What is homophora?

Definition
	Homophora is reference that depends on cultural knowledge or other general knowledge, rather than on specific features of a particular context.

Examples (English)

The use of the President in the U.S.
The use of the sun
The use of the baby between parents to refer to their own baby
The use of bees to refer generically to the class of bees in Bees make honey

Source:

Halliday and Hasan 1976 71

Generic
	Homophora is a kind of
	What is exophora?

Sources
	Gutwinski 1976 68
	Halliday and Hasan 1976 71

Context for this page:

Concept module: homophora
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): H
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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