the focality dimension of discourse. Dik (1978: 130, 1989: 277-282, 1997) defines the focal information in a linguistic expression as 'that information  which  is  relatively  the  most  important  or  salient  in  the given communicative setting, and considered by S to be most essential for A to integrate into his pragmatic information'. The Focus is subcategorized into New (Completive, non contrastive) Focus and Contrastive Focus which subsumes 'counter-presuppositional (Replacing, Expanding, Restricting and Selecting) Focus' and 'Parallel Focus' (Par Foc).  In  the  former,  'the  information  presented  is  opposed  to  other, similar information which S presupposes to be entertained by A'. The latter  is  involved  'when  Focus  is  assigned  to  corresponding  constituents in parallel constructions'.

In addition to its function of marking the concurrent aspect of the SoA expressed in the subordinate predication (Circumstance) to that expressed in the core one, tandis  que can also be characterized as a focusing device. Its role consists in emphasizing some constituents by means of contrast or parallelism. In the FG framework, the constituent singled out by tandis que receives Par Foc function.

Most commonly, the corresponding elements in a parallel construction are noun phrases (NP) as can be seen from the following example:

- (10) Les dames , sanglées dans leur corsage, avaient des bandeaux de pommade, où le jour se reflétait; tandis que les messieurs, assis  loin  de  la  table,  bombaient  la  poitrine  et  écartaient  les coudes, par crainte de tacher leur redingote (ASS: 199-200).

In  (10)  the  NP les  messieurs is  assigned  the  pragmatic  function  of Contrastive Focus (Par Foc) by virtue of the contrast established between Les dames and les messieurs. The same holds for the above passage  (8),  in  which la  fruitière and le  charcutier function  as  Parallel Focus elements.

Likewise, verbal predicates can make the subject matter of contrastive parallelism, as in (11):

- (11) Par moments, un ouvrier s'arrêtait  court, rallumait  sa  pipe, tandis qu' autour de lui les autres marchaient toujours ,  sans rire, sans une parole dite … (ASS: 14)

where there is a double contrast: besides the contrasted elements un ouvrier/les autres, the verb phrase marchaient toujours in the second member of the parallel construction marked by tandis que is opposed to the verb phrase s'arrêtait court .

It happens that, in the same parallel construction, the opposition may involve various constituents pertaining to different grammatical categories. (12) may serve as an example:

- (12) Puis, à gauche, un morceau de fromage blanc nageait dans un plat  creux  tandis  que,  dans  un  autre  plat,  à  droite,  s'entassaient  de  grosses  fraises  meurtries dont  le  jus  coulait  (ASS: 208).

In spite of the fact that, in the use of tandis que as a focalizing particle, the  contrast  always  implies  a  strict  opposition  between  two  alternatives 3 , here, once more, the syntactic parallelism strategy involves more than one pair of contrasted elements with various grammatical categories. The contrast is established between two NPs un morceau de fromage  blanc/de  grosses  fraises  meurtries, two  adverbs à  gauche/  à droite, two verbs nageait/s'entassaient and two prepositional phrases dans un plat creux/dans un autre plat.

Since, in this type of instances, the contrast relation is maintained between almost all constitutive elements of the parallel construction, and since the Focus function, contrary to Topic whose assignment concerns only terms (cf. Dik 1978, 1989, 1997; Siewierska 1991) 4 , is ascribed to all constituents of a clause, a question arises: among the constituents in the second part of the parallel construction are there some which are more accessible to receive preferentially Par Foc function? or is it possible to assign Par Foc to the whole component given that the parallelism marked by tandis que is total?

Most certainly, if one resorts to a hierarchy of accessibility to Par Foc, the element de grosses fraises meurtries might be viewed as hav- ing priority to bear this pragmatic function by virtue of its saliency, but there are good reasons to believe that predication's Par Foc assignment seems  to  exhibit  here  a  high  degree  of  acceptability.  This  kind  of assignment can be roughly schematized as in (13):

3 As pointed out in Martinez Caro (1998: 233): 'The most important difference between strict opposition and parallelism concerns the nature of the relationship between the two contrasted elements. This relationship includes the feature [+ negative] in the strict opposition, whereas it implies a positive comparison in the case of the parallelism'. (cf. also Taglicht 1984).

