nonreferentiality

Nonreferentiality refers to the property of linguistic expressions that do not, in a straightforward way, designate a single, identifiable object in the world. It covers uses in which an expression fails to pick out a specific referent, has indeterminate reference across contexts, or denotes a class, set, or situation rather than a concrete entity. Nonreferentiality is a concern in semantics and pragmatics, where the relation between language and the world is analyzed in terms of reference, reference failure, and context dependence.

Common examples include expletive or pleonastic it in sentences like It seems that the project will succeed, where the pronoun does not refer to anything specific. Similarly, there are nonreferential uses of there in constructions like There are several issues to consider, where the location word does not introduce a concrete object. Questions about referentiality also arise with definite descriptions in imaginary or nonexisting contexts (for example, the present king of France) and with generic or class-level statements (Dogs are friendly), where reference is to a kind or group rather than a particular individual.

The study of nonreferentiality intersects with theories of meaning, including reference theories and descriptivist accounts, as well as with discourse factors such as focus, topic structure, and context. It highlights that language can convey information, stance, or logical form without necessarily anchoring every expression to a fixed object. Nonreferential uses thus challenge simple one-to-one mappings between utterances and world entities, emphasizing context, semantics, and pragmatics in interpretation.