referentietaal

Referentietaal is a term used in linguistics, primarily in Dutch-language literature, to describe the language that a speaker or writer uses to refer to a referent—an object, person, place, or concept—within discourse. The concept emphasizes how naming choices interact with multilingual competence, identity, and translation. In practice, referentietaal denotes the language chosen for a referent’s name or description, which may differ from the surrounding utterance language or from the speaker’s own dominant language. This distinction matters in multilingual texts, where a referent can be introduced in one language and subsequently referred to in another.

In translation studies and sociolinguistics, referentietaal helps analyze how authors preserve cultural specificity or facilitate comprehension. For example, a Dutch text might introduce a French landmark with its French name inside parentheses, or may adapt the name to a fully Dutch form. Both approaches reflect different referentietalen. In localization, decisions about referentietaal affect user perception of formality, authenticity, and brand identity.

Referentietaal is not a single standardized category with strict rules; its interpretation varies by author and field. It is best understood as a descriptive label for the language chosen to nominally identify referents in multilingual or cross-linguistic contexts. Related concepts include code-switching, proper-name translation, and loanword integration.