Rementions

Rementions are a discourse phenomenon in which a referent already introduced in a text or conversation is mentioned again later using a new referring expression. The term is used in linguistics and discourse analysis to distinguish the initial introduction (mention) from subsequent references (rementions). Rementions help maintain coherence and track which entities are the topic of discussion as discourse progresses.

Rementions serve several functions in communication. They help avoid unnecessary repetition while keeping the listener or reader aware of which entity is being discussed. They can reintroduce the same referent with new information, emphasis, or descriptive detail, or simply continue reference with a different form such as a pronoun, demonstrative, or a modified noun phrase. Forms of remention include pronouns (he, she, they), definite noun phrases (the man, the policy), proper names, and appositive or descriptive NP reintroductions (the author, Jane Doe, the policy, the latter).

Examples illustrate typical patterns. For instance: John arrived late. The man in the red hat apologized. Here the second clause rementions John with a descriptive NP after a gap. Another example: The committee released its report. The report was criticized by several groups. In this case, the referent shifts from the broader entity to a subsequent remention with a more specific nominal form. Such strategies contribute to cohesion by signaling topic continuity or shifts in focus.

Rementions are related to, but distinct from, coreference and anaphora. Coreference covers all forms that link referring expressions to the same entity, while remention emphasizes the reintroduction of that entity after a discourse gap. In computational linguistics and corpus studies, remention rates are analyzed to understand discourse structure and coherence across genres and languages.