Referentinjë

Referentinjë is a term used in semiotics and linguistics to denote the referential dimension of signs—the object, person, concept, or event that a linguistic expression or symbolic sign stands for in a given context. In this usage, the referentinjë is the actual entity grounding the sign, as opposed to its form or its sense.

The term is primarily found in Albanian-language discussions of semantics and discourse analysis, where it is described as a neologism formed from referent with the Albanian nominal suffix -injë to mark a conceptual field of reference. As a theoretical construct, referentinjë emphasizes grounding reference in context and interaction rather than in static dictionary entries.

Relation to other notions: referentinjë is distinguished from sense (the mode of presentation) and from referenca or denotations; it focuses on the real-world grounding emerging when interpreters resolve ambiguity. The referentinjë can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract, depending on discourse.

Examples illustrate its use: in the sentence “The bank is closed,” the referentinjë is the financial institution or the riverbank, depending on context. In literature, referentinjë can help analyze how poets shift reference through metaphor or metonymy, showing how context reshapes grounding.

See also: referent, reference, denotation, sense, semiotics, semantics, pragmatics.