4

'Topic assignment to entities or terms' is one of the major issues with respect to which FG authors manifest diverging opinions (cf. Bolkestein 1998). Thus, as opposed to Dik (1989) and Siwierska (1991), Keizer (1992) and Helma Dik (1995), for instance, argue that predicates may just as well be Topics.

(13) [R T i  : [e i : Predication (e i )] , [e j  : Predication (e j )] Par Foc ] Where 'R' indicates  the  discourse  type  (i.e.  Récit)  where tandis  que occurs .

## 'T' stands for the text variable.

In certain examples, though less frequent, the constituents singled out by the focalizing tandis que happens to be in contrast with two preceding constituents. In other words, the contrast involved in such contexts is not a binary contrast in that it implies an opposition between more than two elements. To illustrate this type of contrast at issue here, consider the following passage 5 :

- (14) Peu à peu, pourtant, le bruit avait dû se répandre qu'une noce visitait le Louvre, des peintres accouraient, la bouche fendue d'un rire; des curieux s'asseyaient à l'avance sur des banquettes, pour assister commodément au défilé; tandis que les gardiens, les lèvres pincées, retenaient des mots d'esprit (ASS: 77).

In this context, it seems that the SoA marked by tandis que is presented as  obtaining  concurrently  with  the  two  SoAs  expressed  in  previous predications,  i.e. des  peintres  accouraient… and des  curieux  s'asseyaient… It  would,  hence,  be  possible  to  presume  that  the  Circumstance  semantic  relation  is  established  between  the  three  existing predications. Likewise, the element les gardiens focused by the highlighting device tandis que contrasts with the prior emphasized items, that is, des peintres and des curieux. In other words, contrary to what it is commonly admitted, the contrast is not always a binary relation, it can be tripartite as it is attested by instances of type (14).

In the same vein, Geluykens (1992) introduces the function of Listing as a subtype within the dimension of contrastiveness. Adopting this proposition in her study of Contrastive Focus in spoken Spanish and spoken English, Martinez Caro (1998: 234) suggests that 'a pragmatic function of Listing should be recognized within the same dimension of contrastiveness, as a subtype of Par Foc'. As in the above French example, natural languages make considerable use of parallel constructions although this kind of focality is frequently expressed by means of various syntactic devices. Compare the following instances:

5 For Rasmussen (Personal Communication) this example could also be interpreted as involving a binary contrast. This relation is established between des peintres accouraient.../ des curieux s'asseyaient à l'avance... on the one hand and les gardiens retenaient des mots d'esprit on the other hand. That is, the contrast is between interested and non interested people in the wedding-party.

## (15) Spanish (Martinez Caro 1998: 236)

(about the institution where the speaker works)

Claro que tengo que decirte que somos nada mas que dos personas  y  écramos  cinco,  o  sea,  que  te  puedes  imaginar...pues porque una señora esta enferma, otra se ha casado y otra se ha dado de baja.

'But of course I have to tell you that we are only two persons and we used to be five, so you can imagine... because one of the ladies is ill, another has got married and another is on leave'.

## (16) English (Martinez Caro 1998: 234) 6

Everybody  made  their  contribution  from  all  over  the  senior common-room about their point of view about eggs [...] some would rather have them much too soft than much too hard and some people would rather not leave an egg at all and some people thought the thing to do was just put them in the water and  take  them  out  again  and  then  let  them  go  on  cooking without cracking their heads.

## (17) Latin (Kroon 1995: 30)

Ea tanta est urbs ut ex quattuor urbibus maximis constare dicatur; quarum una est ea, quam...(extensive description). Altera autem est urbs syracusis, cui nomen Achradina est... tertia est urbs quae... quarta autem est quae...

'So  large  is  the  city  that  it  is  described  as  being four  great towns joined together. One of these (una) is the Island... Then there is a second town (altera autem) in the city, called Achradina... There is a third town (tertina est urbs),... And there is a fourth town (quatra autem est), which...'

Moreover, it should be noticed that Parallel Focus constituents introduced by tandis que are topical elements in that they are given or inferrable information. As such, they can function as one of the Discourse Topic (D-Top) subtypes, that is, a New Topic (New Top), a Sub Topic (Sub-Top) or even a Resumed Topic (Res Top). The following instances may serve as an illustration:

6 In this example taken from Martinez Caro (1998) I have not marked symbols and abbreviations used in the corpora for the prosodic prominence.

