| exophora |
| Definition: The phenomenon of a word or phrase referring to something that has not been mentioned during any part of the preceding discourse. |
| Example:
(1) If the complete discourse consists of the statement: "She was lying on the beach," the she is exophoric because the discourse hasn't given us any information as to who she is. (2) In contrast, in the statement: "I saw David an hour ago. He was looking at his watch." the he is endophoric because it refers to something or someone (i.e., David) that was previously mentioned. |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Greek exo, outside + pherein, to carry. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first OED citation is from 1976: "We shall find it useful … to have a special term for situational reference. This we are referring to as *exophora, or exophoric reference." (Halliday & Hasan Cohesion in Eng. ii. 33) |