2. Reference, Inference, Deixis

Question 1

Reference

Answer 1

• A pragmatic phenomenon, something that people do
• Reference is not simply a relationship between the meaning of a word or phrase and an object or person in a world. It is a social act, in which the speaker assumes that the word or phrase chosen to identify an object or person will be interpreted as the speaker intended.

Question 2

Referent

Answer 2

The thing being referred to

Question 3

Referring expression

Answer 3

a linguistic expression that is used by a speaker to bring some discourse entity to the mind for addressee

Question 4

Inference

Answer 4

To infer is to deduce something from evidence
To achieve successful comprehension, the comprehender must often fill in details that are not explicitly mentioned in the discourse

Question 5

Deixis

Answer 5

Linguistic expression used to point to some contextually available discourse entity or property
Used to situate in time and space
Sub-type of indexicals
Pointing is closely related to deixis but they are not identical
Deictic expressions cannot be interpreted without referring features of the context of utterance

Question 6

Types of deixis

Answer 6

Temporal, Spatial, Personal, Social, Discurse

Question 7

Temporal Deixis

Answer 7

Relative to the time of utterance

Question 8

Personal Deixis

Answer 8

Referring to a specific individual

Question 9

Spatial Deixis

Answer 9

Referring to the location of the speaker or addressee

Question 10

Social Deixis

Answer 10

Social distinctions that are relative to the participant roles

Question 11

Discourse Deixis

Answer 11

Used to refer to a part of an utterance