SILGLOBALGlossary of
Linguistic Terms

Glossary term R

Reference

Definition

Here are two senses for reference:

  1. Reference is the symbolic relationship that a linguistic expression has with the concrete object or abstraction it represents.
  2. Reference is the relationship of one linguistic expression to another, in which one provides the information necessary to interpret the other.

Examples

A pronoun refers to the noun antecedent that is used to interpret it.

Kinds

More specific concepts within reference.

Coreference Endophora Exophora

See also

Pronoun Noun Antecedent

Sources 3

  1. Hartmann and Stork 1972, 193
  2. Crystal 1985, 259–260
  3. Pei and Gaynor 1954, 184
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