aya's prop/semantics/MTR

MEANING, THOUGHT, &

REALITY
Referring & Denoting
Reference
Mental Representation
Words, concept, & thinking

10/25/15

Referring & Denoting (1)

2

Action of picking out or identifying with

words is often called referring or denoting
e.g. Weve just flown back from Paris
referent/denotatum

According to John Lyon, denote is used for

the relationship between a linguistic
expression and the world, while refer is
used for action of a speaker in picking out
entities in the world.
aya's prop/semantics/MTR

10/25/15

Referring & Denoting (2)

3

Referring is what the speakers do, while denoting

is a property of the words.
e.g. A sparrow flew into the room
The speaker uses A sparrow & the room refer
to things in the world,
Sparrow and room denote certain classes of
item
Denotation is a stable relationship in a language
which is not dependent on any one use of a word.
Reference is a moment by moment relationship:
what somebody refers to by using a word
depends on context
aya's prop/semantics/MTR

10/25/15

Referential & representational

Approach

Semantic theories which are used to talk about the world

are Referential (or denotational) and representational
approach
Theories of meaning is called Referential (or denotational)
to give the meaning of the words and sentences by
showing how they relate to the situation
Theories of meaning is called Representational when their
emphasis is on the way that our reports about reality is
influenced by the conceptual structures conventionalized in
our language.
e.g. You have a cold (English)
A cold has you (Somali)
A cold is on you (Irish)
In referential theories, meaning derives from languages
being attached to, or grounded to, in reality. In
representational approach, meaning derives from language
being a reflection of our conceptual structures
aya's prop/semantics/MTR

10/25/15

Reference
(Referring & non-referring expression)

There are linguistic expression which can never

be used to refer.
e.g. so, very, maybe, etc.
Referring & non-referring expression
distinguishes between instances when speaker
uses them to refer and instances when they do
not.
e.g. They perform a chlocystectomy this
morning
A chlocystectomy is a serious procedure
aya's prop/semantics/MTR

10/25/15

Reference
(Constant & variable reference)

Constant referent have the same

referent across a range of utterances.
Variable referent is dependent on
context/deixis
In the sentence, I went to Eiffel Tower,
Eiffel Tower is said to have constant
referent while I has variable referent

aya's prop/semantics/MTR

10/25/15

Reference (Referent &

Extension)

The term Referent of an expression is used

for the thing picked out by uttering the
expression in a particular context
e.g. Ive stepped on a toad
The term extension of an expression is the
set of things which could possibly be the
referent of that expression.
e.g. all toads
The relationship between an expression
and its extension is called denotation (Lyon)

aya's prop/semantics/MTR

10/25/15

Noun & Noun Phrases (1)

8

Nouns and noun phrases (NPs), definite & indefinite can

be used to refer
e.g. I spoke to a man about the noise
I spoke to the man about the noise
Definite NP can form a definite description where the
referent is whoever or whatever fits the description
e.g. She has a crush on the captain of the hockey team
NPs can also be used to refer to a group of individuals,
either distributively (focus on individual members of the
group) or collectively (focus on the aggregate)
e.g. People in the lift avoid each others eyes
People in the lift proved too heavy for the lift motor

aya's prop/semantics/MTR

10/25/15

Noun & Noun Phrases (2)

9

Nominals can denote substances, actions,

and abstract ideas
e.g. Who can afford coffee?
Sleeping is his hobby
Nominals with quantifiers allow a speaker,
among other things, the flexibility to
predicate something of a whole class
entities or of some subparts
e.g. Some frenchmen voted for him twice
A few frenchmen voted for him
aya's prop/semantics/MTR

10/25/15

Problems with Reference

10

Some words do not have referent

Many nominal expressions do not have a referent
that exists or has ever existed
e.g. In the painting, a unicorn is ignoring a maiden
There is not always a one to one correspondence
between a linguistic expression and an item to be
identified
e.g. In 1981 Anwar El Sadat was assasinated
In 1981 President of Egypt was assasinated
aya's prop/semantics/MTR

10/25/15