aya's prop/semantics/MTR 1

MEANING, THOUGHT, &

REALITY
Referring & Denoting
Reference

Mental Representation

Words, concept, & thinking

09/20/20
 Referring & Denoting (1)
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 Action of picking out or identifying with words is

often called referring or denoting
e.g. We’ve 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 09/20/20

 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 09/20/20

 Referential & representational Approach
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 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 09/20/20
Reference
(Referring & non-referring expression)
5

 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 09/20/20

 Reference
(Constant & variable reference)
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 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 09/20/20

 Reference (Referent & Extension)
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 The term Referent of an expression is used for the

thing picked out by uttering the expression in a
particular context
e.g. I’ve 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 09/20/20

 Noun & Noun Phrases (1)
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 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 other’s eyes
People in the lift proved too heavy for the lift motor
aya's prop/semantics/MTR 09/20/20
 Noun & Noun Phrases (2)
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 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 09/20/20

 Problems with Reference
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 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 09/20/20