Workshop 2

Meaning in Language
2013/2014
I.
1. What would be a referent of the phrase the present President of the United States used:
a. in 2007?
b. in 1996?
2. Therefore we can say that the phrase the present President of the United States has
.
3. What would be the referent of the phrase the President of the United States used in a conversation
about:
a. United States politics in 2007?
b. United States politics in 1996?
4. In the light of preceding questions, does the reference of an expression vary according to (a) the
circumstances (time, place, etc.) in which the expression is used, or (b) the topic of the conversation in
which the expression is used, or (c) both (a) and (b)?
5. In a conversation about the United States of America in 2007 can the President and the Leader of the
Republican Party have the same referent?
6. Is the following sentence true or false?
Every expression that has a meaning has sense, but not every expression has reference.
7. Do the following words refer to things in the world?
almost, probable, and, if, above
8. When you look up the meaning of a word in a dictionary, what do you find there, its referent, or an
expression with the same sense?
9. Imagine that a friend of yours says to you, John is putting on weight these days, and imagine that a
friend of your teacher happens to utter the same sentence to her one day.
a. Would this be a case of one utterance or two?
b. Would the John referred to be the same John or two different Johns?

10. Could the following possibly be used as referring expressions?

John, my uncle, and, the girl sitting on the wall by the bus stop, a man, my parents, under
A GENERIC SENTENCE is a sentence in which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted class
of individuals, as opposed to any particular individual.
a. Gentlemen prefer blondes.
b. A wasp makes its nest in a hole in a tree.
c. A wasp just stung me on the neck.
d. The whale is the largest mammal.
In (d), is the mammal a referring expression?
Are there any referring expressions in this sentence?
11. Are the following referring expressions?
a. a Norwegian in Nancy married a Norwegian.
b. a Norwegian in Nancy wants to marry a Norwegian.
c. a car in John is looking for a car.