Full name: Fatima

Belkasmi
Professor: Mohammed
Guamguami
‘’Pragmatics
is a wastepaper-
basket’’
Reference and
Anaphora
Outline

1 Notions of reference

Anaphora and coreference

 1
3
Static
notions of Dynamic Text-world
reference notions of models and
reference Text,mind,and
world : basic reference
assumptions construction
on referential
2 representatio
n and 4
underspecific
ation

5
Accessibility
of referent
Reference is the area of scientific research which deals with
the ancient problem of how language relates to the world.This
term has undergone major changes during the last five
decates of research .
Referring expressions is typically defined as one which is
produced in order to identify or reidentify an object or set of
objects for a listener or reader in a relevant domain or text or key
discourse .. terms
The thing or things in the world referred to by a particular
(1)
expression is called its referent(s)

Ex: ‘’Einstein is a famous scientist ‘’

 1
 In tradition of philosophical logics and formal semantics
,reference has been defined as a static relationship
Static
between expressions and things they denotes.
notions of
 For many philosophists of language ,the abstract
reference
relationship between words and things is primary,
irrespective of intentions, contextual influence and
conceptual knowledge .
 So , The function of language is to depict reality;each
object stands for a certain class or objects.
reference
  Strawson claimed that’’ speakers have to account of recipient’s
capability of identifying a referent and that act of reference has to be
to accomplished by recipient’’ .
 Reference as dynamic notion is a collaboration activity of speakers
and hearers who activate extra linguistic mental representations by
using language .It based on common ground .
 In 1970s, interest became centred on the pragmatic aspects of
Dynamic reference .Reference is merely defined by the speaker’ intention to
notions of make the recipient recognize a referent .
reference  In the late 1970s, interest shifted toward a more cognitive based
explanation of reference.Emphasis was now placed on the mental
representation and operation involved in referential
2 communication .
• The concept of world has changed as well,it is no longer
presumed that reference implies the existence of an
object in the physical world instead we can not take a
statements about the world independent of our
perception and cognition.So, reference is no longer seen
as static relation ,but as result of complex mental process
(perceptual,conceptual and linguistic knowledge ).
• To fully understand a text, recipient must integrate information in 3
one sentence with information in another

• In modern text linguistic , the explicit grammar structure of the 1.3

Text,mind,and
text is to be regarded as just on part or level of textual coherence. world: basic
assumption on
• Recent development in text research suggest that the implicit referential
conceptual relation in text are of vital importance and deserve representation
particular attention and
underspecifica
• No serious analysis of coherence can be carried without
tion
appealing to its cognitive aspects.
• Ex: She dug a hole into frozen ground .
To get to the complete conceptual representation some slot
filling or reference-recreating operation involving with an instrument,
typically a shovel has to be performed (coherence)
• Text World Model refers to the assumption that recipients create mental model of
the world described in a specific text and store it in episodic memory.
• There are three levels :
• 1-the text surface comprising of grammatical structure and cohesive means
.Semantic level, which is the level of lexical meaning . And, the text world model
,which is not a text level but a mental level of referential structures.

• Building up text world model is an automatic process which always takes place in
the comprehension process

Text –world
model and
reference
construction

4
• Explaining referential coherence in text involves the division
between old (or given) ,information corresponds to entities
assumed to be accessible in text and new information correspond
to entities to be assumed inaccessible to recipient .
• Accessibility refers to the degree of activation of information in
long –short term memory
• Ariel mentions four factors that affect accessibility :recency of
mention(the more recent the last mention of an entity the more
accessible it will be ), saliency(either physical or textual Accessibility
salience ) ,competition(salience of an entity compared to other of referents
entities of the same type that may also be present in the
context),and unity( whether an anticident is within the same
paragraph or point of view as anaphor )
• Referential movement in text comprehension can best be viewed sequence of
the following three transitional states: Activation (takes place when a new
mental filis opned ), r-eactivation(incoming information about the same referent
may be filled under this label) , desactivation(if a new referent is mentioned in
the text,the referent in current focus is desactivated).

