Exophoric reference là gì

Exophora is the use of a word or phrase to refer to something outside the immediate text. It is the opposite of endophora, which uses a word or phrase to refer to something in the immediate text.

Study tip: How to remember the difference between exophora and endophora? Exo means external, exophora is a reference to something external from the text, while endo means internal/in.

Exophoric reference meaning

An exophoric reference is a reference within a text to something outside of the text. Typically, an exophoric reference will rely heavily on the context to be understood. For example:

Look over there!

We have no way of understanding what ‘there’ refers to. ‘There’ can only be understood by the listener, who can see what the speaker is referring to.

‘There’ is being used to refer to something outside of the text that we, as readers, are not privy to. ‘There’ has no meaning to us because we do not have the context of the situation. Therefore, this is an exophoric reference.

• Exophora relies heavily on context, thus, it is typically used in speech and dialogue rather than expository prose, which aims to enlighten and inform the reader.

• Exophoric storytelling relies heavily on referencing events outside of the text that the readers can only understand with additional context.

Types of exophoric reference

Now, having understood exophora in a general sense, we can explore the two types of exophora:

Homophora and deixis.

Homophora

Homophora is a reference made in a text or during a conversation that relies on the listener/reader's general or cultural knowledge in order to be understood. The point of homophora is that the context of what the speaker is saying relies on the listener's own cultural or general knowledge and understanding. Homophora does not only include cultural knowledge; it includes shared knowledge between the speaker and the listener as well.

Examples of exophoric reference - homophora

An example of homophora would be ‘the Queen.’ When somebody in the UK refers to the Queen, we all know they are referencingQueen Elizabeth II. It remains an exophoric reference because 'the Queen' cannot be understood without the additional cultural context of knowing who she is.

Another example would be 'the President' in the US. ‘The President just made a speech regarding the rise in crime’ is homophora, as it relies on the contextual understanding of who the President of the US is.

Another example would be a couple referring to their newborn as 'the baby'. Imagine the speaker saying, 'The baby is hungry, it needs feeding'. The listener is only aware of which baby is being spoken about because of their shared knowledge.

Another example might be students referring to their headteacher. There are many headteachers in many schools, but the students' shared knowledge means that when one student says, 'The headteacher is holding a parent-teacher conference next month', the other students are aware of who 'the headteacher' refers to.

Deixis

Deixis is a reference to a specific time, place, thing, or person in context with the use of general words or phrases. Deictic words have a fixed semantic meaning, but their denoted meaning can vary depending on the time or place.

Examples of exophoric reference - deixis

We'll clean out the garage tomorrow.

Tomorrow refers to an actual date. The semantic meaning of tomorrow is 'the next day,' but the denoted meaning here depends on when the speaker says the sentence. For example, if the speaker said this on 4 June, then 'tomorrow' refers to 5 June. On the other hand, if it was said on 19 August, then 'tomorrow' refers to 20 August.

The three types of deixis are personal, spatial, and temporal. Let's see some examples:

Personal deixis

Personal deixis often uses pronouns (e.g. I, me, they, she, we) to refer to a specific person.

They are always late, which is frustrating to me.

'They' and 'me' are pronouns, so although the speaker and listener know who the speaker is referring to, we do not know who is being referred to without context. Therefore, this is an exophoric reference because the context of who the people are is not given within the text.

Spatial deixis

Spatial deixis often uses adverbs (e.g., here, there) and demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, that, these, those) to refer to a specific location.

I put it over there.

We have no idea as to where 'there' is, but the speaker and listener do. Therefore, this is an exophoric reference because the context of location is not given within the text.

Temporal deixis

Temporal deixis often uses adverbs (e.g., now, then) to remember a specific time.

We will get to yours soon.

Only the speaker and listener have the context of when this statement was made, and how long 'soon' might be. 'Soon' may refer to 15 June at around 4 pm, but this has not been made clear to us. Therefore, this is an exophoric reference because the context of time is not given within the text.

Exophoric Reference - Key takeaways

• Exophora is the use of a word or phrase to refer to something outside of the immediate text. It is the opposite of endophora, which uses a word or phrase to refer to something within the immediate text.

• An exophoric reference is a reference within a text to something outside of the text. Typically, to be understood, an exophoric reference will rely heavily on the context.

• Homophora is a reference that is understood depending on the listener/reader's general or cultural knowledge. For example, the Queen, the President, the headteacher, etc.

• Deixis is a reference to a specific time, place, thing, or person in context with the use of general words or phrases.

• The three types of deixis are personal, spatial, and temporal.