| cataphora |
| Definition: To refer forward to information in a sentence. Note: As opposed to anaphora, the referring backward to information in a sentence. |
| Example: In the sentence "When she wants to, Nora can be very nice," the she is cataphoric because it forward substitutes for the name Nora. |
| Etymology: The word was coined by combining the Greek kata, down, with the term anaphora, a carrying back. Both terms derive from the Greek pherein, to carry or to bear. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The first OED citation for the word cataphoric is from 1976: "So far we have considered cohesion purely as an anaphoric relation.… But the presupposition may go in the opposite direction, with the presupposed element following. This we shall refer to as cataphora.…" Note: The term was originally coined in the 19th century to describe the forward motion of galvanic current. (Halliday & Hasan Cohesion in English i. 17) |