Referanseretningen

Referanseretningen is a term used in Nordic linguistics to describe a sentence that has a primary function of establishing, maintaining, or clarifying reference to entities within discourse. The concept sits within the broader study of coherence and referentiality, and it relates closely to how listeners or readers track who or what is being talked about across sentence boundaries.

The main idea is that a referanseretning signals a referent to be recognized or recalled in the ongoing text. This can involve anaphoric reference, where the referent already mentioned is re-identified, or less commonly, cataphoric reference, where the referent is anticipated and defined later in the discourse. Realization typically occurs through pronouns, demonstratives, definite noun phrases, or the repetition of nouns that anchor the referent in memory.

In practice, referanseretningen helps to maintain cohesion by linking sentences through shared reference, reducing repetition and guiding interpretation. Its use depends on factors such as discourse structure, topic continuity, and the desired emphasis. For example: “Lise så en fugl i hagen. Den fløy bort straks.” Here “Den” functions as a referanseretning that points back to the previously mentioned “fugl.”

In research and pedagogy, the concept intersects with pronoun resolution, anaphora, and deixis, and it is useful for analyzing how texts guide readers through complex referential chains. See also: Anaphora, Deixis, Pronoun, Cohesion, Reference in linguistics.