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What is a "lexical chain"?

A lexical chain is a sequence of related words or phrases that are connected through their meanings in a text. These chains create a network of associations, helping to maintain coherence and flow within a discourse. For instance, in a paragraph about cooking, words like "cook," "recipe," "ingredients," and "meal" may form a lexical chain, reinforcing the main topic and enabling readers to follow the ideas more easily. Lexical chains are important in linguistics and discourse analysis as they help to analyze how vocabulary is used to build meaning and create connections between concepts within written or spoken language.