rereferential

Rereferential is a term used in linguistics to describe linguistic expressions that re-establish reference to a participant or entity already introduced in the discourse. It is a form of anaphora that helps maintain coherence by tracking referents across sentences and clauses.

Rereferential expressions can take various forms, including pronouns (he, she, it), definite descriptions (the doctor), and demonstratives, especially when they point back to a previously mentioned referent. They differ from exophoric references, which point outside the discourse to something in the real-world context, and from non-referential language that does not maintain a continuous referent.

Examples illustrate rereferential use: "John arrived late. He apologized afterward." Here, the pronoun He rerefers to John. "The book on the table is red. It belongs to the library." The pronoun It rerefers to the book. Such links help listeners or readers follow who or what is being discussed across longer stretches of text.

Rereferential cues support discourse coherence by signaling continuity of reference and enabling efficient processing. In natural language processing, coreference resolution algorithms aim to identify these rereferential links to understand who or what a text is about. Cross-linguistic variation means that the expression and prominence of rereferential devices can differ by language, including how pronouns are used or omitted and how gender, number, and case influence reference tracking. See also anaphora, coreference, and discourse coherence.