• In this regard ‘’given’’ means that the referent is mentally accessible in the text
world model , new means that this is not the case
 1-Topic continuity and antecedent search model
3-Complex anaphors: condensing and
1
2-Progressive anaphors evaluating abstrat
2 3
Anaphora
and
conference
4

4-Reference and interference: indirect anaphora-refering to mental

• Anaphora: The etymology of anaphora is ana (Greek for
back) and pheri (Greek for to bear), which in
simple terms means repetition. In computational linguistics,
anaphora is typically defined as references
to items mentioned earlier in a discourse or “pointing back” Key terms
reference as described by (Mitkov, 1999). (2)
Coreference: as the term suggests refers to words or phrases
referring to a single unique entity (or union of entities) in an
operating environment.
 1-Topic continuity and antecedent search model
1

• IThe traditional view in text linguistics has been that anphors are used to continue
a pre-established reference in text by pointing back to specific antecedent, usually
an NP .
• The main function of anaphoric function is Topic Continuity ;
• Ex(1): A man(RE1)entred the room.Obviously,he/this (RE2)was drunk.
• In this respect, anaphors have been described as ‘’retrieval cues’’or ‘’echoes of
their antecedent .
• In on-line processing , the recipient must decide in each case of reference whether
there is referential identity or not .The previous example one can conclude that
the referent of R2 is identical with referent of R1.this is not the case with the
following example :
• John has beaten his wife . The man who lives across the street observed this.
 1

• Anaphors which establish topic continuity by merely reactivating the information

knot of their antecedent involve : pronouns,NPs with the same head noun,
synonyms,hypernyms,and general expressions .
• Establishing the relationship of identity which is necessary for successful anaphoric
processing very often more than just checking semantic compatibility .
 2-Progressive anaphors
2

Example: A woman(1) from Hamburg-Bergeforf(2) had not met her grandmother for
three days and Ø(2) worrried about her(1).When she was going to visit the physically
handicapt lady(1),she found the 81-year-old(1)dead in her(1) flat .

 This (Ex) depicts specifying anaphors , the Granddaughter –referent who

functions as protagonist,once it’s produced with lexical NP is referred to with
personal –or Ø pronouns ,whereas the grandmother-referent as main theme of
the story ,is more closely specified with lexical anaphors .
 The anaphoric expressions are much more than a mere semantic echo of their
antecedent.Several new information chunks are filled successively in the same
conceptual node.
• Anaphors may not only introduce new information about referent
,they may even trigger new referents into the text world model .
• Example: Give the powder(1),into glass of water(2) and drink down
dilution( 1+2)
• Here , a new referent (dilution) is mentally constructed on the basis of
old formation.
 4

Complex anaphors: condensing and

evaluating abstract
Complex anaphors have been defined as ‘nominal expressions referring to propositionally
structured referents (such as propositions, states, facts and events) while introducing them as
unified entities into a text world model’
Example: (( it is indisputable that (the number of jobs is decreasing in the industrial sector with the
importance of the service sector growing at the same tie )process)state .
• This process(process has not finished yet
• This fact (fact) has shaped european economy since the middle of the 20th century
• This claim(proposition) however,ignore statistics still leavig doubt .
In these examples , it is not an NP functioning as antecedent ,but a whole clause.
Complex anaphors do not only include a categorization but often evaluate the referent by their
lexical content.
Two main functions can be made out : complex anaphors give classification (in the sense( X Y);
(this event is a disaster ) and a new conceptual file node(disaster)is established in the text world
model .
 Reference and inference :indirect anaphora
6

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 pronouns (it, he, her, and they) in the passage are subsequent reference to already mentioned referents,
which are known as anaphoric reference or anaphora

The subsequent reference is called anaphor and the initial or already introduced reference is known as
antecedents.
• 1-John bought a TV and tape recorder, but he returned
the tape recorder.
• 2-John bought a car, but when he drove it one of the
wheels came off.

• Sentence (1) exemplifies the use of direct anaphora where

the referent the tape recorder can be identified directly,
while sentence (2) contains the indirect anaphora where
the noun car has been substituted by anaphor it.
Interference : is any additional information uses by th e
listener to connect what is said and what must be meant :
Example : ‘’A: have you seen my Chomsky ?
B: yeah,it is on the desk ‘’