Cataphorics
Kataphora (also: Kataphora ) describes a linguistic unit in text linguistics that stands for a linguistic unit that follows in the text . A pro form (for example a pronoun ) points to another linguistic expression, which will only be mentioned below. Cataphors are used less frequently than anaphors because they are more difficult to cognitively process. But you will u. a. often used as rhetorical figures to increase tension.
Examples
The following examples serve to demonstrate the role of pronouns as cataphors:
- He is a gifted American actor. He has received countless prizes and awards. We're talking about Johnny Depp.
- I should have known: the task is just too difficult.
- In their hunt for followers of al-Qaeda Pakistani security forces is likely to escape a key member of the terrorist organization.
The indefinite article can also function as a cataphor, for example in the classic opening sentences of fairy tales:
- Once upon a time there was a king who ...
Function of the cataphors
Cataphors and anaphors are elements that contribute to the cohesion of a text .
See also: koreference
In a programming language
A forward reference or forward reference in a programming language refers to the situation that an identifier is "above" is used in the source code when he declared will. The usage in the source text refers to the area that has not yet been read.
The opposite is the backward reference - an identifier is used that has already been declared “further up” in the source text, ie in the “previous” text area that has already been read.
While backward references are basically problem-free in a programming language, forward references pose a problem for a compiler because it is supposed to use / incorporate something that has not yet been described to it.
literature
- Robert-Alain de Beaugrande, Wolfgang Ulrich Dressler: Introduction to text linguistics. Niemeyer, Tübingen 1981, especially p. 65f. to "Katapher". ISBN 3-484-22028-7 .
- Hadumod Bußmann (Ed.): Lexicon of Linguistics. 3rd updated and expanded edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-520-45203-0 (keyword: "Katapher").
- Marek Kesik: La cataphore . Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 1989.
- Theodor Lewandowski: Linguistic Dictionary . 4th, revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1985, keyword: "Katapher". ISBN 3-494-02050-7 .
- René Sehested Thomsen: Kataphorik. An empirical study of pronominal cataphors from a receptive point of view. Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus 1997. (Ph.D. dissertation).
