REFERENCE AND INFERENCE Words themselves do not refer to anything, people refer

Reference Definition Reference is defined as an act in which a speaker, or writer, uses linguistic forms to enable a listener, or reader, to identify something. These linguistic forms are called : referring expressions.

Referring expressions can be 1.Proper nouns: ‘HillaryClinton’ ‘Cairo’ 2.Noun phrases (definite):‘The city’ ‘the Secretary of State’ 3.Noun phrases (indefinite): ‘A woman’ ‘A place’ 4. Pronouns: ‘She, her’ ‘It’

The choice of one type of referring expression rather than another seems to be based, to a large extent, on what the speaker assumes the listener already knows. Reference is clearly tied to the speaker’s goals and beliefs in the use of language.

Attributive use : e.g a man waiting for you a woman with lots of money a nine-foot-tall basketball player Referential use: Nora/she P 18

Names and referents The process of names and referents must not be only between one speaker and one listener, but between all members of a community who share a common language and culture. This convention shows that certain referring expressions will be used to identify certain entities on a regular basis.

This assumption shows that a name or proper noun like “ Ahmed “ can only be used to identify one specific person, and a common noun like “ the cheese sandwich” can only be used to identify a specific thing.This belief is mistaken.

A truly pragmatic view of reference allows us to Identify a person through the expression. “ The apple juice “ and a thing can be identified through the name “Shakespeare” as in: Can I use your Shakespeare? Yes it’s here. where's the apple juice sitting ? He’s over there

Anaphor and Antecedent In technical terms, the second or subsequent expression is the anaphor and the initial is the antecedent. Example: “In the film, a man and a woman were trying to wash a cat. The man was holding the cat while the woman poured water on it. He said something to her and they started laughing”

The role of co-text Co-text is the linguistic material accompanying the referring expressions. As in “ Brazil wins World Cup.”, “ Brazil” is the referring Expression and’ wins’ /’World Cup’ is the co-text. The co-text limits the range of possible interpretations of a word like Brazil.

The referring expressions provides a range of reference as in the following examples The cheese sandwich is made with white bread The cheese sandwich left without paying..

Zero Anaphora, or Ellipsis When the interpretation requires us to identify an entity, and no linguistic expression is presented, it is called zero anaphora, or ellipsis. :. “Peel an onion and slice it. Drop the slices into hot oil. Cook for three minutes.” P 23

Inferences Inferring is connecting prior knowledge to text- based information to create meaning beyond what is directly stated. Inference – any additional information used by the listener to connect what is said to what must be meant. Example: A: Have you seen my Yule? B: Yeah, it is on the desk. :

Examples of inference (1)a. Where is the fresh salad sitting? b. He’s sitting by the door. (2) a. Can I look at your Shakespeare? b. Sure, it’s on the shelf over there