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| In [[linguistics]], '''cataphora''' {{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|t|æ|f|ər|ə}} (from [[Greek language|Greek]], ''[[wikt:en:καταφορά#Ancient Greek|καταφορά]]'', ''kataphora'', “a downward motion” from ''[[wikt:en:κατά#Ancient Greek|κατά]]'', ''kata'', “downwards” and ''[[wikt:en:φέρω#Ancient Greek|φέρω]]'', ''pherō'', “I carry”) is used to first insert an expression or word that [[Coreference|co-refer]]s with a later expression in the discourse.<ref name="Cutting2002">{{cite book|author=Joan Cutting|title=Pragmatics and Discourse: A Resource Book for Students : A, B, C, D|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-KFELwzkFhYC&pg=PA10|accessdate=19 May 2013|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-25357-4|pages=10–}}</ref> An example of strict, sentence-internal cataphora in English is the following sentence:
| | Hello and welcome. My name is Irwin and I totally dig that title. California is our beginning location. His wife doesn't like it [http://www.1a-pornotube.com/user/WCrompton over the counter std test] way he does but what he really likes doing is to do aerobics and he's been doing it for quite a while. For many years I've been working as a payroll clerk. |
| :* When '''he''' arrived home, '''John''' went to sleep.
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| In this sentence, the pronoun ''he'' (the ''[[anaphor]]'') appears earlier than the noun ''John'' (the ''[[Antecedent (grammar)|antecedent]]'') that it refers to, the reverse of the normal pattern ([[anaphora (linguistics)|anaphora]]), where a [[referring expression]] such as ''John'' or ''the soldier'' appears before any pronouns that reference it. Both cataphora and anaphora are types of [[endophora]]. As a general rule, cataphora is much less frequent cross-linguistically than anaphora.
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| == Examples ==
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| Other examples of the same type of cataphora are:
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| :* If you want '''some''', here's some '''parmesan cheese'''.
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| :* After '''he''' had received his orders, '''the soldier''' left the barracks.
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| :* If you want '''them''', there are '''cookies''' in the kitchen.
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| Cataphora across sentences is often used for rhetorical effect. It can build suspense and provide a description. For example:
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| :* '''He'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s the biggest slob I know. '''He'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s really stupid. '''He'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s so cruel. '''He'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s my boyfriend Nick.
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| The examples of cataphora described so far are strict cataphora, because the anaphor is an actual [[pronoun]]. Strict within-sentence cataphora is highly restricted in the sorts of structures it can appear within, generally restricted to a preceding subordinate clause. More generally, however, any fairly general [[noun phrase]] can be considered an anaphor when it [[Coreference|co-refer]]s with a more specific noun phrase (i.e. both refer to the same entity), and if the more general noun phrase comes first, it can be considered an example of cataphora. Non-strict cataphora of this sort can occur in many contexts, for example:
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| :* A '''little girl''', '''Jessica''', was playing on the swings.
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| ('The anaphor ''a little girl'' co-refers with ''Jessica''.)
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| :* Finding '''the right gadget''' was a real hassle. I finally settled with a '''digital camera'''.
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| (The anaphor ''the right gadget'' co-refers with ''a digital camera''.)
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| Strict cross-sentence cataphora where the antecedent is an entire sentence is fairly common cross-linguistically:
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| :* I should have known '''it''': '''The task''' is simply too difficult.
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| :* ''Ich hätte '''es''' wissen müssen: '''Die Aufgabe''' ist einfach zu schwer.'' (Same as previous sentence, in German.)
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| Cataphora of this sort is particularly common in formal contexts, using an anaphoric expression such as ''this'' or ''the following'':
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| :* '''This''' is what I believe: that '''all men were created equal'''.
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| :* After squaring both sides, we arrive at '''the following''': <math>x = y^3 + 2z - 1</math>.
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| == References ==
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| {{reflist}}
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| ==See also==
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| *[[Endophora]]
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| *[[Exophora]]
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| *[[Anaphora (linguistics)]]
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| [[Category:Figures of speech]]
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| [[Category:Pragmatics]]
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| [[Category:Semantics]]
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| [[it:Catafora (linguistica)]]
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Hello and welcome. My name is Irwin and I totally dig that title. California is our beginning location. His wife doesn't like it over the counter std test way he does but what he really likes doing is to do aerobics and he's been doing it for quite a while. For many years I've been working as a payroll clerk.