- (18) Claude , qui avait huit ans, ... respirait d'une haleine lente, tandis qu'Etienne, âgé de quatre ans seulement, souriait, un bras passé au cou de son frère (ASS: 12).
- (19) Une famille , d'ailleurs, barrait le palier; le père lavait des assiettes sur un petit fourneau de terre, près du plomb, tandis que la mère, adossée à la rampe, nettoyait le bambin avant d'aller le coucher (ASS: 55).
- (20) Trois semaines plus tard, vers onze heures et demie, un jour de soleil,  Gervaise  et  Coupeau,  l'ouvrier  zingueur,  mangeaient ensemble une prune... Lorsque le zingueur eut allumé sa cigarette, il posa les coudes sur la table [longue distance]. Et elle disait ces choses en femme résolue, ayant son plan de vie bien arrêté, tandis  que  Coupeau, qui  ne  lâchait  pas  son  désir  de l'avoir, plaisantait, tournait tout à l'ordure, lui faisait sur Lantier des questions crues...(ASS: 37-41).

The corresponding constituents in (18) exhibit some properties which support their candidature to receive New Top (or 'futur Topic'/'Topicto-be' in Bolkestein's (1998) terms) function. They constitute, on the one hand, 'the first presentation' (Dik 1989: 267) of D-Topics Claude and Etienne, and, on the other hand, they combine the two dimensions of topicality and focality ; they are topical in the sense that they characterize those entities 'about' which the author narrates, and they are focal by virtue of their introduction for the first time into the discourse.

In example (19) the parallelism is established by means of the marker tandis que between two inferrable entities, i.e. le père and la mère ; the latter are derived, on the basis of our common knowledge, from the D-Topic une famille. Thus, they can be viewed as SubTops. Besides, in the above Latin example borrowed from Kroon (1995), there is a first announcement of the 'supertopic' of the passage and there are  four 'subtopics', two of them are marked by autem.

Most commonly, the element singled out by tandis que is a ResTop. In FG, the constituent bearing this function consists in re-establishing a Given Topic after a (long) disappearance. Thus, the connective particle in (20) 'revives' and re-introduces the Giv Top Coupeau after a considerable referential distance. Such a re-introduction might, as in this case, constitute the starting point of a new topical chain. Besides its function as a resuming marker, tandis que is apt to achieve further discourse organizational roles which will be accounted for in the following.

## 5. Discourse functions of tandis que

As ensues from the earlier examples, tandis que can be applied locally or with a more global scope. It is, hence, used as a marker of Parallel Focus  or  as  a  marker  of  textual  organization.  Though,  statistically speaking, the local use of tandis que as a focus marking device seems to prevail as compared to the global one in the narrative; investigated data show that the two particle's uses overlap more frequently.

It is noticeable that in recent functional literature (e.g. Kroon 1995, Dik  1997)  discourse  coherence  or  discourse  continuity  is  not  to  be conceived of as depending only on Topic continuity. It involves rather various types of continuity (i.e. settings) such as temporal continuity, locational continuity and other circumstancial continuities and action continuity.  These  sub-strings  may  enrich  Givon's  (1983,  1989)  tripartite hierarchy (theme continuity, action continuity and topic continuity) as schematized in (21):

- (21) Discourse continuity sub-strings hierarchy Theme continuity > Action continuity > Settings > Topic continuity

Most often tandis  que coincides in  its  global  text  organizational  use with D-Topic shifts, but it can also signal the interruption of the other forms of continuity. We can, thus, speak of a marker of discourse discontinuity rather than of a mere marker of Topic shifts. Examples (12) and (22) which serve as an illustration corroborate this analysis:

- (12) Puis, à gauche, un morceau de fromage blanc nageait dans un plat creux tandis que, dans un autre plat, à droite, s'entassaient de grosses fraises meurtries dont le jus coulait (ASS: 208).
- (22) (Dans le grand silence du quartier endormi), on entendait seulement les sanglots d'enfant d'un ivrogne, couché sur le dos, au milieu du boulevard; tandis que, très loin, au fond de quelque restaurant, un violon jouait un quadrille canaille à quelque noce attardée, une petite musique cristalline, nette et déliée comme une phrase d'harmonica (ASS: 52).

