anaphora
/ə'næfərə/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A rhetorical device involving repetition: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or verses, used to create emphasis, rhythm, or emotional effect.
- A grammatical or linguistic term: The use of a word (such as a pronoun) that refers back to or replaces a word or phrase used earlier in a text or conversation.
Examples of Usage
- Noun (Rhetorical Device):
- Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is famous for its use of anaphora, such as the repetition of "I have a dream."
- "Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better" is an example of anaphora.
- Noun (Linguistics):
- In the sentence "Mary said she would come," the pronoun "she" is an example of anaphora, referring back to "Mary."
- Resolving anaphora is a key challenge in natural language processing for computers.
Advanced Usage
- Conceptual Anaphora: In discourse analysis, this can refer to the use of a word or phrase to refer back to a concept or idea, not just a specific noun.
- After a long discussion about freedom, the concept itself became an anaphora in his concluding remarks.
- Zero Anaphora: A phenomenon where a referent is omitted but understood from context, common in some languages.
- In the command "Sit down!", the subject "you" is a zero anaphora.
Variants and Related Words
- Anaphoric (adj): Relating to or characterized by anaphora.
- "She" in that sentence has an anaphoric relationship with the noun "Sarah."
- Cataphora (n): The use of a word (like a pronoun) that refers forward to a later word or phrase. This is the opposite of anaphora.
- In "Before she arrived, Jane called," the pronoun "she" is an example of cataphora, pointing forward to "Jane."
Synonyms
- Repetition: The action of repeating something.
- Epistrophe (n): The counterpart to anaphora; repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses (e.g., "government of the people, by the people, for the people").
Related Phrases
- Anaphora resolution: (Technical phrase) The process of determining what a pronoun or other referring expression refers to.
- The software's ability for accurate anaphora resolution improved its translation quality.
Noun
- repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
- using a pronoun or similar word instead of repeating a word used earlier