anafori

Anafori is a term used in linguistics and rhetoric to denote anaphora, the use of a word or expression that refers back to another expression previously mentioned in discourse. The term derives from Greek and is used in several languages to discuss reference across sentences and clauses. In practice, anaphora includes pronouns such as he, she, it; definite expressions like the pronoun the latter or this; and other referring expressions that rely on earlier context to be interpretable. Anaphora resolution is the process by which listeners or readers identify the antecedent for an anaphoric expression. The concept is central to discourse analysis, semantics, and natural language processing.

An important distinction is between anaphora, which refers back to an antecedent, and cataphora, which refers forward to something later in the text. For example, “John bought a car. He loves it” uses anaphora with “He” referring back to John. Conversely, “If you see her, tell Mary” uses “her” as cataphora, because “Mary” is introduced later. In addition to pronouns, anaphora can involve definite descriptions and other referring expressions.

Beyond linguistics, the term appears in liturgical and rhetorical traditions as well. In Orthodox and some Western rites, the Anaphora refers to a central eucharistic prayer. In rhetorical theory, anaphora also denotes the repetition of the opening word or phrase for emphasis across successive clauses.