In  these  examples,  the  use  of  the  organizational  particle tandis  que coincides with a topical discontinuity and a locational discontinuity. As for Topic discontinuity, the transition indicated by tandis que involves a shift from un morceau de fromage blanc to de grosses fraises meurtries on the one hand ((12)), and from les sanglots d'enfant d'un ivrogne to un violon on the other hand ((22)). Concerning the shifted locational settings in (12) and (22), the changes of spaces are made respectively from à gauche, dans un plat creux to dans un autre plat à droite and from au mileu du boulevard to très loin, au fond de quelque restaurant. Note that these types of breaks marked by tandis que frequently yield a minor discourse discontinuity since other kinds of continuity especially  the  most  important  one  (viz.  Theme  continuity)  are  being maintained.

Another instance supporting that discourse discontinuity is not confined to Topic switching is (23) in which tandis que is used to signal an interruption  of  the  action  chain  (while  Giv  Top Pierre is  being  continued):

- (23) Pierre se souvint du sang qui couvrit les mains de Silvère. Il eut un léger mouvement de recul... Et, tandis qu'il maudissait tout bas son indigne famille, il déclara solennellement que... (FR: 298).

The clause introduced by tandis que, which carries a subsidiary message, can yield a temporary break of discourse continuity to the extent that it is added to the mainline of the narrative. Action discontinuity has as linguistic coding the variation of the tenses used: foregrounded text parts are described in the Perfect tense (i.e. passé simple ) while backgrounded  ones  ( tandis  que -clause)  are  described  in  the  Imperfective tense (i.e. imparfait ) (cf. Vet 1994, 1996).

Moreover, as stated earlier (sect. 3) tandis que is analyzed as a marker  of  circumstancial  satellite  (Ó 2 )  at  the  predicational  (local)  level. Once used globally, the particle has a quite similar role in that it introduces  information  of  minor  and  subsidiary  importance  which  often interrupts the development of the narrative. Such an interruption more frequently coincides with a shift to constituents with low topicality, viz, to  secondary  D-Topics  which  do  not  exhibit  a  highly  persistent recurrence.

Adopting  Dik's  (1997)  assumption  that  all  intraclausal  nucleussatellite relations can be projected onto the discourse level, we can say that in its text organizing use tandis que marks a textual satellite (Ó -T) which specifies a circumstance of the main preceding text parts. This functional parallel of the connector tandis que at the local and global level can be represented as in (24 a-b):

<!-- formula-not-decoded -->

<!-- formula-not-decoded -->

Where DECL = declarative, E i is  an  illocution variable, X i is  a  proposition  variable, π 3 is  a  propositional  operator  and  'DiscourseEpisode' (Dik 1997) refers to a whole (section of a) discourse taken in the scope of the discourse illocution DECL.

In the same vein, the two members connected by tandis que may, in certain cases, convey a subsidiary message in the sense that they tend together to provide, for instance, an explanation, or an exemplification for the preceding passage. Consider (25) and (26):

- (25) Ils faisaient les choses proprement. Même le soir, au repas qui eut lieu chez les Coupeau, ils ne se présentèrent point les mains vides. Le mari arriva avec un litre de vin cacheté sous chaque bras, tandis que la femme tenait un large flan acheté chez un patissier de la chaussée Clignancourt, très en renom. Seulement, les Lorieux allèrent raconter leurs largesses dans tout le quartier; ils... (ASS: 103).
- (26) Les  rez-de  chaussée  étaient  aménagés  en immenses  ateliers , fermés par des vitrages noirs de poussière: la forge d'un serrurier flambaient; on entendait plus loin des coups de rabot d'un menuisier; tandis que près de la loge, un laboratoire de teinturier lâchait  à  gros  brouillons  ce  ruisseau  d'un  rose  tendre coulant sous le porche (ASS: 48).

To reveal the subsidiary status of the parallel construction in (25), it is possible to interpret it in two different ways. First, it may be viewed as conveying a supplementary information which serves to extend/explain the previous clause marked by the connector même , i.e. each part of the parallel contrast (le mari arriva avec un litre de vin.../ la femme tenait un large flan...) restricts itself to give more information about the behaviour of the Coupeau family ( Même le soir ... ils ne se présentèrent point  les  mains  vides ).  Second,  the  parallel  construction  as  a  whole might keep its accessory role even in case of the absence of the precedent contiguous sentence ( Même ...) in that it might constitute in such a case a separated causal segment, susceptible, eventually, of being accompanied by an appropriate (causal) marker (e.g. en effet 'indeed') as is shown in (25'):

<!-- formula-not-decoded -->

- (25') Ils  faisaient les choses proprement. ( En effet ),  le  mari arriva avec un litre de vin cacheté sous chaque bras, tandis que la femme tenait un large flan...

