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Reference, Inference, YULE, Ch.3, Class Notes

The document summarizes key concepts around reference and inference from Chapter 3 of Yule. It discusses how speakers use linguistic forms as referring expressions, and how listeners must use context and inference to understand the relationship between referring expressions and entities. It provides examples of attributive versus referential uses of language and describes how context includes linguistic, physical, social, and epistemic factors. It also defines and gives examples of anaphora, cataphora, and exophora.

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Carlos Felipe Solano
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
59 views

Reference, Inference, YULE, Ch.3, Class Notes

The document summarizes key concepts around reference and inference from Chapter 3 of Yule. It discusses how speakers use linguistic forms as referring expressions, and how listeners must use context and inference to understand the relationship between referring expressions and entities. It provides examples of attributive versus referential uses of language and describes how context includes linguistic, physical, social, and epistemic factors. It also defines and gives examples of anaphora, cataphora, and exophora.

Uploaded by

Carlos Felipe Solano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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YULE,  Chapter  3              
 
Reference  and  Inference  
 
Reference      
 
speaker/writer  
 
linguistic  forms  –  meaningful  unit  of  speech  à  morpheme,  word,  sentence  
 
referring  expressions  –  linguistic  forms  are  used  as  referring  expressions  by  the  
speaker/writer  
 
Inference    
 
listener/reader  
 
relationship  between  entities  and  words    -­‐  there  is  no  direct  relationship    
without  reference  and  inference  
 
 
attributive  use    vs.    referential  use    
 
a)   There  is  a  man  waiting  for  you  at  the  door.  ß  referential  
 
b)   I  want  to  marry  a  woman  with  lots  of  money.  ß  attributive    
 
c)   I  want  to  find  a  flying  unicorn.  
 
Referring  expression  à  range  of  reference  
 
CONTEXT  
 
Context  –  review  drive  PDF  
 
Linguistics  context  
 
Physical  context  
 
Social  context  
 
Epistemic  context  –  accepted  truths,  from  more  of  a  global  or  universal  viewpoint,  rather  
than  social  or  cultural.    
  Examples  ??  

 
 

 
 
ANAPHORIC  REFERENCE  
 
Anaphora  –  backward  reference  
Tom  is  a  student  at  the  USC.  He  is  in  French  IV  this  semester.    
Tom        ß          ß          ß            ß            He  
Referent                                                                        referring  expression                          
 
Cataphora  –  forward  reference  
He  was  in  French  class  with  me.  Tom  was  an  okay  student.  
He              à                à                à                à        Tom  
Referring  expression                                          referent  
 
Exophora  –  outside  reference.    
There  is  a  referring  expression  in  the  text,  but  the  referent  is  outside  of  the  text.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
ANAPHORA  PRACTICE    
 
MILLION  EURO  DILEMMA  
 
One  morning  in  2012,  Jim  Farley  was  in  9the  dark  region  outside  a  Dublin  bank  when  five  
bundles  of  cash  fell  from  a  security  van  which  was  driving  away.  Farley  saw  1this  happen,  
picked  2them  up  and  took  them  home.  3He  kept  them  for  a  couple  of  day  before  he  decided  
to  call  the  bank.  He  rang  from  a  public  payphone  as  he  felt  4this  would  be  rather  anonymous,  
and  he  wasn’t  sure  he  wanted  to  reveal  his  identity.  If  he  5did,  of  course,  the  money  would  
never  be  his.  However,  in  the  end,  he  decided  to  do  6the  right  thing,  with  hopes  that  maybe  
there  would  be  some  7compensation.  He  spoke  with  the  bank’s  security  director  and  made  
arrangements  to  hand  in  the  money.  A  sum  of  almost  €1,000,000.  For  8this  act  of  honesty,  
he  was  awarded  €10,000  and  offered  special  privileges  with  bank.    
 
1  –  this          five  bundles  of  cash  fell  from  a  security  van      ANAPHORA  

2-­‐  them          five  bundles  of  cash      ANAPHORA  

3  –  He          Jim  Farley  ANAPHORA.  Because,  the  referring  expression  ‘He’  points  backward  to  the  referent  
‘Jim  Farley’.  As  we  can  see,  the  referent  gives  us  more  detailed  information  than  the  referring  expression.  
 
4  –  this          rang  from  a  public  payphone        ANAPHORA  

5  –  did              reveal  his  identity      ANAPHORA  

6  –  the      right  thing              made  arrangements  to  hand  in  the  money        CATAPHORA  
 
7  –  compensation          –  €10,000  –  CATAPHORA            

8  –  this  act  of  honesty            made  arrangements  to  hand  in  the  money            ANAPHORA  
 
9-­‐  the  dark  region        –  it  is  not  referring  to  anything  in  the  text,  it  is  referring  to  information  
outside  of  the  text              EXOPHORA  
 
 
 
 
 

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