<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The objectives of this paper are twofold. The first is to present a differentiation between two kinds of deferred uses of indexicals: those in which indexical utterances express singular propositions (I term them deferred reference proper) and those where they express general propositions (called descriptive uses of indexicals). The second objective is the analysis of the descriptive uses of indexicals. In contrast to Nunberg, who treats descriptive uses as a special case of deferred reference in which a property contributes to the proposition expressed, I argue that examples in which a general proposition is indeed expressed by an indexical cannot be treated by assuming that the property is a deferred referent of the pronoun. I propose an analysis of descriptive uses of indexicals by means of a pragmatic mechanism of ‘descriptive anaphora’, which attempts to explain the special kind of contribution of the property retrieved from the context to the proposition that is characteristic of the descriptive interpretation.</p></abstract>

The objectives of this paper are twofold. The first is to present a differentiation between two kinds of deferred uses of indexicals: those in which indexical utterances express singular propositions (I term them deferred reference proper) and those where they express general propositions (called descriptive uses of indexicals). The second objective is the analysis of the descriptive uses of indexicals. In contrast to Nunberg, who treats descriptive uses as a special case of deferred reference in which a property contributes to the proposition expressed, I argue that examples in which a general proposition is indeed expressed by an indexical cannot be treated by assuming that the property is a deferred referent of the pronoun. I propose an analysis of descriptive uses of indexicals by means of a pragmatic mechanism of ‘descriptive anaphora’, which attempts to explain the special kind of contribution of the property retrieved from the context to the proposition that is characteristic of the descriptive interpretation.

Descriptive Indexicals, Deferred Reference, and Anaphora

Language and Philosophy Jagiellonian University

Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Descriptive Indexicals, Deferred Reference, and Anaphora"}

The objectives of this paper are twofold. The first is to present a differentiation between two kinds of deferred uses of indexicals: those in which indexical...

Descriptive Indexicals, Deferred Reference, and Anaphora

Published Online: Oct 11, 2020

Page range: 25 - 52

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/slgr-2020-0012

Keywords
descriptive indexicals, deferred reference, anaphora, demonstratives, singular terms

© 2020 Katarzyna Kijania-Placek, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Descriptive Indexicals, Deferred Reference, and Anaphora

Published Online: Oct 11, 2020

Page range: 25 - 52

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/slgr-2020-0012

Keywordsdescriptive indexicals, deferred reference, anaphora, demonstratives, singular terms

© 2020 Katarzyna Kijania-Placek, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
descriptive indexicals, deferred reference, anaphora, demonstratives, singular terms