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Chapter7reference 161115174951

Thank you for the summary. Referring expressions and their referents are important concepts in linguistics.

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116 views

Chapter7reference 161115174951

Thank you for the summary. Referring expressions and their referents are important concepts in linguistics.

Uploaded by

ahmed4dodi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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You are on page 1/ 18

Presented by :

Diah Desti Lestari


1. Referents and Referring
Expression

Referent (object) is a person, thing, or idea that a word or expression
denotes.
A referring expression is a piece of language, a noun phrase, that
is used in an utterance and is linked to something outside language,
some living or dead or imaginary entity or concept or group of entities
or concepts. A referring expression generally purpose to identify a
particular person, place or thing (noun, noun phrase or pronoun).
Example of Referent and Referring
Expression

Alex : where is the cheese sandwich sitting ?
Waiter : he’s over there by the window.

The cheese sandwich is referring expression and the referent being


identified is not a thing, but a person.
2. Extension and Intension

The extension of a lexeme is the set of entities which it
denotes.
The intension of any lexeme is the set of properties shared by
all members of the extension.
Example :
BIRD
Extension : sparrow, dove, bluebird, hawk, and eagle.
Intension : lay eggs, has a beak, two wings, two legs, has feathers, can fly.
3. Some different kinds of referents
3.1 unique and non unique referents

a. We swam in Lake Ontario. (Unique referent)
b. We swam in a lake. (Non unique referent)
A referring expression has fixed reference when the referent is a unique
entity or unique set of entities, like Lake Ontario, Japan, Boris Yeltsin, the Dead
Sea Scrolls, the Philippine Islands.
A referring expression has variable reference if its referent may be
different every time it is used: that dog, my uncle, several people, a lake, the
results, the president of the united states.
3.2 concrete and abstract referents

Lexemes such as dog, door, leaf, stone denote concrete referents, which
can be seen or touched.
Example :
 The key to the front door
 A bright light
the objects denoted by lexemes like idea, problem, reason, knowledge
are abstract referent. Example :
 The key to success
 A bright future
3.3 countable and uncountable referents

A. Countable referents is a word or phrase which can ordinarily be
counted one by one. such as pen, pencil, orange, mango, pillow, blanket,
etc.
Example :
They eat two apples.
B. Non-countable is a word or phrase which can’t ordinarily be counted
one by one. Such as sugar, sand, salt, sauce, etc.
Example :
We need some apple sauce.
4. Different ways of referring
There are three kinds of referring expressions:

 Proper names, which have unique reference like Lake Ontario, Barbara Collins, The
Beatle, or The Eiffel tower.
 Pronouns such as she, he, they, it.
Ex : they were off school last week.
 Noun phrases that have nouns with variable reference as the head, preceded by a
determiner and possibly followed by one or more complements.
Ex :
The taxi Some questions to be answered
The taxi waiting outside The plate that is broken that you mentioned
4.1 Generic and non-generic
reference


Generic reference is referring to a noun in a general way.
Example : Dogs that barks at night are annoying

- These have generic reference because the change from singular to plural or vise versa,
doesn’t make a difference.

 Non-generic reference is a sentence which can be expressed by specifying the objects


or situation
Example : A dog that barks at night is annoying
4.2 Specific and non-specific
reference

1. Specific reference means referring to a particular item or previously mentioned noun.

Example : Most students use the computers in the library.

2. Non-specific reference means referring to any one of many possible items or are
introducing a noun for the first time in the text.

Example : There are computers in the library.


4.3 Definite and indefinite
reference

 The definite determiner “the” occurs in a referring expression when the speaker
assumes that the hearer can identity the referent or when identification is made part
of the referring expression.
Example :
I’ve got the tickets.

 Indefinite determiners, a(n), some and zero, indicate that the referent is part of a
larger entity.
Example : I buy a ticket.
5. Deixis

Deixis refers to words and phrases, that cannot be fully understood without additional
contextual information, in this case, the identity of the speaker and the speaker’s location.
Deictic words which ‘point’ to ‘things’ in the physical-social context of the speaker and
addressee(s) and whose referents can only be determined by knowing the context in which they
are used.

English examples of deictic words include :


(1) pronouns I, you and we, which ‘point’ to the participants in any speech act; he, she, it and they,
when they are used to refer to others in the environment;
(2) locative expressions here and there, which designate space close to the speaker or farther away;
this/these and that/those, which respectively indicate entities close to or removed from the
speaker;
(3) temporal expressions: now, then, yesterday, today, tomorrow, last week, next month and so on.
These last are all relative to the time when they are used.
Example of deixis

 Temporal expression (today and tomorrow) :
“We can’t go today, but tomorrow will be fine.” (deictic word)
“Today’s costly apartment buildings may be tomorrow’s slums”. (not deictic word)

 Locative expression (here and there) :


“James hasn’t been here yet. Is he there with you?” (deictic word)
“The children were running here and there”. (not deictic word)

 Pronoun (you and me) :


“you will get to know me better”
6. Anaphora

Anaphora is a kind of secondary reference in which a previous reference is recalled by
use of special function words or equivalent lexemes.

Example :
1. Jack and Jill tried to lift the box and push it onto the top shelf.

“It” has special function words which repeat a reference “the box” without actually
repeating the referring expression or any part of it.

2. John is tired because he has been working all day.


7. Shifts in ways of referring

A speaker may shift from specific reference to generic reference.

Example :

1. We didn’t buy a NEW car because they cost too much.


Here they must be equivalent to ‘new cars’.

2. Every woman who has a husband should treat him with respect.
‘him’ is equivalent to ‘the husband that every woman has.
8. Referential ambiguity

Referential ambiguity occurs when the context does not make clear
whether a referring expression is being used specifically or not; when the
interpretation of a referring expression can be collective or distributed; and
when it is not clear to which of two or more referring expressions an anaphoric
item is linked.

Example :
a. I’m buying a drink for everybody here.
(One drink for all or one drink for each?)
b. I wanted to buy a newspaper
(a newspaper may refer to a specific newspaper or some newspaper or any
newspaper?)
summary

A referring expression is, first of all, a noun phrase that is linked to something
outside language, its referent. We recognize different kinds of referents and different
ways of referring. Referents may be concrete or abstract, unique or non-unique,
countable or non-countable items. A referring expression with a proper noun as head
is definite and specific. A noun phrase with a common noun as head may be generic
or not, specific or not, definite or not.
Referential ambiguity occurs when the context does not make clear whether a
referring expression is being used specifically or not; when the interpretation of a
referring expression can be collective or distributed; and when it is not clear to which
of two or more referring expressions an anaphoric item is linked.
QUESTION

1. What is the definition of referent and referring
expression? Give the example.

2. What is the difference between anaphor and deixis ?


Please mention type of deixis.

3. What is your opinion about referential ambiguity ?

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