Likewise, in example (26) the parallel established between des coups de rabot d'un menuisier and un laboratoire de teinturier functions as a mere example in the list of examples (e.g. la forge d'un serrurier ) cited after the colon (:) to illustrate the super term immenses ateliers .

Anyway the particle tandis que keeps its function of a discourse discontinuity marker. The discontinuity in the earlier mentioned passages is due to Sub-Topics shifts ( le mari/la femme and des coups de rabot d'un  menuisier/un  laboratoire  de  teinturier )  and  to  the  shifted  locational  setting  in  (26),  viz,  the  change  of  scenes (plus loin/près de la loge).

Furthermore, in a series of non-persistent Topics tandis que marks only the last member as opposed to Latin autem which may single out more than one element as we saw in (17). Compare:

- (27) La loge, enfumée, emplie de meubles noirs, avait une humidité et  un  jour  livide  de  cave;  devant  la  fenêtre, toute la  lumière tombait sur l'établi du tailleur (...); tandis que Pauline , la petite des Boche, une enfant rousse de quatre ans, assise par terre, regardait sagement cuire un morceau de veau, baigné et ravie dans l'odeur forte de cuisine montant du poêlon (ASS: 124).

The last and not the least remark about tandis que is the following: as stated with the majority of mentioned examples tandis que is prone to occur before a full NP, that is compatible with its discourse function as a thematic discontinuity marker. Though it is a very rare case, tandis que may be combined with an emphasized pronoun as in the following context:

- (28) Les Mignon et Charrier avaient complètement rompu avec lui (Aristide Saccard). S'il les accusait, c'était par une rage sourde de s'être trompé, en faisant bâtir sur sa part de terrains, tandis qu'eux vendaient  prudemment  la  leur.  Pendant  qu'ils  réalisaient  une  fortune, lui restait  avec  des  maisons  sur  les  bras, dont il ne se débarrassait souvent qu'à perte (CU: 179) .

In (28) the use of the pronoun eux is due to the competition between the two D-Topics Les Mignon et Charrier and il .  The role of tandis que, hence, is to indicate the contrast between the concerned elements and to avoid the topical ambiguity which is likely to occur in the case of the use of the unstressed anaphoric pronoun (e.g. ils ) instead of eux . The same holds for lui (in lui restait ...) whose occurrence may be explained by the 'switch reference' (ils/lui) .

## 6. Conclusion

Starting from Dik's (1997) model, my aim in this study is to examine to what extent the connector tandis que contributes to the degree of discourse coherence in French. The main conclusions arrived at here are:

- (i) Although tandis que can be employed locally or in a more global scope, the two uses more frequently coincide;
- (ii) At the predicational level, tandis que introduces Ó 2 satellite with the semantic function of Circumstance; at the discourse level, this particle marks a textual Ó 2 satellite which specifies the Circumstance of the preceding mainline stretches of the narrative;
- (iii) Parallel Focus function indicated by the highlighting device tandis que can be assigned to one element or to the whole sentence when the contrast is established between all members of a parallel construction.  The  notion  of  Listing  seems  to  be  appropriate  for French since the use of tandis que may involve opposition between more than two elements on the list;
- (iv) The French connector tandis que is relevant as a coherence-promoting device in introducing New Topic or Sub-Topic or in signalling discourse discontinuity due to a Topic (setting or action) shift;
- (v) Introducing a subsidiary text part and being a discourse discontinuity marker, tandis que is not frequent in Récit-texts. Statistically speaking, tandis que (7.54 %) is less recurrent as compared to mais (36.75%)  in  narrative  (e.g. L'Assommoir ).  This  can  be explained by the fact that (i) this type of text has usually a much higher degree of discourse continuity and that (ii) mais and tandis que, though being together discourse discontinuity markers, behave differently in that tandis que introduces subsidiary text parts, while mais introduces the most important ones.

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