What Do Referential Indices Refer To?

Lauri Karttunen

Expert InsightsPublished 1968

A reexamination of Chomsky's concept of a referential index that ties together noun phrases referring to the same, assumedly real-world, entity. The intricate and recalcitrant bundle of problems about noun phrases includes the distinctions of definite/indefinite, generic/nongeneric, and specific/nonspecific noun phrases; anaphoric vs. deictic noun phrases and pronouns; and restrictive vs. appositive relative clauses and modifiers. Simple English (and Finnish) sentences are examined to show that an indefinite noun phrase does not always establish the existence of an external permanent referent. Instead, the term "discourse referent" is used to indicate an entity that can be referred to by a pronoun or revived by a definite description. Even nonspecific noun phrases create discourse referents, provided they appear in a clause taken to be true. (Presented at the UCLA Linguistics Colloquium, April 26, 1968.) (See also P-3756.)

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Karttunen, Lauri, What Do Referential Indices Refer To? Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1968. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P3854.html.
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