Discourse Anaphora

Discourse anaphora/ Cataphora
Anaphora, in its primary instances, is the establishment of a referential dependency between

two (or more) expressions. The pronoun him in the example below is one such instance of
anaphora:
Mark felt that there was someone watching him.
On the understanding that him refers to Mark, the pronoun is the anaphor and the expression
Mark is the antecedent. Both expressions refer to the same individual. The relationship
between these expressions is not an equal one, however, since the reference of the pronoun is
dependent upon the reference of its antecedent, whereas the reference of the antecedent is
established by virtue of its meaning alone. The term "coreference" is often used to describe
this referential connection between anaphor and antecedent. But anaphor-antecedent relations
must be distinguished from the phenomenon of accidental coreference. This occurs when two
independently referring expressions happen to refer to the same individual. So, for instance, in
the following example the two italicized expressions will be coreferential, "accidentally", just
in case the president of the company is also the company's best employee: The president of
the company rewarded the best employee. This requires an understanding where the company
has a self-rewarding president, but there is no anaphoric connection established between the
expressions. Thus, anaphora is a matter of coreference, and something more.
Anaphor-antecedent relations Anaphors depend upon their antecedents to determine their

referential content. One reflection of this referential dependency is that in many instances an
anaphor cannot be interpreted as coreferential with another Noun Phrase. For instance, in the
following examples, the pronouns cannot be construed as non-accidentally having the same
reference as the italicized Noun Phrases. Bob was nominated by him. (him ≠ Bob) She hoped
that Mary would win the contest. (She ≠ Mary) This is because an anaphor cannot receive its
reference from another Noun Phrase if that Noun Phrase does not have an appropriate
syntactically-defined relationship to the anaphor. This relationship is not simply one of linear
precedence, as in many instances an anaphor may precede its antecedent (a phenomenon
which is occasionally called cataphora, though more commonly backward anaphora). Near
her, Jill saw a snake. If he wins the race today, Bret will be a hero. Much research has focused
on the question of the precise nature of this syntactic relationship. The research is detailed and
extensive (for more detail, see the entry on Binding Theory). Most agree that the notion of
ccommand is crucial, and that an anaphor cannot c-command its antecedent (Langacker,
1966; Lasnik, 1976) In general, an anaphor cannot c-command its antecedent, and in
examples such as those above where the two designated Noun Phrases cannot be interpreted
coreferentially, the pronoun would c-command its antecedent, and a referential connection
cannot be established. The reference for the pronoun in these instances needs to be determined
by other means, such as finding another, appropriate antecedent for it, or by providing it with
a deictic interpretation (see Section 5). One class of pronouns that has also received extensive
attention is that of reflexive pronouns, exemplified below: We found ourselves with too much
to do. The professor taught herself French. These differ from the other personal pronouns in
important respects. Primarily, the syntactic relation to their antecedents are much more
limited. In general, reflexive pronouns may only have antecedents within the same clause,
though the precise conditions remain a topic of detailed investigation. In the following
examples, the reflexive pronoun may not be construed as coreferential with the italicized
Noun Phrases: We thought that [sJim liked ourselves] The professor remembered when
[sherself lived in Paris] As there is no appropriate antecedent for the reflexive pronoun within
the same clause in these instances, the sentences are not grammatical
Cataphora occurs when an expression relies on a later expression in order for the initial
statement to make sense.
Cataphora is used to make cataphoric references. These cataphoric references can be used to:
 Avoid repetition.
 Create a sense of mystery.
 Build anticipation for the information that is going to be revealed (if the cataphor and
postcedent expression are further apart).
 In fictional texts, cataphoric references can be foreboding of future revelations.
Anaphoric reference occurs when a word or phrase refers to something mentioned earlier in
the discourse.
Here’s an example of anaphoric reference:
Michael went to the bank. He was annoyed because it was closed.

He refers to Michael.
it refers to the bank.
Anaphoric reference often makes use of the definite article the, because one of the functions
of the definite article is to indicate that something has already been mentioned. Here’s another
example:
He sat down at the table and took a small box from his pocket. The object felt heavy in his
hands. Inside it was the key to his future.
Both the object and it refer back to a small box in the first sentence.
What is cataphoric reference?
Cataphoric reference occurs when a word or phrase refers to something mentioned later in the
discourse.
Here are some examples of cataphoric reference:
Although I phone her every week, my mother still complains that I don’t keep in touch often
enough.
Her refers to my mother.
The book was there on the table. I’d never read Moby Dick and I didn’t intend to do so now.
The book refers to Moby Dick.
Exophoric reference occurs when a word or phrase refers to something outside the discourse.
Here are some examples of exophoric reference:
“They‘re late again, can you believe it?”

“I know! Well, they’d better get here soon or it‘ll get cold.”
They refers to some people outside the discourse known to both speakers.
It also refers to something that both speakers know about (perhaps the dinner).
The use of exophoric reference requires some shared knowledge between two speakers, or
between writer and reader(s).

Discourse Anaphora

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Discourse anaphora/ Cataphora

Anaphora, in its primary instances, is the establishment of a referential dependency between

Mark felt that there was someone watching him.

Anaphor-antecedent relations Anaphors depend upon their antecedents to determine their

Here’s an example of anaphoric reference:

Michael went to the bank. He was annoyed because it was closed.

What is cataphoric reference?

Here are some examples of cataphoric reference:

Her refers to my mother.

The book refers to Moby Dick.

Here are some examples of exophoric reference:

“They‘re late again, can you believe it?”

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