Exophoric Reference

Exophora, or an exophoric reference, is the use of a word or phrase to refer to something outside the immediate text. It is the opposite of endophora, which uses a word or phrase to refer to something in the immediate text.

Exophoric reference meaning

An exophoric reference is a reference within a text to something outside of the text. Typically, an exophoric reference will rely heavily on the context to be understood. For example:

We have no way of understanding what ‘there’ refers to. ‘There’ can only be understood by the listener, who can see what the speaker is referring to.

‘There’ is being used to refer to something outside of the text that we, as readers, are not privy to. ‘There’ has no meaning to us because we do not have the context of the situation. Therefore, this is an exophoric reference.

Fig. 1 - Exophoric references refer to things outside the text.

• Exophora relies heavily on context, thus, it is typically used in speech and dialogue rather than expository prose, which aims to enlighten and inform the reader.

• Exophoric storytelling relies heavily on Referencing events outside of the text that the readers can only understand with additional context.

Types of exophoric reference

Now, having understood exophora in a general sense, we can explore the two types of exophoric references: Homophora and Deixis.

Homophora

Homophora is a reference made in a text or during a conversation that relies on the listener/reader's general or cultural knowledge in order to be understood. The point of homophora is that the context of what the speaker is saying relies on the listener's own cultural or general knowledge and understanding.

Homophora does not only include cultural knowledge; it includes shared knowledge between the speaker and the listener as well.

Deixis

Deixis is a reference to a specific time, place, thing, or person in context with the use of general words or phrases. Deictic words have a fixed semantic meaning, but their denoted meaning can vary depending on the time or place.

Examples of exophoric reference: homophora

There are multiple examples of exophoric references in day-to-day language.

Examples of exophoric reference: deixis

Here are some examples of exophoric references concerning deixis.

Tomorrow refers to an actual date. The semantic meaning of tomorrow is 'the next day,' but the denoted meaning here depends on when the speaker says the sentence. For example, if the speaker said this on 4 June, then 'tomorrow' refers to 5 June. On the other hand, if it was said on 19 August, then 'tomorrow' refers to 20 August.

The three types of deixis are personal, spatial, and temporal. Let's see some examples:

Personal deixis

Personal deixis often uses pronouns (e.g. I, me, they, she, we) to refer to a specific person.

'They' and 'me' are pronouns, so although the speaker and listener know who the speaker is referring to, we do not know who is being referred to without context. Therefore, this is an exophoric reference because the context of who the people are is not given within the text.

Spatial deixis

Spatial deixis often uses adverbs (e.g., here, there) and demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, that, these, those) to refer to a specific location.

We have no idea as to where 'there' is, but the speaker and listener do. Therefore, this is an exophoric reference because the context of location is not given within the text.

Temporal deixis

Temporal deixis often uses adverbs (e.g., now, then) to remember a specific time.

Only the speaker and listener have the context of when this statement was made, and how long 'soon' might be. 'Soon' may refer to 15 June at around 4 pm, but this has not been made clear to us. Therefore, this is an exophoric reference because the context of time is not given within the text.