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In linguistics, anaphora () is the use of an expression the interpretation of which depends upon another expression in context (its antecedent or postcedent). In a narrower sense, anaphora is the use of an expression which depends specifically upon an antecedent expression, and thus is contrasted with cataphora, which is the use of an expression which depends upon a postcedent expression. The anaphoric (referring) term is called an anaphor. For example, in the sentence ''Sally arrived, but nobody saw her'', the pronoun ''her'' is an anaphor, referring back to the antecedent ''Sally''. In the sentence ''Before her arrival, nobody saw Sally'', the pronoun ''her'' refers forward to the postcedent ''Sally'', so ''her'' is now a ''cataphor'' (and an anaphor in the broader, but not the narrower, sense). Usually, an anaphoric expression is a proform or some other kind of deictic (contextually-dependent) expression.〔Tognini-Bonelli (2001:70) writes that "an anaphor is a linguistic entity which indicates a referential tie to some other linguistic entity in the same text".〕 Both anaphora and cataphora are species of endophora, referring to something mentioned elsewhere in a dialog or text. Anaphora is an important concept for different reasons and on different levels: first, anaphora indicates how discourse is constructed and maintained; second, anaphora binds different syntactical elements together at the level of the sentence; third, anaphora presents a challenge to natural language processing in computational linguistics, since the identification of the reference can be difficult; and fourth, anaphora tells some things about how language is understood and processed, which is relevant to fields of linguistics interested in cognitive psychology.〔The four ways just listed in which anaphora is important for linguistics are from McEnery (2000:3).〕 == Nomenclature and examples == The term ''anaphora'' is actually used in two ways. In a broad sense, it denotes the act of referring. Any time a given expression (e.g. a proform) refers to another contextual entity, anaphora is present. In a second, narrower sense, the term ''anaphora'' denotes the act of referring backwards in a dialog or text, such as referring to the left when an anaphor points to its left toward its antecedent in languages that are written from left to right. Etymologically, ''anaphora'' derives from Ancient Greek ἀναφορά (anaphorá, “a carrying back”), from ἀνά (aná, “up”) + φέρω (phérō, “I carry”). In this narrow sense, anaphora stands in contrast to cataphora, which sees the act of referring forward in a dialog or text, or pointing to the right in languages that are written from left to right: Ancient Greek καταφορά (kataphorá, “a downward motion”), from κατά (katá, “downwards”) + φέρω (phérō, “I carry”). A proform is a cataphor when it points to its right toward its postcedent. Both effects together are called either anaphora (broad sense) or less ambiguously, along with self-reference they comprise the category of endophora.〔Concerning the term ''endophora'', see Bussmann et al. (1998:58f.).〕 Examples of anaphora (in the narrow sense) and cataphora are given next. Anaphors and cataphors appear in bold, and their antecedents and postcedents are underlined: ::Anaphora (in the narrow sense, species of endophora) ::a. Susan dropped the plate. It shattered loudly. - The pronoun ''it'' is an anaphor; it points to the left toward its antecedent ''the plate''. ::b. The music stopped, and that upset everyone. - The demonstrative pronoun ''that'' is an anaphor; it points to the left toward its antecedent ''The music stopped''. ::c. Fred was angry, and so was I. - The adverb ''so'' is an anaphor; it points to the left toward its antecedent ''angry''. ::d. If Sam buys a new bike, I will do it as well. - The verb phrase ''do it'' is anaphor; it points to the left toward its antecedent ''buys a new bike''. ::Cataphora (included in the broad sense of anaphora, species of endophora) ::a. Because he was very cold, David put on his coat. - The pronoun ''he'' is a cataphor; it points to the right toward its postcedent ''David''. ::b. His friends have been criticizing Jim for exaggerating. - The possessive adjective ''his'' is a cataphor; it points to the right toward its postcedent ''Jim''. ::c. Although Sam might do so, I will not buy a new bike. - The verb phrase ''do so'' is a cataphor; it points to the right toward its postcedent ''buy a new bike''. ::d. In their free time, the kids play video games. - The possessive adjective ''their'' is a cataphor; it points to the right toward its postcedent ''the kids''. A further distinction is drawn between endophoric and exophoric reference. Exophoric reference occurs when an expression, an exophor, refers to something that is not directly present in the linguistic context, but is rather present in the situational context. Deictic proforms are stereotypical exophors, e.g. ::Exophora ::a. This garden hose is better than that one. - The demonstrative adjectives ''this'' and ''that'' are exophors; they point to entities in the situational context. ::b. Jerry is standing over there. - The adverb ''there'' is an exophor; it points to a location in the situational context. Exophors cannot be anaphors as they do not substantially refer within the dialog or text, though there is a question of what portions of a conversation or document are accessed by a listener or reader with regard to whether all references to which a term points within that language stream are noticed, ie if you hear only a fragment of what someone says using the pronoun ''her'', you may never discover who ''she'' is, though if you heard the rest of what the speaker was saying on the same occasion, you might discover who ''she'' is, either by anaphoric revelation or by exophoric implication because you realize who ''she'' must be according to what else is said about ''her'' even if ''her'' identity is not explicitly mentioned, as in the case of homophoric reference. A listener might, for example, realize through listening to other clauses and sentences that ''she'' is ''a Queen'' because of some of her attributes or actions mentioned. But which queen? Homophoric reference occurs when a generic phrase obtains a specific meaning through knowledge of its context. For example, the referent of the phrase ''the Queen'' (using an emphatic definite article, not the less specific ''a Queen'', but also not the more specific ''Queen Elizabeth'') must be determined by the context of the utterance, which would identify the identity of the queen in question. Until further revealed by additional contextual words, gestures, images or other media, a listener may not even know what monarchy or historical period is being discussed, and even after hearing ''her'' name is ''Elizabeth'' does not know, even if an English-UK Queen Elizabeth becomes indicated, if this queen means ''Queen Elizabeth I'' or ''Queen Elizabeth II'' and must await further clues in additional communications. Similarly, in discussing 'The Mayor' (of a city), the Mayor's identity must be understood broadly through the context which the speech references as general 'object' of understanding; is a particular human person meant, a current or future or past office-holder, the office in a strict legal sense, or the office in a general sense which includes activities a mayor might conduct, might even be expected to conduct, while they may not be explicitly defined for this office. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Anaphora (linguistics)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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