anaphoric

Anaphoric is an adjective relating to anaphora. In linguistics, anaphora is the use of a linguistic expression whose interpretation depends on a previously mentioned antecedent in the discourse. In rhetoric, anaphora denotes the repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses for emphasis.

In linguistics, an anaphor is the expression whose reference relies on an antecedent. The antecedent is the earlier portion of the discourse that provides the referent. Common anaphors are pronouns like he, she, it, as well as definite descriptions, and in some languages even null or zero pronouns. Example: “John said he would come” — “he” refers to “John.” “The book was on the table. It was new.” Here “It” refers to “the book.” Resolving such relations—anaphora resolution—depends on syntax, semantics, and discourse context. Some languages permit zero anaphora, where the antecedent is implicit rather than overt.

In computing, anaphora resolution is a core task in natural language processing and information extraction. Systems analyze proximity, grammatical role, gender/number agreement, and world knowledge to predict antecedents. Cross-linguistic variation exists: pronoun systems differ, some languages allow more flexible antecedent placement, and pro-drop languages frequently omit explicit pronouns.

In rhetoric, anaphoric usage describes repeating a word or phrase at the beginnings of successive clauses or sentences for emphasis, such as “We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds.” Anaphora thus encompasses both linguistic reference and a stylistic device.