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Ch. 3 - Reference & Inference

Reference and inference are key concepts in communication. [1] Reference involves the speaker using linguistic forms to identify someone or something for the listener, while inference involves the listener identifying the referent. [2] There are no objective standards for reference; it depends on successful communication between speaker and listener based on shared background knowledge and context. [3] Language uses various types of reference like referential terms that specify an existing referent and attributive terms that describe qualities without specifying an existing referent.

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57 views

Ch. 3 - Reference & Inference

Reference and inference are key concepts in communication. [1] Reference involves the speaker using linguistic forms to identify someone or something for the listener, while inference involves the listener identifying the referent. [2] There are no objective standards for reference; it depends on successful communication between speaker and listener based on shared background knowledge and context. [3] Language uses various types of reference like referential terms that specify an existing referent and attributive terms that describe qualities without specifying an existing referent.

Uploaded by

Aya muhamed
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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REFERENCE & INFERENCE

Reference is an act by which the speaker / writer uses linguistic


form to enable the listener / reader to identify someone or
something.

Hence, referring is the speaker’s job; whereas inferring is the


listener’s job.

There is no such thing as correct or incorrect reference / naming.


Rather, it is a matter of successful / unsuccessful choice of
expression, whereby the speaker uses terms while relying on the
ability of the listener to infer what / who is the referent..
There are certain norms in each speaking community

In addition, people keep inventing referring expressions based on


shared background knowledge
TYPES OF REFERENCE: REFERENTIAL & ATTRIBUTIVE

There’s a man waiting for you

We’d love to find a salesperson who speaks French

Do you think there is a person in mind in each utterance?

• If the referent exists = referential


• If the referent is all about a set of qualities or just description =
attributive
How about?
There was no sign of the killer
NORMS: NAMES & REFERENTS
Using the name of the writer / artist to refer to his / her work
• Where’s your Shakespeare?
• Picasso’s on the left
• I like listening to Omar Khairat

The co-text (companying words / collocations) is important in


identifying the referent. Cosider the following:
• Brazil won the World Cup several times
• Japan won the first round of trade talks

Also, the context & norms are very important.


• The cheese burger left without paying
• The heart –attack mustn’t be moved
ANAPHORIC VS. CATAPHORIC REFERENCE
In English, we mention things at the beginning of our speech & then we
keep referring to them later on. The first mention is often indefinite.
Subsequent reference to already introduced people or things is called
anaphoric reference, technically called ‘Anaphor’ , the initial
expression, on the other hand, is called ‘Antecedent’. Consider the
following example:
The other night, I saw a burglar. He was trying to break into a flat which
turned out to have an invisible alarm system. Once, he tried to open
the door by force, it went off, and the police came and arrested him on
the spot.

‘Cataphora’ is much less common than Anaphora. Cataphora refers to the


reversed antecedent-anaphor pattern, where in this case we refer to
something that is mentioned later. This pattern is usually used in
narratives for dramatic suspenseful effects.
I turned the corner and almost stepped on it . There was a large snake in
the middle of the path.
ZERO ANAPHORA / ELLIPSIS

Sometimes we identify an entity without having any


linguistic terms. This phenomenon is technically
called ‘zero anaphora’ which is a form of ‘ellipsis’.

Peel an onion & slice it. Drop the slices into hot oil.
Cook for three minutes.

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