Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics
1 In traditional semantics, reference is the relation between the linguistic expression (name, word) and the object in extralinguistic reality to which the expression refers (
semiotic triangle). The division between denotation and extension seems to be problematic in this case.
2 In J.R.Searle’s speech act theory, which was developed along the lines of Strawson, language use and the speaker are brought into play. In this case, the speaker makes reference to the intra- and extralinguistic context by using linguistic and non-linguistic means, which, together with predication, constitute a partial act in the execution of a propositional speech act. By means of referential expressions (particularly personal pronouns, proper nouns, nominal expressions), the speaker identifies objects of reality, about which he/she says something. Distinctions are drawn between the following forms of reference: (a) situation-dependent reference expressed through pronouns, definite articles, deictic expressions ( deixis), ‘incomplete’ designations, and also through gestures; (b) situation-independent reference expressed through personal names ( proper noun) and ‘complete’ designations; (c) situation-defining reference expressed through illocutive expressions ( illocution; also anaphora). On the one hand, the properties of reference make the relations and distinctions of meaning and extension apparent, and, on the other hand, a more exact understanding of the role of reference in communication are currently of particular linguistic interest. The issue of reference is especially important for appropriate semantic interpretations that rely on the descriptive models of generative grammar ( binding theory).
References
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Clark, H.H. and C.R.Marshall. 1981. Definite reference and mutual knowledge. In A.K.Joshi, B.L. Webber, and I.A.Sag (eds), Elements of discourse understanding. Cambridge. 10–53.
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Cresswell, M.S. 1991. Die Weltsituation. In A.V. Stechow and D.Wunderlich (eds), Semantik/ Semantics: an international handbook of contemporary research. Berlin. 71–9.
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Lieb, H.H. 1979. Principles of semantics. In F.Henny and H.Schnelle (eds), Syntax and semantics, vol. 10: Selections from the third Groningen round table. New York. 353–78.
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——1971. Reference and referents. In D.D.Steinberg and L.A.Jakobovits (eds), Semantics. Cambridge, MA. 76–85.
Marslen-Wilson, W., E.Levy, and L.K.Tyler. 1982. Producing interpretable discourse: the establishment and maintenance of reference. In R.Jarvella and W.Klein (eds), Speech, place, and action: studies in deixis and related topics. Chichester. 339–78.
Quine, W.V.O. 1973. The roots of reference. La Salle.
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Schwarz, D.S. 1979. Naming and referring: the semantics and pragmatics of singular terms. Berlin.
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Wettstein, H.K. 1984. How to bridge the gap between meaning and reference. Synthese 58.63–84.
anaphora, textual reference
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