Cataphora

{{short description|Use of an expression or word that co-refers with a later, more specific, expression}} thumb | right | alt=A linguistic diagram of a cataphora in German | Example of a cataphora in German In linguistics, '''cataphora''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|t|æ|f|ə|r|ə}}) is the use of an expression or word that co-refers with a later, more specific expression in the discourse.<ref name="Cutting2002">{{cite book|author=Joan Cutting|title=Pragmatics and Discourse: A Resource Book for Students : A, B, C, D|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-KFELwzkFhYC&pg=PA10|accessdate=19 May 2013|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-25357-4|pages=10–}}</ref> The preceding expression, whose meaning is determined or specified by the later expression, may be called a '''cataphor'''. Cataphora is in contrast to anaphora which denotes cases where the order of the expressions is the reverse of that found in cataphora.

An example of cataphora in English is the following sentence: * When '''he''' arrived home, '''John''' went to sleep. In this sentence, the pronoun ''he'' (the cataphor) appears earlier than the noun ''John'' (the postcedent) that it refers to. This is the reverse of the more normal pattern, "strict" anaphora, where a referring expression such as ''John'' (in the example above) or ''the soldier'' (in the example below) appears before any pronouns that reference it. Both cataphora and anaphora are types of endophora.

== Etymology == The term ''cataphora'' comes from {{langx|grc|καταφορά|kataphora|a downward motion}} from {{wikt-lang|grc|κατά}}, {{translit|grc|kata}} {{gloss|downwards}} and {{wikt-lang|grc|φέρω}}, {{translit|grc|pherō}} {{gloss|I carry}}.<ref name="Cutting2002" />

== Examples == Other examples of the same type of cataphora are: * If you want '''some''', here's some '''parmesan cheese'''. * After '''he''' had received his orders, '''the soldier''' left the barracks. * If you want '''them''', there are '''cookies''' in the kitchen.

Cataphora across sentences is often used for rhetorical effect. It can build suspense and provide a description. For example: * '''He'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s the biggest slob I know. '''He'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s really stupid. '''He'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s so cruel. '''He'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s my boyfriend Nick.

The examples of cataphora described so far are strict cataphora, because the anaphor is an actual pronoun. Strict within-sentence cataphora is highly restricted in the sorts of structures it can appear within, generally restricted to a preceding subordinate clause. More generally, however, any fairly general noun phrase can be considered an anaphor when it co-refers with a more specific noun phrase (i.e. both refer to the same entity), and if the more general noun phrase comes first, it can be considered an example of cataphora. Non-strict cataphora of this sort can occur in many contexts, for example: * A '''little girl''', '''Jessica''', was playing on the swings. (The anaphor ''a little girl'' co-refers with ''Jessica''.) * Finding '''the right gadget''' was a real hassle. I finally settled with a '''digital camera'''. (The anaphor ''the right gadget'' co-refers with ''a digital camera''.)

Strict cross-sentence cataphora where the antecedent is an entire sentence is fairly common cross-linguistically: * I should have known '''it''': '''The task is simply too difficult.''' * ''Ich hätte '''es''' wissen müssen: '''Die Aufgabe ist einfach zu schwer.''''' (Same as previous sentence, in German.)

Cataphora of this sort is particularly common in formal contexts, using an anaphoric expression such as ''this'' or ''the following''. Such expressions are often used in conjunction with a colon. * '''This''' is what I believe: that '''all men were created equal'''. * After squaring both sides, we arrive at '''the following''': <math>x = y^3 + 2z - 1</math>.

== See also == *{{annotated link|Exophora}} *Apposition – Grammatical construction wherein two adjacent elements identify each other

== References == {{reflist}}

{{Formal semantics}} Category:Figures of speech Category:Pragmatics Category:Semantics Category:Formal semantics (natural language)