The ways in which language is used to refer to things in the world, and how we use context to disambiguate these references.
Deixis: Refers to the way language users point to entities in the discourse context. It includes personal deixis (pointing to oneself or others), temporal deixis (pointing to a specific time), and spatial deixis (pointing to a specific place).
Anaphora: Refers to a linguistic device whereby a word or phrase refers to an antecedent word or phrase. For example, in the sentence "John went to the store. He bought some groceries," "he" is an anaphor that refers to John.
Cataphora: Refers to a linguistic device whereby a word or phrase refers to a subsequent word or phrase. For example, in the sentence "Before he went to the store, John put on his coat," "Before he went to the store" is a cataphor that refers to John.
Presupposition: Refers to the underlying assumptions that are made in language use. For example, in the sentence "John sold his car," there is a presupposition that John owned a car.
Implicature: Refers to the implied meaning of a statement that is not explicitly stated. For example, in the sentence "It's hot in here," the implicature is that the speaker would like the temperature to be lowered.
Speech acts: Refers to the different types of actions that are performed through language use. For example, making a request, giving an order, or making a promise.
Politeness: Refers to the ways in which speakers use language to mitigate the potential impact of their utterances on others. For example, using "please" and "thank you" to make a request.
Contextualization: Refers to the process of using the context to determine the meaning of an utterance. For example, in the sentence "I'll have what she's having," the meaning of "what" is determined by the context of the speaker's order at a restaurant.
Register: Refers to the style or level of formality used in language use. For example, using more academic language in a scholarly article than in an informal email.
Pragmatic competence: Refers to the ability to use language appropriately in different contexts and situations. This includes the ability to understand and use pragmatics in a socially appropriate manner.
Anaphora: A type of reference used to refer to something that has already been mentioned or is already known by the listener/reader. Example: "Samantha saw a car on the road. She wondered whose it was.".
Cataphora: A type of reference where a word or phrase refers to something that is mentioned later in a sentence or discourse. Example: "Even though she had not seen him in years, Sarah still thought about John. He came back into her life unexpectedly.".
Deixis: A type of reference where words refer to something outside of the text, such as spatial, temporal, or personal information. Example: "I'm going to the store now": The word "now" refers to the present time.
Demonstrative reference: A type of reference used to indicate something being referred to. Example: "This is my book": The word "this" refers to the book being pointed at.
Exophoric reference: A type of reference that relies on contextual clues outside of the text, such as the speaker's gestures or tone of voice. Example: "Can you give me that?": The speaker is referring to something specific by pointing this object.
Endophoric reference: A type of reference where the meaning is dependent on a textual element in the same discourse, such as a previous sentence or antecedent. Example: "Mary ate the cake. She enjoyed it very much.".
Metaphoric reference: A type of reference that uses a metaphorical (figurative) meaning for a word or phrase that is typically literal. Example: "The world is a stage": Referring to the idea that life is a performance or a show.
Hyperbolic Reference: A type of reference that relies on exaggeration for effect. Example: "I had a million things to do": Hyperbolically exaggerating the number of tasks the speaker had to do.