Misrepresenting Endophoric Reference As Exophoric Reference

Martin & Rose (2007: 170-1):

The second type of reference outside the text is harder to illustrate from our examples, because these written texts are so self-sufficient; the story, argument and act don’t depend on accompanying images or action to make their meaning. So let’s imagine that we are right now in Australia looking at an Aboriginal flag outside our window If so, when we say the black band, the red band or the yellow circle in the following text, then we are referring outside what we are saying to something we can sense (see, hear, touch, taste or feel):

The black band stands for Australian indigenous people (and for the night sky on which the Dreaming is written in the stars); the red band stands for the red Australian earth (and for the blood that Aboriginal people have shed struggling to share it with Europeans); and the yellow circle symbolises the sun (and a new dawn for social justice for Aboriginal people).

Likewise, if Helena had read her story to us over the radio, then we could argue that her reference to herself is exophoric (from her words to the person speaking):

My story begins in my late teenage years as a farm girl in the Bethlehem district of Eastern Free State.

The Act also refers to itself in a similar way, using both locative and demonstrative reference:

It is hereby notified that the President has assented to the following Act which is hereby published for general information:
1. (1) in this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates

This kind of reference from language to outside the text is called exophora.

Blogger Comments:

[1] To be clear, if 'accompanying images' are part of the text, reference to them is endophoric, not exophoric.

[2] To be clear, this is true whether or not 'Helena had read her story to us over the radio', since my refers exophorically to the creator of the text.

[3] To be clear, the Act does not refer to itself, if only because a text is not a reference item. If a text could refer to itself, the reference would be endophoric, not exophoric.

[4] To be clear, hereby generally means 'by this' and, as such, makes demonstrative reference to the text itself. That is, the reference is again endophoric, not exophoric.

[5] To be clear, this makes demonstrative reference to the text itself. That is, the reference is again endophoric, not exophoric.