Anaphora (linguistics) - Nomenclature and Definition

Nomenclature and Definition

The term anaphora is used in two ways. It can be used in a strict sense, and reserved for instances of coreference with preceding constituents (backward reference). In this sense, anaphora is contrasted with cataphora, in which forward references are used (where the cataphoric expression corefers with a succeeding rather than a preceding constituent). Both effects together are called endophora. In a wider sense, the term anaphora includes all of these referential effects, a use of the term generally accepted since the "ground-breaking" work of M. Halliday and R. Hasan in Cohesion in English (Longman, 1976).

Examples:

• In anaphora, as opposed to cataphora, reference is made based on preceding parts of the utterance. For example, in Susan dropped the plate. It shattered loudly, the word it refers to the phrase the plate.
• In cataphora, reference is made based on succeeding parts of the utterance. For example, in Because he was very cold, David put on his coat the referent of the he is determined by the succeeding reference to David.

Two other, related, kinds of reference are noteworthy:

• An exophoric reference refers to language outside of the text in which the reference is found.
• A homophoric reference is a generic phrase that obtains a specific meaning through knowledge of its context. For example, the referent of the phrase the Queen must be determined by the context of the utterance, which would identify the identity of the queen in question. In discussing 'The Mayor' (of a city), the Mayor's identity must be understood broadly through the context which the speech references as general 'object' of understanding.