Interreference

Interreference is a term used in discourse analysis and related fields to describe a pattern of references in which multiple items refer to one another or to another item within the same discourse, forming an interconnected network rather than a simple linear citation. It can be mutual, cyclical, or recursive.

In linguistics, interreference appears in analyses of anaphora and metalinguistic discourse. It may involve pronouns whose antecedents are themselves referenced by other elements, or sentences that discuss the referential status of other sentences. It is distinct from simple cross-reference, which is directional and to an external item.

In literature and rhetoric, interreference describes meta-textual devices where the text references its own structure or where chapters, notes, or figures refer to one another. This supports self-reflexivity and intertwining intertextuality, enabling readers to trace relationships among parts of the work.

In information science and knowledge representation, interreferences occur in graphs or catalogs where nodes reference other nodes that in turn reference others, potentially forming cycles. Such patterns can complicate processing, retrieval, or display and may require detection of circular references.

The term is not widely standardized; its precise meaning varies by domain. Related concepts include intertextuality, self-reference, mutual reference, and cross-reference.