More Than A Name

The relationship between meaning and reference is an indispensable part in linguistics. The terms firstly appeared in the field of formal semantics, however, linguists have found that it is inadequate to interpret reference purely in terms of semantics. In order to achieve a better understanding of such a relation, contextual factors must be taken into consideration. So, we resort to pragmatics. Due to the limited space here, we pay special attention to proper names as referential options.Drawing on theories of conversational implicature and anaphora, the present study analyzes proper names as both address forms and anaphors. Our study reveals that proper names are not mere, stable marks for the world, and that there is a dynamic relation between proper names and their corresponding bearers. Though semantics provides us with a vivid format to match names with bearers in terms of logic, we must grasp the implicature embedded in words with the help of context. Only in this way can our communication go. smoothly on.The paper falls into five parts, the first introducing proper names, the second giving a general picture of proper names and reference, the third dwelling on the conversational implicature in proper names as address forms and anaphoric expressions, the fourth attempting analyses of proper names from a new camera-angle of presupposition, and the fifth stating the conclusion and expecting further studies.