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Anaphoric & Cataphoric

Anaphoric reference refers back to ideas earlier in the text, while cataphoric reference refers forward to ideas later in the text. An example of anaphoric reference is "She looked awful" referring back to "Jo". An example of cataphoric reference is "When he arrived, John noticed that the door was open", where "he" refers forward to "John". Teachers can help students understand these references by having them identify pronouns and match parts of sentences.

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920 views

Anaphoric & Cataphoric

Anaphoric reference refers back to ideas earlier in the text, while cataphoric reference refers forward to ideas later in the text. An example of anaphoric reference is "She looked awful" referring back to "Jo". An example of cataphoric reference is "When he arrived, John noticed that the door was open", where "he" refers forward to "John". Teachers can help students understand these references by having them identify pronouns and match parts of sentences.

Uploaded by

Presannakumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ANAPHORIC & CATAPHORIC REFERENCES

Anaphoric reference means that a word in a text refers back to other ideas in the text for its
meaning. It can be compared with cataphoric reference, which means a word refers to ideas later
in the text.
Example:
I went out with Jo on Sunday. She looked awful.' She` clearly refers to Jo, there is no need to
repeat her name.
In the classroom
Asking learners to identify what or who the pronouns in a text refer to is one way to raise
awareness. They can then practise this by using pronouns to replace words themselves.
Comparing texts with well managed referencing to ones with poorly managed referencing can
help students develop an idea of effective referencing even at low levels.
Cataphoric reference means that a word in a text refers to another later in the text and you
need to look forward to understand. It can be compared with anaphoric reference, which means
a word refers back to another word for its meaning.
Example
'When he arrived, John noticed that the door was open'.
In the classroom
Matching parts of sentences can help learners understand how cataphoric reference works, for
example:
a) As she entered the building 1) Jim fell over
b) When he was running upstairs 2) the woman saw a huge crowd

Anaphoric reference : An item in the text forms a cohesive link with another item which
has already occurred - ie it refers back to and replaces that item, thus avoiding the need
for repetition. Eg: a) in I bought a new car yesterday. It was a real bargain. "It" refers
back to/replaces "a new car"; b) in Did you see the book which I left for you? "which"
refers back to/replaces "the book"
Cataphoric reference : An item in the text forms a cohesive link with another item
which occurs later - ie it refers forward to that item. Eg : given that the following is the
beginning of the text - I walked around the corner and stopped dead. It was the
biggest dog I'd ever seen. - then "It" refer's forward to "the dog".
Exophoric reference : An item in the text refers to something completely outside the
text but understandable from the context. Eg Can you give
me those books. NB: Exophoric reference is not a matter of cohesion, as the referring
item links to something outside the text.

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