A Study Of The Dynamics Of Reference

In general,reference is the relation between a word and the object it refers to.The dissertation is to examine the dynamics of reference through the approach of philosophical speculation and linguistic analysis.The research framework is based on the semantic triangle of Ogden and Richards,and the action speech and narrative speech models proposed by Malinowski.Under the guidance of Systems Theory,the study regards words,concepts,objects and their relations as a semantic reference system,and is to explore the dynamics of its own and that in verbal communication and literary text.The dynamics of semantic reference presents itself in the formation and dissemination of reference relation and in the operation of the semantic reference system.Synchronically,the bi-layer reference,a combination of the imputed surface reference between a word and its referent and the real deep reference between a word and its referent with concept as the mediator,functions with a consistent conversion between weak reference and strong reference;diachronically,the reference evolution promotes the multidimensional reference,which means an expression is able to refer to some referents and an object can be referred to by some referential expressions.The dynamics of reference in verbal communication highlights the reference generation by putting semantic reference in the communicative context.Theoretically,we examine the referring act and find that it is a part of propositional act and is the symbolization of an object.Practically,the reference system in verbal communication,composed of context,subjects,and semantic triangle,sees referring as the process during which the speaker refers to objects with words and the hearer identifies objects by words.Both the choice of referential expressions and the identification of referents originate from the multidimensional semantic reference,and arise from the interaction between direct reference and the indirect reference.The dynamics of reference in literary texts sheds light on the referring mechanism in the writer’s finished text by introducing dynamic semantic reference in the literature.Microscopically,the dynamics of literary text reference manifests itself as reference coherence and the reference coordination.Macroscopically,the dynamics of reference in literary text refers to a reference system comprised of outward reference,inward reference and intertextual reference.Specifically,the outward reference involves the introduction of real objects,the inward reference involves the construction of fictional objects,and reference between texts involves intertextuality.The dynamic referential mechanism of literary text is the the interaction of the above three sorts of reference.Scientific and rational approaches are essential to a research.The dissertation takes the General Systems Theory as a guide.Overall,an analytical and interpretive approach is employed to relate philosophical thinking to linguistic analysis,and potential explanations on the interface are expected.As for the specific issues,discourse analysis is used to analyze and verify the validity of periodical conclusions,supplemented by concept analysis,with an eye on similar and hyponymy concepts.In summary,by studying the dynamics of reference in semantics,verbal communication,and literary text,the dissertation naturally draws the conclusions: First,the dynamics of semantic reference is the basis,upon which the dynamics of reference in verbal communication and in literary text is further development;the advancement of the above three different levels is approaching the essence of reference.Second,the reference relation between words and referents is dynamic,and its internal driving force is the operation of semantic triangle.Third,the dynamics of reference is a supplement to the traditional static reference,and conforms to the trend shift from static correspondence to dynamic representation.Last,the dynamics of reference reveals the dynamic relation between language and the world,and indicates the mechanism of the nominals(mainly proper names,general names and descriptions)in meaning generation and interpretation.