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July 26, 2025, 10:07:15 am

Author Topic: What is the function of anaphoric and cataphoric reference?  (Read 9743 times)  Share 

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littlecherry25

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What is the function of anaphoric and cataphoric reference?
« on: September 20, 2009, 10:24:35 am »
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enlighten me?

appianway

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Re: What is the function of anaphoric and cataphoric reference?
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2009, 10:56:27 am »
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Ultimately, the function really depends on how it's used in the context, but here's a general list of some of the functions that they can serve from the top of my head.

Anaphoric (where the pronoun occurs after the referent):
+Creates links through the text by making readers (or listeners) figure out which pronoun refers to what, thus creating cohesion
+Economises word usage and adds fluency
+Can be used effectively in parallelism (but then again, this is VERY dependent on the context)

Cataphoric (where the pronoun occurs before the referent):
+Referent provides clarification (so often used in spontaneous interactions)
+Because of the prevalence of this in spontaneous interactions, can create an informal register
+Can build up a sense of anticipation if the pronoun is used copiously before the referent