Aspects of English anaphora

• Main Author: Borsley, Robert D.
• Published: University of Edinburgh 1979
• Subjects: 410
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.641795

This thesis is concerned with various aspects of English anaphora and a number of related phenomena. Roughly two thirds is devoted to nominal anaphora. The remainder considers some of the ways in which constituents other than HP's enter into anaphoric relations. The discussion of nominal anaphora begins with a consideration of two quite widely accepted theories of pronouns and shows that they are fundamentally inadequate* Evidence is then presented for a 'mixed theory', which recognises more than one kind of pronoun. The two main kinds of pronoun that must be recognised are bound variables and 'referential pronouns'. The former are much like bound variables in logic. The latter are a kind of definite description. In their anaphoric use, they can be termed 'pronouns of laziness', but their anaphoric use is not fundamentally different from their non-anaphoric use. There is evidence that so-called 'sentential pronouns' are ordinary pronouns of laziness. It appears, however, that what are termed 'intensional pronouns' are a third kind of pronoun. The discussion of non-nominal anaphora emphasizes the importance of definite descriptions in English anaphora. It is argued that so (in its central use), such, then and there derive from expressions involving definite descriptions. In its prosententlal use, so appears to be an idiomatic realization of a sentential pronoun. Certain uses of so, that and which appear to be idiomatic realizations of and, and hence only pseudo-anaphora. Three general conclusions are drawn: firstly that definite descriptions are central to English anaphora secondly that English anaphora generally do not derive from copies of their antecedents, and thirdly that, while NP's enter into amaphoric relations directly, adjectives and adverbs only do so indirectly through inferences. These conclusions may well apply universally.