unitalong

Unitalong is a coinage used in discourse analysis to refer to a unit of meaning that travels through successive sentences or clauses, preserving its identity and guiding interpretation. A unitalong typically centers on a core theme, referent, or argument that recurs or reappears in different linguistic forms, contributing to cohesion and forward momentum in a text.

The term is formed from unit and along, signaling the idea that a single unit extends along the course of discourse. It has appeared in scattered scholarly discussions in the 21st century but has no single, widely accepted definition or taxonomy.

Characteristic features include explicit or implicit tracking of a central referent or theme, cross-sentence connectivity through repetition, pronouns, or nominal substitutions, and a narrative or argumentative arc that makes the progression legible to readers.

In practice, for example, a policy brief repeatedly foregrounds the word sustainability while discussing various measures; the underlying notion of "sustainability" functions as a unitalong, carried along through the text to unify diverse sections.

Relation to other concepts: unitalong overlaps with cohesion, topic continuity, and anaphora, but proponents argue it emphasizes the functional role of a unit rather than surface structure alone. Critics note that the term can be ambiguous without clear criteria, and it remains largely a descriptive heuristic rather than an established analytical category.