Phrasal Semantics: Sense and Reference in Noun Phrases

 

SENSE AND REFERENCE

Each of us can understand the meaning of the noun phrases. The most critical questions about them are whether they refer to something or someone and how this affects meaning. Do all the noun phrases have sense? Do all the noun phrases have reference? In this article, we will be discussing and trying to answer these questions. So, our topic is "sense and reference."  We suggest you reading previous writings about phrasal semantics before reading this one.

SENSE

The sense is the literal meaning. If the phrase is meaningful, then we say it has a sense. For instance, "the CEO of Facebook" is an excellent example to observe the sense. It consists of 4 meaningful units: the, CEO, of, Facebook. The combination of these meaningful units connotes Facebook's founder, and this is the sense of the phrase. Be careful! The sense is the phrase's real meaning, not what it addresses or signifies.

 

REFERENCE

           

Reference is what phrase addresses or signifies. When we look at our example phrase "the CEO of Facebook" once again, we can say that it has a reference. The reference of it is "Mark Zuckerberg," who established Facebook. It is easy.

 

DO ALL THE NOUN PHRASES HAVE SENSE OR REFERENCE?

 

In the beginning, we have said that there are questions to be discussed. Now, it's the time! Well, not do all the phrases have sense and reference at the same time. While some noun phrases have an only sense or only reference, the others may have both of them. Examples? Let's look at them.

• Our first example has both sense and reference. When we see it, we can compute the literal meaning and what is addressed.

"the CEO of Facebook"

Sense: Founder of Facebook

Reference: Mark Zuckerberg

• Some proper names do not have sense. They only have the reference. For instance, X Æ A-12 is an excellent example that sums up this point. It has been the trend on social media for a while. Yes, you are right! It is the name of Elon Mask's child. When we try to compute the meaning, we may not get the one. However, we all know that what it addresses.

• Some noun phrases may only have sense. When we say "New King of U.S.A.," it is easy to get the literal meaning, which is the sense. However, we cannot comprehend what or whom it refers to as there is no king in the U.S.A. Another example might be "Pegasus." We know that it means a mythical winged horse. However, in reality, we do not have Pegasus. Thus, there is no reference. That's it!